Light in the Dark: A Small Town Grumpy Sunshine Romance

In Three Rivers, the unexpected seems to travel faster than the town gossip.

I'm a Three Rivers boy, born and bred. I know pretty much everyone who lives here, and they know me. They know all the juicy gossip about me, too...such as what happened between me and my high school sweetheart twelve years ago, an event that changed the course of my life irrevocably. Everyone in Three Rivers knows the story. What they don't know? The truth.

In the intervening years, I've all but given up on love. I run Crowe Construction, and I hang out with my buddies. If you ask my younger brother Riley, though, he'll say all I do is work and be grumpy.

I'm not that grumpy, I'm...reserved. Fine. Maybe a little grumpy.

So, when I quite literally almost crash into the most beautiful woman I've ever seen-one who doesn't know my story-it feels like the seeds of possibility have been planted in my heart again.

The only issue is she's drowning in grief. It lives in her unique silver eyes. It's woven through everything she does. So while I'm dreaming of her siren's body, she's lost in mourning. My feelings won't go away, even though I'm trying to give her space to sort herself out.

The problem is, the heart wants what it wants, and my heart is set on Ember James.

* * *

I didn't intend to stop in Three Rivers; I didn't intend to stop anywhere. But after my husband, Dutchie, died of a particularly vicious and fast-moving form of cancer, ending our career as van-life vloggers, I just...couldn't go on without him. The appeal of the open road-the only home I've ever known-is tarnished. I'm stuck.

Also, I'm literally stuck: my 1967 Volkswagen bus died, leaving me stranded in Three Rivers and at the mercy of a man I describe as "Kayce Dutton on steroids." Impressively muscled, you might say. Gorgeous. Rugged. Mysterious. Reserved.

I can't stop thinking about him. Wanting him. Which is...weird. Because I'm not over my husband. I'm drowning in grief while gripped by a disorienting and powerful attraction to this tall, handsome, golden-haired man who haunts my dreams.

I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I can't seem to move on, and I can't get Felix out of my head. Or my heart. I can't stop craving his hands...and other parts of him. Even though the rest of me is riddled with guilt for even trying to move on from the love of my life.

Three Rivers may hold the answers. The people seem to accept me. They show me love and generosity. They save my life when a terrible accident changes everything.

Between Felix's hangups over something that happened twelve years ago and my sorrow, guilt, and confusion, Felix and I struggle to find the path to happily ever after. Chemistry isn't the problem-that's off the charts. It's just...everything else that's the issue.

Will the past continue to keep us apart, or...

Does redemption flow in small towns like Three Rivers?