Playing For Keeps

Some loves are worth waiting for—even when you've stopped believing they'll find you.

On the soccer field, victory can come down to a single shot. In the back of an ambulance, life can come down to a single heartbeat. Both demand courage, quick decisions, and the willingness to trust when the outcome is out of your hands. 

For years, Hunter McKinley has chased the dream of playing professional soccer—and finally, he has everything he ever wanted. But beneath the fame, pressure, and success is a man searching for something deeper—and struggling with temptation.

EMT Jo Donahue has dedicated her life to saving others, but grief and guilt have left her questioning her purpose—and her faith.

When Hunter returns to Legacy Falls, he reconnects with the woman who once saved his life. As friendship gives way to something deeper, old feelings surface and long-held wounds reopen. But years of distance, temptations, complicated relationships, and two lives headed in different directions have left them with more obstacles than answers.

Then tragedy strikes, and everything they might have had together suddenly feels heartbreakingly out of reach. Can they surrender their fears, trust God's plan, and fight for the love that has been waiting for them all along?

Download Playing for Keeps today and discover that sometimes the greatest victory isn't found on the soccer field—it's found when you finally trust God with your heart.

Tropes: Soccer sports romance, small town romance, friends to more, second chance, professional soccer hero, EMT first responder heroine, life-altering moment, faith-based redemption arc, slow burn clean inspirational Christian romance.

A NOTE TO READERS: The Legacy Falls series features faith-centered romance with real, flawed characters confronting past sins, difficult choices, and sometimes dark realities on their journeys toward healing, redemption, and love. These stories explore faith alongside romantic attraction, desire, and kissing. Playing For Keeps can be read as a standalone and includes potentially triggering themes such as steroid use and a minor character's suicide.

What Readers Say:

"One of the best books I've read in awhile. Can't wait to read more by this author. I would recommend this book to everyone." ~ coyotecactus

"Great read. I love Jo and Hunter. I love how Hunter owned his lapse in judgements. Great characters!" ~ Teresa