Early Morning Riser

Set in the small town of Boyne City, Michigan, the novel follows Jane, a twenty-six-year-old second-grade teacher, across nearly two decades as her life becomes inextricably tangled with the people around her: a charming woodworker, his ex-wife, and a man with intellectual disabilities whom Jane comes to regard as family.

In 2002, Jane locks herself out of her house shortly after moving to Boyne City. Duncan Ryfield, a woodworker and locksmith in his early forties, lets himself in through an unlocked window. Jane invites him for supper, and they begin a passionate relationship that same night. Jane's one friend in town, Freida Fitzgerald, the high school music teacher, warns that Duncan has had an extraordinary number of girlfriends but adds that he is kind, especially to Jimmy Jellico, a man with intellectual disabilities who works in Duncan's shop. Jane soon meets Duncan's ex-wife, Aggie, a buxom real estate agent who left Duncan for Gary Polnichik, a peculiar insurance agent. Duncan still mows Aggie's lawn, and Jane learns he slept with Aggie even after her remarriage. Despite her unease, Jane falls deeply in love.

The relationship unravels when Duncan casually tells a former girlfriend that he never intends to marry again. Jane realizes she cannot continue on Duncan's terms and watches him drive away, reflecting that the worst part of heartbreak is knowing she gave her heart to him willingly.

Three years later, in July 2005, Jane is engaged to Luke Armstrong, a kind financial analyst from Petoskey. The day before the wedding brings a string of disasters: her blush-pink dress looks flesh-colored, her blunt mother, Phyllis, clashes with Luke's graceful mother, Edith-Louise, and the barn reception venue looks dilapidated in daylight. At the rehearsal, Duncan tells Jane she makes a gorgeous bride. That evening, after the rehearsal dinner, Jane sends Phyllis to drive Jimmy's elderly mother, Mrs. Jellico, home. Jane sits alone in her backyard until she hears sirens and knows with terrible certainty that they are racing toward her mother.

Phyllis missed a turn, reversed into an intersection, and was struck by another car. She broke her arm; Mrs. Jellico died from head and crush injuries. The wedding is postponed. Jane sits with Jimmy through the night, explaining what happened over and over as he struggles to accept his loss. When Luke eventually suggests rescheduling the wedding, Jane tells him she does not want to get married. He leaves that night. Jane blames herself entirely: She was too selfish to drive Mrs. Jellico home, she handed her keys to a mother whose driving she knew to be unsafe, and she did not help Mrs. Jellico with her seatbelt.

Jane takes over nearly every aspect of Jimmy's care, paying his bills, cleaning his house, and managing his money through a Humpty Dumpty cookie jar where she doles out a weekly allowance. She discovers how little he knows about daily life: He cannot cook beyond ramen noodles, does not know his doctor's name, and cannot manage a checkbook. Duncan packs Jimmy's lunches, but the bulk of responsibility falls on Jane.

In 2006, Jane runs into Duncan at Glen's Market, the local grocery store, and learns he has broken up with his latest girlfriend. They resume their relationship, and this time Jane accepts Duncan on his terms, determined not to demand commitment. They establish a routine that includes weekly Taco Tuesday dinners at Jimmy's with Aggie, Gary, and Freida.

By 2008, Duncan moves into Jane's house full-time, though he keeps his workshop apartment, which Jane views as an escape hatch. That October, a man named Willard Williams enters their lives. A stranger in his fifties who claims to be a line cook at Boyne Mountain ski resort, Willard befriends Jimmy at a local bar and moves into Jimmy's house. He cooks elaborate meals, rakes the yard, and draws everyone out in conversation with practiced charm. Jimmy is visibly transformed, more confident and animated than Jane has ever seen him.

Jane grows suspicious and searches Willard's belongings, finding only worn clothes. The truth emerges when the sheriff visits Jane at school: Willard pressured Jimmy into taking out an $80,000 personal loan using his house as collateral, deposited the money in a joint account, drained it through cashier's checks over 10 days, and disappeared. His real name is unknown. Jane realizes Willard never revealed anything about himself; he only asked questions.

Duncan picks Jane up and tells her the house cannot be saved. Then he proposes, not romantically but practically: They will marry, buy a bigger house, and make a stable home for Jimmy. Jane sits in the van knowing this is her proposal and it can never be anything else.

They marry, and Aggie finds them a larger house on the outskirts of town, selling Jimmy's house and waiving her commission on all three transactions. Jimmy's room is on the first floor. Jane compares the marriage to two shopkeepers combining businesses to lower costs, and Jimmy's constant presence means spontaneous adult conversation feels impossible. Freida marries Mr. Hutchinson, the high school biology teacher. At the reception, Freida performs "True Love Will Find You in the End" on the mandolin.

Duncan suggests they have a baby, and Jane agrees. Their daughter Glenn is born during a January blizzard while Duncan is stranded on the road. Aggie drives Jane to the hospital through the storm, and Freida holds Jane's hand during labor, humming "Ode to Joy." After the birth, Jane hemorrhages and loses consciousness. She wakes to find Jimmy at her bedside. When the nurse brings the baby, Jimmy sits on the corner sofa looking old and excluded. Jane calls him over and tells him he will be the very first person to meet Glenn, a name honoring Jimmy, drawn from Glen's Market, where Jane and Duncan reunited.

By 2016, Jane and Duncan have two daughters. Glenn is poised and charming at four; her younger sister, Patrice Marigold, is hot-tempered, stubborn, and prone to legendary tantrums. Taco Tuesday continues with the full group. When Duncan and Aggie drive together to a funeral in the Upper Peninsula, Jane's jealousy flares, especially after Duncan texts that he is staying for an after-party. Jimmy comforts her with a quiet childhood memory about watching rain-soaked crows and feeling grateful to have a home. When Duncan and Aggie return, it becomes clear nothing romantic happened: Duncan got drunk, passed out in a neighbor's yard, and deliberately misread the map home. Jane's relief is immense.

In 2019, Jimmy falls in love with Raelynne Collins, the brash, twice-divorced assistant manager at Kilwins ice cream store. Aggie orchestrates a dinner party to bring them together, and Jimmy begins biking to Kilwins most nights to help Raelynne close. They watch romantic comedies at her mobile home, but they never kiss. During a visit that summer, Jane's mother observes that Mrs. Jellico had been old and in poor health long before the accident, and that someone would have had to take Jimmy in eventually. The remark begins to shift Jane's long-held guilt. Then one August evening, Jimmy comes home and tells Jane that Raelynne introduced him to her boyfriend, calling Jimmy her "friend." Jane is devastated on Jimmy's behalf.

Jimmy recovers outwardly, resuming his normal routine. At a beach outing, Patrice finally turns her first cartwheel, and Jimmy calls out his excitement. Jane looks at him, smiling and openhearted, and realizes she has spent years feeling responsible for Jimmy or sorry for him but has forgotten to simply love him. She hugs him, breathing in his scent of pine and pencil shavings. She holds on, waiting for the harshness of the world to fade, knowing it will right itself and she can go on.