Except Lee doesn't act like he has anything to prove. He isn't domineering like her ex-husband; he's quietly persistent, thoughtful, and awkward in a way that catches her completely off guard. He notices things. He shows up in small, unshowy ways. And somewhere while trying to keep him at arm's length, Rachel realizes she isn't dreading his attention anymore—she's waiting for it.
That terrifies her more than anything.
Rachel knows what it costs to trust the wrong man, and Lee, for all his gentleness, is carrying a secret he was taught to hide. As the connection between them deepens, they will each have to decide whether they are brave enough to be fully known, scars and all.
Fern Valley is the eighth book in the Firefly Hollow Essentials series, a heartwarming small-town Southern family saga with a meddling family that means well and Appalachian folk magic running quietly underneath. Told in dual POV, it's a reverse age-gap romance between a single mother who's done with men in uniform and her younger neighbor across the street who falls first—a hero with a badge who has a secret he's spent his whole life hiding.