Cute tale. Policeman Del stops a speeding van…and helps the Mom who's driving herself to the hospital deliver the baby in the back of the van. She's homeless, so he offers his house as a place for her and her newborn to live. His family comes through by befriending her and bringing her all the baby things she needs, and he winds up falling in love with her. ( )

The cop (Officer Del Santini) and the teacher (Melissa Ryan) come together in way that bonds them together and to Melissa's new born baby girl (Della) who is named after the police officer who helped deliver her on the side of the highway. Getting only a couple of days in the hospital, Melissa was worried about were her and her daughter would go next, but the wonderful man who had pulled her over for speeding and ended up saving her life was about to do it again. Del had been so unsure of himself, for about the first time in his life, but somehow he remembered all the classes and his sister and mothers words about babies, and found a way to deliver the baby safely, but no one told him that it would mean so much and that he would become so attached to her and her mother. He couldn't let her live on the streets with his new born name sake, they had to live with him.

Sometimes in shorter books (only 218 pages) it is harder to connect to the characters. Not true with this one, I was in the right mood to connect to Del and feel ever hurt he felt, at one point I even found tears in my eyes for him. Marie Ferrarella is a really good character writer and she did not disappoint in this quick and easy read. I had forgotten how much I like Del and his entire family - as overbearing (in a loving manner) as any Italian family is stereotyped to be. This for me is a re-read from '97. ( )