"Ms. Smith is one of the best contemporary family drama authors." Harriet Klausner, Reviewer.
Tessa Kahill, renowned journalist who traveled the world, is falling in love with her best friend's husband all over again. Tessa and Max Winthrop dated before he met Leslie. But then Tessa left with secrets and dreams to follow her career. Afterward Max found Leslie to be the kind of woman he needed, one who wanted to be a mother, live in a small town and have roots. Tessa had somewhat kept her distance after Leslie and Max became involved, then married. But she visited a few times a year because she was their son's godmother and she still felt close to Leslie in so many ways. Keeping her distance from Max became a habit and a necessity. When Leslie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Tessa became her confidant. If she couldn't be there physically, she was on the phone with her friend, talking about her concerns and her fears. After Leslie died, Tessa visited Jenkins, Connecticut, for Ryan's sake, always staying with Leslie's parents.
Now, three years after Leslie's death, Tessa comes for a visit and learns Ryan is having problems in school and making friends. After a serious conference with Ryan's teacher, Tessa offers to stay a few weeks for Ryan's sake. Accepting her help this time, Max insists she stay with them since Leslie's parents have moved away from the small town. But something is different during this visit. Tessa and Max feel electricity that hasn't been there over the past nine years. They're both confused and unsettled by it. After all, Max doesn't understand or approve of her lifestyle. She would feel trapped in his. She's kept her feelings all tied up with her secrets—her mother's abandonment of her in a school when she was seven, the cycle of foster homes where she didn't get along, the sense of isolation because she never belonged anywhere. Little by little Max realizes why Tessa seeks the life she does. He also sees what a wonderful mother she would make. Ryan adores her and she can relate to him on a level that Max can't. Would Tessa ever stay in Jenkins? Would he dare risk his heart to find out? After all, she left him before. If Tessa tells Max she loves him, what will that mean to him? He wants a wife like Leslie and Tessa can only be herself.
A rocky road, a man and woman who are searching for love and a little boy who holds his own secret. They could become a real family if they could all become vulnerable and honest with each other. A heartfire has been burning for years. Will it lead to everlasting love?
Previously published as HEARTFIRE, HOMEFIRE with Silhouette Books.
Contemporary romances, each with a different twist, in Karen Rose Smith's Search For Love series.
NATHAN'S VOW, Book 1 Search For Love series romance/paranormal
JAKE'S BRIDE, Book 2 Search For Love series romance/marriage of convenience, secret baby
ALWAYS DEVOTED, Book 3 Search For Love series romance/mystery
ALWAYS HER COWBOY, Book 4 Search For Love series, contemporary ranch romance
HEARTFIRE, Book 5 Search For Love series, contemporary reunion/family romance
