The Scandalous Return of Jake Walker (Harlequin Silhouette Romance, No 1256)

Rating:
Summary: The not-so-scandalous return
Review: Despite a VERY scandalous-sounding beginning, this little romance is slightly irritating and flat.
Several years ago, it was Tess Buchanan's testimony that caused Jake Walker (her secret crush) to be expelled during his senior year of high school after he was caught in a comprosing position in a supply closet with one Cassie Pratt. Cassie left town and eventually had a baby, Jake left town to a communal sigh of "good riddance," and Tess grew up,got engaged to an up-and-coming politician, and joined the local Historic Preservation committee.

Now Jake is back in town, and all bets are off.

Jake has decided to restore his mother's old house (did I mention that Tess is on the Historic Preservation committee?), but he is hindered by the fact that much of the town still sees him as the wild child of a no-good father. Tess blames him for deserting Cassie and his child. But wait--the reader is immediately informed that Tess is mistaken; the baby wasn't Jake's, no matter what the general consensus among the town's gossips is. So, the frustrated reader will immediately ask her/himself, why in the world doesn't Jake clue Tess in to this important fact as they grow more and more interested in each other???
Well, Jake has his noble reasons, but they are very convoluted ones that don't hold much water. Tess doesn't figure out till about 130 pages in that she should hunt Cassie up for a chat. Once that is done, everything gets straightened out.