[Woodburn 01] • Second Chances

Ellen Hastings has it all - wealth, privilege, love. Her life is a happy one, if sometimes shallow. But when she comes home early to surprise her husband, Mark, with lunch for two, Ellen is the one who is surprised. Mark is not alone, and Ellen's world crashes down around her feet.

John Bramlett is a small town mechanic, happy enough with the life he's made for himself. He's been lonely since his wife, Leslie, died of cancer five years ago, but he's still not ready to give up on her memory.

After fleeing Atlanta, and her philandering husband, Ellen's car breaks down during a thunderstorm on a sleepy mountainside in western North Carolina. John finds the stranded Ellen and takes pity on her, offering her a lift and a tow, free of charge. With the town's inns all full due to the annual Woodburn Blueberry Festival, John also offers Ellen his guestroom.

Will the handsome John Bramlett be able to help mend Ellen's, broken heart? Will John allow himself to love again? And what of the secret that Ellen carries? Will it draw them closer together, or rip them apart?

* * *

Work is approximately 60k words and contains adult situations and language as well as explicit sexual content.