Turning Point with the Tradesman
(2026)(The second book in the Hope Hollow Spring Beginnings series)
A novel by Stephanie Faris
A judgment. A single father. A little girl who changes everything.
Emma Kirby built her life around structure, responsibility, and a carefully imagined future.
As a beloved elementary school teacher in Hope Hollow, she believed she understood her students — especially Josie Mitchell, the brilliant little girl whose father never seemed to show up.
An absent parent.
A disengaged dad.
A man she had quietly judged for years.
Until a school parking lot disaster forces her to accept help from a stranger — and that stranger turns out to be Josie’s father.
Wes Mitchell isn’t absent.
He’s overwhelmed.
A devoted single dad.
A protective provider.
A man who has raised his daughter alone since she was two days old.
He didn’t miss school events because he didn’t care.
He missed them because he was being everything Josie needed.
For eight years, fatherhood was enough.
He never planned on wanting more.
Until Emma.
When Emma agrees to coach Hope Hollow Elementary’s first STEM competition team, Josie becomes her star student. Afternoons turn into shared projects. Evenings turn into shared dinners. Robotics prototypes become inside jokes.
And somewhere between spelling tests and science fairs, they begin building something far more dangerous than a competition entry.
A family.
But Emma has always imagined firsts.
First home.
First baby.
First everything — together from the beginning.
Wes comes with history.
With responsibility.
With a life already in progress.
Choosing him means choosing single father love.
Choosing ready-made family.
Choosing a little girl who already owns his heart.
Some love stories start with a meet-cute.
Theirs begins with a parking lot rescue, a misunderstood father, and the terrifying realization that the best families aren’t born.
They’re chosen.
Tropes:
Emma Kirby built her life around structure, responsibility, and a carefully imagined future.
As a beloved elementary school teacher in Hope Hollow, she believed she understood her students — especially Josie Mitchell, the brilliant little girl whose father never seemed to show up.
An absent parent.
A disengaged dad.
A man she had quietly judged for years.
Until a school parking lot disaster forces her to accept help from a stranger — and that stranger turns out to be Josie’s father.
Wes Mitchell isn’t absent.
He’s overwhelmed.
A devoted single dad.
A protective provider.
A man who has raised his daughter alone since she was two days old.
He didn’t miss school events because he didn’t care.
He missed them because he was being everything Josie needed.
For eight years, fatherhood was enough.
He never planned on wanting more.
Until Emma.
When Emma agrees to coach Hope Hollow Elementary’s first STEM competition team, Josie becomes her star student. Afternoons turn into shared projects. Evenings turn into shared dinners. Robotics prototypes become inside jokes.
And somewhere between spelling tests and science fairs, they begin building something far more dangerous than a competition entry.
A family.
But Emma has always imagined firsts.
First home.
First baby.
First everything — together from the beginning.
Wes comes with history.
With responsibility.
With a life already in progress.
Choosing him means choosing single father love.
Choosing ready-made family.
Choosing a little girl who already owns his heart.
Some love stories start with a meet-cute.
Theirs begins with a parking lot rescue, a misunderstood father, and the terrifying realization that the best families aren’t born.
They’re chosen.
Tropes:
- Single Dad Romance
Teacher Heroine
Small Town Setting
Devoted Single Father
Found Family
STEM Competition Team
Slow Burn Chemistry
Shared Dinners & Domestic Moments
Misjudged Hero
Child’s Teacher Romance
Turning Point with the Tradesman is the second book in the Hope Hollow Spring Beginnings series, a clean and wholesome small-town romance featuring a devoted single dad, a compassionate teacher heroine, found-family warmth, and the courage to embrace a love already in progress.
Genre: Romance