Hometown Sweethearts
(2026)(The first book in the Serenity Crossing: The Hartwells series)
A novel by Tara Baisden
She came home to start over. She didn't expect him to still make her heart race.
Grace Bennett has a plan. Restore her grandmother's charming Tennessee inn. Prove to everyone—including herself—that her disastrous divorce didn't break her. And under no circumstances fall for the broad-shouldered hardware store owner who happens to be her high school sweetheart. The one she walked away from fourteen years ago. The one who still has those warm brown eyes and that slow smile that makes her forget why independence matters so much.
Jim Hartwell knows better than to fall for a woman who already left once. His ex-wife taught him that lesson well enough—he's not enough to make anyone stay. So he buries himself in work, helps everyone in Serenity Crossing with their projects, and keeps his heart firmly locked away. Solid plan. Excellent plan. Right up until Grace walks into his store with her renovation lists and her stubborn chin and that spark in her eyes he's never quite forgotten. Now his traitorous dog keeps escaping to her porch, the whole town is watching, and Jim is finding any excuse to show up at her inn—telling himself it's just business while his heart calls him a liar.
The Mountain Laurel Inn needs renovated and updated, and Grace needs supplies only Jim can provide. A persistent developer is circling with increasingly tempting offers. Every trip to the hardware store, every shared dinner, every moment his loyal hound brings them together chips away at the walls they've built. But Grace swore she'd never depend on anyone again, and Jim's helpfulness feels a lot like doubt in her abilities. When his protective instincts collide with her hard-won independence, the fallout threatens to destroy everything growing between them.
Two wounded hearts. One small town full of memories. And a second chance neither of them saw coming—if they're brave enough to take it.
Tropes:
Grace Bennett has a plan. Restore her grandmother's charming Tennessee inn. Prove to everyone—including herself—that her disastrous divorce didn't break her. And under no circumstances fall for the broad-shouldered hardware store owner who happens to be her high school sweetheart. The one she walked away from fourteen years ago. The one who still has those warm brown eyes and that slow smile that makes her forget why independence matters so much.
Jim Hartwell knows better than to fall for a woman who already left once. His ex-wife taught him that lesson well enough—he's not enough to make anyone stay. So he buries himself in work, helps everyone in Serenity Crossing with their projects, and keeps his heart firmly locked away. Solid plan. Excellent plan. Right up until Grace walks into his store with her renovation lists and her stubborn chin and that spark in her eyes he's never quite forgotten. Now his traitorous dog keeps escaping to her porch, the whole town is watching, and Jim is finding any excuse to show up at her inn—telling himself it's just business while his heart calls him a liar.
The Mountain Laurel Inn needs renovated and updated, and Grace needs supplies only Jim can provide. A persistent developer is circling with increasingly tempting offers. Every trip to the hardware store, every shared dinner, every moment his loyal hound brings them together chips away at the walls they've built. But Grace swore she'd never depend on anyone again, and Jim's helpfulness feels a lot like doubt in her abilities. When his protective instincts collide with her hard-won independence, the fallout threatens to destroy everything growing between them.
Two wounded hearts. One small town full of memories. And a second chance neither of them saw coming—if they're brave enough to take it.
Tropes:
- Second Chance Romance
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
Small-Town Romance
Matchmaking Pet
Healing After Divorce
Reader Promise: This sweet Christian contemporary romance delivers the emotional depth and small-town warmth you love, with faith woven naturally into every page and a heartfelt happily-ever-after you can count on.
Genre: Romance