Eleven-year-old Charlene is not impressed with Merry, her new guardian. Clearly the woman needs some major help in the parenting department. Their neighbor Jack could be the right man for the job--but it doesn't look as though the two grown-ups are ever going to get together without help. Jack recognizes a short-distance runner when he sees one, and Merry fits the bill. The gorgeous party girl is so unprepared to take charge of the totally fun-proof Charlene, he almost feels sorry for her. Almost. Merry is in way over her head. Who would have thought that a vow written on a cocktail napkin would make her a parent long before her time...or that a rock-solid man and a serious little girl would ever become the two most important people in her life? Merry has finally found something worth fighting for. Now all she has to do is figure out just how to fight!