Southern Blend (edit title/settings)

Ever listen to a love song and wonder about the story behind the song? While driving through the south and listening to country music a story of chance meetings and falling in love began to form. It goes beyond the typical boy meets girl. It is a new kind of romance about two broken hearts struggling to bring their life, families, and dreams together. SOUTHERN BLEND shows not only the importance of love but the importance of family and faith.

Rachel, a small town cowgirl, is a successful director of a non-profit organization and single mother to three teen and pre-teen daughters. Due to her success in working with abused and troubled children and women, she is given the opportunity to meet with well-known country singer Katrina Metcafe, who invites Rachel and her daughters to her ranch in Tennessee. Katrina is interested in joining her efforts helping young women in abusive situations with Rachel’s passion for abused children.

While in Tennessee, Rachel is introduced to the Metcafe’s best friend, Troy Keyton. Troy is America’s number one country recording artist and a face and voice that Rachel knows well. Although Troy is still healing from the loss of his wife and the mother of his three daughters, he is immediately attracted to Rachel’s passion for helping people and her faith. His interest follows her when she heads back home to small town Colorado and he strikes up a relationship with her that changes both of their lives.

Rachel and Troy have challenges they must overcome to be together. At first there is the challenge of distance. Rachel lives in Colorado and Troy lives near Nashville in Tennessee. But even more than the physical distance is the differences in their lifestyles. Rachel lives a life of giving, self sacrifice and helping people. Troy’s life is wrapped up in fame and music, although he is down-to-earth cowboy, he is wealthy and can get whatever he wants when he wants it.

They are both single parents and both are raising their daughters. Their daughters are close to the same ages. Rachel and Troy are good parents struggling even in their pain and loss to put their children and their stability and healing first. They have high ideals about faith and family. They have worked hard to protect their girls, put down roots, and to bring healing to their families, despite pain from their pasts and the pain of divorce (for Rachel) and death (for Troy).

Both Rachel and Troy have personal struggles they have to rise above. First Troy struggles with allowing himself to love again. Troy’s struggles are more subtle as the story is told from Rachel’s perspective. Troy works through his inner turmoil during in their distance with the help of his friend and mentor Mike. Rachel is unable to marry Troy until she deals with her fears and boldly face what she really wants and what she is willing to give up for that to happen. When she decides that her desires have merit, then she is able to discover that who she really is. She finds she can take these essential things with her anywhere and that her total worth is more than what she does for others.

Later in the story Troy also has to come to terms with his career, his worth and what he really wants his life to be about. He is successful but discovers that his life, outside of his family, has little depth or meaning. Next to Rachel his success seems shallow and he struggles with inner turmoil of finding value and self worth as he takes a look at a future and want he really wants from life, himself and others.