ABOUT THE BOOK
I had a perfect life. Schoolteacher. Married to my high school sweetheart. Little starter house that we called charming but was really just old. All I needed was the two-point-five kids and I’d be living my perfect dream. Then my husband died.
After the funeral, I had a breakdown that lasted for a month…or twelve. But now I’m reemerging, healing, finding my way. It’s time to learn who I am now, and whether or not I can fix a leaky sink. And by my side, the entire time, is my husband’s best friend, Liam. The single dad knows a thing or two about personal struggles, and about how to replace faucets.
With Liam, I feel alive again. Confident. Capable. Liam has become my best friend too. Except if my parents, my in-laws, and the rest of the town had any say, I’d stay far away from him and his bad boy reputation.
How do I admit to them what’s so hard to admit to myself? That I’m starting to look at him like he’s more than a friend. That the heat in his eyes when he looks at me is far beyond friendly. That like it or not, Liam makes me feel whole again.
PURCHASE LINKS
EXCERPT
Blinking to adjust to the dimmer light, it wasn’t hard to find Liam. Sparks flew from the far corner, where the light from the open door had the hardest time penetrating.
The torch Liam held went dark. He flipped his face shield up so it rested on top of his head. “Hey. That time already? The afternoon got away from me.”
He set his equipment on the work bench by the hunk of metal he’d been working on. He slapped his thick gloves down and took the face shield off. Then he shrugged out of his well-worn leather apron.
I blinked again, but it had nothing to do with lighting. His long-sleeved blue T-shirt with the logo of a bar and grill in Williston was plastered to his chest and back. A smattering of singe holes gathered around the collar and a few tiny ones on the sleeves where the apron didn’t reach. Liam adjusted his shoulders like he was trying to dislodge the fabric from his skin, but all the move did was make his muscles ripple.
I’d known Liam wasn’t the same lanky kid from high school, but I’d never had proof like this.
He ran a hand through his hair—same effect. Biceps bulging and rippling muscle.
My brain snapped a picture, like someday I might need to reference the type of man that could get my libido going again.
Which I wasn’t looking for. Dating wasn’t on my radar, much less…activities beyond that.
Although recently I’d been thinking… I gave myself a mental shake. My therapist said there was nothing wrong with thinking about dating someday. Nothing wrong with dating itself. Nothing wrong with not being ready. Nothing wrong with dating while still not feeling ready. I hadn’t reached that point yet. And I didn’t have to think about it at Liam’s.
COMING SOON
Releasing May 17
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marie Johnston writes paranormal and contemporary
romance. She also works as a medical laboratory scientist and has worked as a
public health microbiologist. Depending on the
situation, she can be oddly unconcerned about germs or weirdly
phobic. Marie’s been a volunteer EMT, a college instructor, a security
guard, a phlebotomist, a hotel clerk, and a coffee pourer in a bingo hall.
All fodder for a writer!! She has a husband, four kids, and even more cats.
AUTHOR LINKS
I am a newer reader to this author and I LOVED the King Oil series so much that when it ended, I missed it so much so I was hoping this would be a story that was similar to the King Oil series. It is a very different series and while I enjoyed it, I did not love it like the Kings. One major reason is that this story is about people who are more middle class in a small town with not much money. While the Kings were rich, well educated and had brotherly love. This story was very different.
This story features Kennedy, whose husband died and he was her soul mate. She is broke, lives all alone, doesn't have friends except for Liam Barron and his two sons. Liam was her husband's best friend and cousin. He is also an illegitimate Barron and is shunned by the town for his illegitimacy. He works 20 days every month for the Kings out of town while his grandma watches his two sons and comes to town for 10 days every month to spend time with Kenny and his sons.
When Kenny's husband died she was beyond devastated. Her husband was a Barron and so his family still takes care of her. Liam and his sons pretty much saved her and gave her a reason to wake up each day.
This story was a more serious story, when I like more fun and light hearted stories. The Barron's run the town and they want Kenny away from Liam and Liam wants his kids to have a great life no matter what. The reason he works out of town is because the Barron's have made it very hard for him to get hired in town.
This is a coming-of-age story about moving on and about love, friendship and family. Its about forgiveness and not just forgiving others but also about ourselves. It's about moving past tragedies and new love and growing up and taking care of ourselves.
It was a great story and I look forward to more stories in this series.
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