by Kit Tosello
First published 2026
Lucy Montgomery has built a fortress around herself and her autistic son in Charity Falls, Oregon. Five years after her marriage fell apart, she keeps her head down at the local newspaper and says no to anything that might disrupt their quiet life. Then Wyatt Hayes walks in. The police officer writes poetry and offers the gentle kindness Lucy thought she'd never find. He wants to coax her out of her carefully constructed safety zone. Meanwhile, Lucy's mother Carly Montgomery maintains her image as a beloved Bible study leader, but the constant motion can't outrun her regrets. She has kept Lucy at a distance and barely knows her grandson. The gap between mother and daughter has widened with each missed opportunity. Lucy faces a choice between the security of her boundaries and the risk of opening her heart to Wyatt. Carly must decide if it's worth confronting the mistakes that drove her family apart. Both women will need courage to bridge the distance between them and embrace the possibility of healing.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, healing, hopeful, intimate, introspective, tender
Tropes: emotional-healing, found-family, second-chance-romance, slow-burn
Setting: Charity Falls, Oregon
Period: contemporary
352 pages · Paperback · Revell
Content warnings: emotional-abuse, mental-illness