Jazz Okafor has spent three years letting her ex's voice live in her head rent-free. Just a pet photographer. Cute little hobby, sweetheart. She's photographed every three-legged dog and one-eared cat the rescue has taken in, and she's good at it — but somewhere along the way she stopped believing she was good at anything that counted. So when she submits her portfolio to the most prestigious wildlife photography competition in Montana, it isn't confidence. It's defiance. And to her shock, she wins.
Finn Holbrook is the other winner. He’s a renowned, world-traveling, professional wildlife photographer who's never met a town he couldn't leave by sundown. His mother told him to be selfish, to live for himself. But all it has gotten him is fame and loneliness. So he does the one thing he swore he never would. He stays. Signs a lease in Haven Creek. Adopts a complete disaster of a rescue kitten. But can he learn how to stay after a lifetime of leaving?
Paired to shoot a wildlife calendar together, Finn chases the light while Jazz waits for the moment as they compete to capture the best picture. But somewhere between a dawn elk migration and a midnight Montana sky, the assignment stops feeling like a competition and starts feeling like the first thing either of them has ever been brave enough to fight for.
Then a man with a folder full of Finn's credentials looks at Jazz's photographs and calls them charming. Quaint. Amateur. And Finn, the one person who should defend her, says nothing at all. She's heard that silence before. She swore she'd never stand in it again.
Now Jazz has to decide whether she’s willing to shrink herself to fit in Finn’s shadow, and he has to prove that staying isn't being in a place—it's showing up when it counts. Can two people who've spent their whole lives hiding behind a lens finally risk being seen themselves?
Aa clean, closed-door, small-town romance where opposites attract, found family, second chances, an absolute menace of a rescue kitten, and all the heart of a faith-friendly Montana mountain town.
Cynthia Dees is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 100 romances, and Sarah Dees is a lawyer and published author. Join them at Second Chance Ranch for love, laughter, found family and friends in this sweet and emotional series about strong, wounded men, rescued animals, and close-knit women getting a second chance at love.
"A delightfully light and refreshing read...Ms. Dees never lets me down...What fun. Five stars! Highly recommend..."
Cynthia Dees is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 125 books. She’s written in a variety of genres but found her forever home in clean and wholesome romance. A 2-time RITA winner and five-time RITA finalist from the Romance Writers of America, she’s also a Career Lifetime Achievement Award nominee from Romantic Times Book Club. She sets her books in small towns like the one she grew up in and fills her stories with fun, quirky characters who remind her a bit too much of her own family and friends. She lives in Texas with her husband and two big dogs that rule their house.
Sarah Dees is Cynthia’s daughter and also a writer. She published her first novel at the age of 15. When she’s not fixing her mom’s plots and writing with Cynthia, she’s a lawyer and lives in England with her husband and a tiny dog that rules their house.
If you’d like to join Cynthia’s newsletter to hear more about both of their zany adventures and get free books, bonus content, and exclusive sneak peeks from upcoming stories, you can sign up at www.cynthiadees.com