Joyce Fielding

The Man He Almost Wasn'tFor Cal, life had a rhythm - a good job, loyal friends, cruising the local drive-in, and Susan, the beautiful girl who made every day feel just right. But four words shattered that rhythm forever: "We have to talk."Susan is pregnant. Frightened and determined, she had already decided - disappear, have the baby, give it up for adoption, and never look back. All she needs from Cal is moral support and money.
What she doesn't know is what that money will cost him. Desperate to help the girl he loves, Cal is drawn into a world running on cash, risk, and bad decisions - stock fraud, backstreet deals, and the dangerous thrill of drag racing for cash. When the local criminal element strips him of his prized car, Cal isn't about to walk away. With a ragtag crew of friends and acquaintances at his side, he takes it back - and in the chaos of that one reckless night, inadvertently triggers the legendary blackout that plunged the entire Northeast into darkness on November 9, 1965.
Then the unthinkable happens. Susan's pregnancy takes a devastating turn, and suddenly the plans she fought so hard to keep are gone. Cal races across the country to be at her side, leaving everything else behind. But sometimes, when life takes everything from you, it gives something back. Out of the wreckage of the worst days of his life, Cal discovers that the next perfect day might be closer than he ever imagined.