Small Town

I came back to Mason Creek when my life was turned upside down, both literally and figuratively. Scared and alone, I packed my belongings and left New York where I’ve made a career as a writer for a national publication to stay with my parents in the town so different than the big apple they might as well be on different planets.

Getting to see my friends was a big plus, but meeting someone new never crossed my mind until a ruggedly handsome man in jeans and a worn baseball cap came over to say hello. Not knowing someone in this small town is like not knowing how to breathe. The slightly older man caught my eye, just as much as I caught his. A witty and roguish personality kept me on my toes, even if falling for someone new is the last thing I need.

Neither of us wants a relationship, yet we keep finding each other in this small town. Rumors fly, hearts connect, and there’s more at stake than either of us are willing to share.

This man has secrets everyone wants to know, but when more than he’s willing to share is revealed I hope I’m strong enough to help him. I may have come back to town to save myself, but saving him might be the real reason I’m here.

They were raised to hate each other. So why can’t they stop falling?

In the small town of Leighton River, there’s no escaping your last name, or the grudges it carries.

Natalie Spencer knows exactly who Dalton Wick is: arrogant, infuriating, and the son of her family’s oldest rival. From childhood pranks to high school hallway glares, they’ve perfected the art of mutual loathing.

But when a senior-year project forces them to work side by side, cracks start to show in the wall they’ve built between them. Beneath Dalton’s smirk is someone unexpectedly kind. And behind Natalie’s sharp words lies a heart she’s fought to keep guarded.

The more time they spend together, the more the old rules don’t make sense. Their families would never approve. Their friends wouldn’t understand. And the risk of heartbreak is almost guaranteed.

Yet in stolen glances and late-night conversations, Natalie begins to wonder: Was it ever truly hate… or has it been something else all along?

If you love enemies-to-lovers chemistry, small-town drama, and slow-burn romance with heart-melting payoffs, How We Hated will have you swooning, laughing, and turning pages late into the night.

"A unique and powerful read... Pure literary genius." - Shh Mom's Reading Blog

After a devastating accident crushed my dreams, I ended up back in my hometown teaching kindergarten. I was trying to make the best of it. That is, until the world I had to leave behind, showed up in my classroom in the form of a five-year-old little girl. Her father living the exact life I almost had.

Adam Jacobson is known as the bad boy of rock. While he and his band tour the world, they leave a trail of mayhem. What no one knows is behind the music is a caring, straightedge man with a secret — a daughter who the world is about to discover.

When they move to my small town, their secret is blown. He needs my help to keep her out of the media, and with each exchange we grow closer. Only problem is I need to stay away from the memories he ignites, and the temptations he brings my way.

Secrets I’ve kept and thoughts of that fatal night come crashing back into my life. I have to wonder if it was more than fate that brought his little girl into my classroom.

Growing up in small-town Mason Creek, it's hard for a girl to dream big. Since my mom was barely making ends meet, I knew moving away for college wasn’t in the cards. What I didn’t know was how singing a Miranda Lambert song while unpacking a box would change my life forever ... and take me away from the only boy I’d ever loved.

Matthew Simms was the guy I was destined to be with. Understanding, caring, and the town’s star athlete, he was my everything … including my first heartbreak. We both left Mason Creek to chase our dreams, leaving our love behind.

I never planned on coming back, but when a cruel turn of events strikes five years later, I’m shocked to come face-to-face with Matthew. Gone is the boy I left, and in his place is a man—handsome, strong, and rugged. There’s no denying our attraction lingers in the air, yet the reasons that kept us apart all this time are still as strong as ever.

He is the man of my dreams, but I chose the life I desired over him.

In the back of my mind, I always thought we'd be together someday.

Well, someday is today.

Only now, just as everything I’ve ever wished for is coming true, I wonder if I chose to chase the wrong dream.

We’re just friends, is the biggest lie we’ve ever told ourselves.

Maya

Everyone assumes I’ll end up with Ben Turner.

That’s the trouble with living in a small town. There’s no such thing as privacy.

No one understands that we’ve been in the friend zone our entire life.

But what I’m having trouble understanding these days is why Ben hates my new boyfriend. It’s almost like he’s trying to ruin my relationship.

So, what’s a girl supposed to do when her best friend is standing between her and her happily ever after?

Ben

I promised to always protect Maya.

And if that means keeping the jerks in town away from her, so be it. She deserves better anyway.

But she thinks this new guy is the one. She’s wrong. He’s not good enough for her.

Hell, I’m not good enough for her.

So, when he lets her down—and I know he will—I’ll be there. I’ll do whatever she needs.

Because I’m not about to let anyone ruin my relationship with the most important person in my life.

How We Loved, book 2 in the Leighton River series, is a friends-to-lovers, new adult/sports romance with plenty of emotional and angsty moments and some spicy times. Preorder it today and get ready to fall in love with Maya and Ben.

* 2023 International Book Awards Romance Finalist! *

Twenty years have passed, yet not one thing in my hometown has changed … even the man I left behind.

I was the girl no one could touch because they all feared my father. He was a legend, the head football coach who had created this town’s Friday night lights. Only two football players dared to win my heart—the boy next door and the new guy in town. I grew up on this football field and fell hard for these two men, who loved me just as much as the game.

When my dad died, decisions had to be made, and I chose the one who held my heart.

As I sit here in the stands, watching the one I didn’t choose fill my father’s role, I can’t help but remember our fumbled past. Wondering if I followed the right guy or what my life would have been like if I hadn’t.

Nothing blurs the line between right and wrong more than love …

Liza
After moving to the small town of Mason Creek, I meet the perfect man.
He’s everything I’ve ever wanted—sweet, sexy, protective.
I fall for him fast and hard.
Then, I find out he’s a senior in high school.
And he’s one of my students.
I should walk away. Being with him could burn my life to the ground.
Trouble is, I’m starting to think it might be worth it …

Eli
I don’t have time for romance. Between school and sports, I’m too busy.
Until I meet her.
I know I’m younger than her. I know student-teacher relationships are forbidden.
But none of that matters when I’m with Liza.
Soon, I’ll be a professional baseball player, and the tiny age gap between us won’t mean anything.
We’ll have our happily ever after.
Assuming I can keep the disapproving world from breaking us apart first …

How We Fooled, book 3 in the Leighton River series, is a forbidden, secret, new adult, sports romance with plenty of emotional, angsty moments and some spicy times.