Double Take by Kerri Nelson

Sometimes the past haunts us too much. Agent Wolfe has been running from it most of her life. But when her best friend from school is kidnapped, she rushes in to help. Her best friend’s twin makes this a Double Take case, both for revisiting the past and complicating the present.

After growing up the laughing stock of the town drunk and humiliated by the hottest guy in school, Kennedy Wolfe planned on never stepping foot in Greece, New York again.

Now a highly decorated agent for the FBI, Kennedy learns of the abduction of her best friend from high school. The news comes just days after the invitation to her class reunion was received and tossed.

Despite her better judgment, she can’t resist the urge to take on a case that would show her classmates once and for all what she’s really made of.

Damon Divine is the unbeatable District Attorney and he’s dead set on finding those responsible for abducting his twin sister. But when the beautiful Agent Wolfe comes to town, he knows the kidnappers won’t be the only ones on her hit list.

After all, standing up a girl on senior prom night is not something she’s likely forgotten.

As District Attorney for Greece, New York, Damon Divine has a perfect record. Even when the small town local cops messed up, he still gets his convictions. But now he is facing a new, nightmare experience as the victim’s family. His sister has disappeared and he can’t even get the Chief of Police to believe she’s been kidnapped. But with her being his twin and their special connection, he knows she didn’t just leave town unannounced. So he calls the FBI for help.

Kennedy Wolfe was NEVER going home again. Her mother was the town drunk after her father died when she was young, and she never lived that down. She became best friends with Dana in school and spent more time with her family than anywhere else. But as they grew up, Kennedy fell for Dana’s twin, Damon, and Dana encouraged them as a couple. But Damon standing her up for senior prom was too much betrayal, and Kennedy ran off to college early. She has never been back in almost twenty-five years.

As Special Agent in Charge of the closest FBI office, Kennedy and her partner take Dana’s kidnapping case. Something very odd is going on. There are no clues to be found at to where Dana could be or who has her. And her brother calls the FBI, not her ex-husband. Kennedy is having a difficult time with the case, returning home for the first time, facing Damon after all these years, there is a class reunion scheduled for the same weekend she and her partner arrive, etc. And Damon still looks at her as he always did, with affection and attraction.

So why did he stand her up all those years ago? Why has he never contacted her since? How is she ever going to save her friend if she can’t focus? And is Damon really still interested in her after all this time?

Double Take is another second chance at love story. But this has a lot of elements/angst in it that explain why I am not as fond of this type of story. Kennedy ran off and stayed away from “home” because she was stood up?? Really? For 25 years? So she had issues from her mother’s behavior and all, but she never contacted her best friend again after the brother/boyfriend stands her up? And she never found out why he didn’t show up to take her to the prom? I know she was a teen at the time, but give me a break, this is extreme. And he never tracked her down? He was supposed to be in love with her, but didn’t go after her or contact her in anyway? Sorry, but this just doesn’t ring true…either they are in love and would have confronted each other within days of the incident, or it was only teen infatuation and they would have moved on after a while.

Double Take has a couple things I do like. The kidnapper/mystery aspect is not the typical, expected plot, but isn’t extreme either. It’s what starts the story, not the focus. The thing I most like is that Kennedy and Damon push aside their attraction while ‘working’ the case. Most times the main characters get together while on the run, in danger or trying to save someone. That just feels weird at times and I loved that these two may have felt the attraction but they didn’t act on it while someone’s life was in danger.

Can you go home again? Can you get over past hurts? Can you fight the attraction to your first and/or true love? Can you rekindle ‘old flames’ into lasting love? I don’t know, but it seems these are questions many have if the number of second chance love stories prove anything. And Double Take is an interesting look at how far some will go to avoid answering any and all of these questions.