What we do for family...and love
Third-generation firefighter Captain Ben Libby is sworn to keep Harmony Valley safe. But a recent series of fires points to arson. Not that Ben really suspects Mandy Zapien, whoâs back in town to reopen the defunct post officeâa potential fire hazard.
Turns out Ben and Mandyâshe of the incredible smileâhave a lot in common. Theyâre both trying to rebuild their lives. Mandyâs raising her teenage sister, just as Benâs devoted to his godchild. Though lately, heâs started to suspect sheâs his biological daughter. Amid secrets and family dramas, do Ben and Mandy have what it takes to go the distance together?
âYouâre always smiling,â Ben said. âHow do you keep it up?â
âI...â It was easy talking to him in the darkness, easy to overshare. But heâd half thought she was the cause of all his trouble. Mandy gave him a generic answer. âIt takes as much effort to smile as it does to frown.â
âAnd youâre incredibly honest.â
âIâm not. I just... I have very little to hide.â Only her feelings and her debt and the fact that sheâd lied to her sister about their inheritance and the reason their mother stayed away.
âI doubt that. Everyone has layers.â His head bent toward hers, almost as if he was going to kiss her. And then he pulled back, tilting his head to the side.
The kiss impression was totally the moonâs fault.
Stupid moon.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Harmony Valley!
Just a few short years ago, Harmony Valley was on the brink of extinction with only those over the age of sixty in residence. Now the influx of a younger generation is making life in Harmony Valley more fun for its gray-haired residents than afternoon television.
Fire captain Ben Libby wants to investigate fires rather than fight them, but before he takes the next step in his career he needs to help his father reopen the Harmony Valley Fire Department. Ben expects the assignment to be easy, but suddenly thereâs a rash of fires in town and they coincide with the return of Mandy Zapien. All Mandy wants is a fresh start for her and her teenage sister. Sheâs not an arsonist. But proving that to Ben turns out to be a challenge.
I hope you enjoy Mandy and Benâs journey to a happily-ever-after, as well as the other romances in the Harmony Valley series. I love to hear from readers. Visit my website at www.melindacurtis.com to learn more about upcoming books, sign up for email book announcements (and Iâll send you a free sweet romance read) or chat with me on Facebook (MelindaCurtisAuthor) to hear about my latest giveaways.
Melinda
Award-winning USA TODAY bestselling author MELINDA CURTIS is an empty nester. Now instead of car pools and sports leagues, her days go something like this: visit the gym with her husband at 5:30 a.m., walk the dogs, enjoy a little social media, write-write-write, consider cooking dinner (possibly reject cooking dinner in favor of takeout), watch sports or DIY shows with her husband, read and collapse in bed. Sometimes the collapse part happens before any TV or reading takes place.
Melinda enjoys putting humor into her stories because thatâs how she approaches life. She writes sweet contemporary romances as Melinda Curtis (Brenda Novak says Season of Change âfound a place on my keeper shelfâ), and fun, steamy reads as Mel Curtis (Jayne Ann Krentz describes Cora Rules as âwonderfully entertainingâ).
This book is dedicated to my dad and
my mother-in-law, both of whom supported me on my writing journey. It wasnât easy losing them both just months apart. I thought of them and their last wishes a lot during the writing of this story.
CHAPTER ONE
âTELL ME THIS isnât where weâre going to live. Itâs too...too...icky.â
âWhatâs wrong?â Mandy Zapienâs heart had been clinging to a position in her throat for the last hour of the drive to Harmony Valley. It clawed a degree higher as she pushed past her teenage sister to get a good look inside the house theyâd left seven years earlier.
Same dark chocolate shag. Same tan-and-navy plaid couch under the front picture window. Same oak side table with Grandmaâs sewing basket next to it and the fake ficus in a plastic planter Mandy had Bedazzled when she was ten. Nothing was new or out of place.
Mandyâs heart slid back into her stress-strapped chest.
Icky? It was home and it was vacant. The choke hold on her emotions loosened. âItâs perfect.â Just the way Grandpa, Mandy and Olivia had left it after Grandma died. A testament to the life Grandma and Grandpa had built together before lost jobs had forced them to move. Just the way Grandpa had wanted it to be when he returned after retirement.