Hero Next Door

Losing everything was supposed to be the end. It might be the beginning.

I built my life on moving on—new places, new projects, new causes. Make an impact, then keep going. It worked… until a scandal I never saw coming destroyed my reputation—and a house fire took everything else.

Now I’m stranded in a small mountain town with nothing but borrowed clothes and a growing list of problems.

And a firefighter next door who refuses to let me fall apart quietly.

Colter Gibson is everything I’m not—steady, grounded, rooted. A single dad with a protective streak a mile wide and a habit of showing up when it matters most.

Letting him help is supposed to be temporary.
So is staying in Gibson Hollow.
So is the undeniable spark igniting between us.

But the longer I’m here, the more I find something I’ve never had before—a chance to see the impact of my work up close… and a place that feels like home.

Then the life I lost comes calling—with a chance to take it all back.

And I have to decide…

Do I go back to who I was—
or risk my heart on the one man—and the one town—that make me want to stay?

Perfect for readers who love:
✔ small-town romance
✔ single dad heroes
✔ forced proximity
✔ found family
✔ redemption arcs with emotional depth

In a town that takes care of its own, sometimes you have to learn how to let yourself be one of them.