Maple Valley Series by R.C. Stephens

“Wild as a storm. Strong as whiskey. He’s everything I should resist—and the only thing I’ll ever crave. ”. Phoenix Thorne was the last man I wanted to see when I came back to Val-Du-Lys with my son. But fate has a cruel sense of humor. Now I’m working in his brewery… and sleeping in the loft above his garage. He hasn’t changed. Sharp edges. Hard muscles. Walls no one could scale. And he still looks at me like I’m the wildflower that cut him all those years ago. We were enemies once... more“Wild as a storm. Strong as whiskey. He’s everything I should resist—and the only thing I’ll ever crave. ”. Phoenix Thorne was the last man I wanted to see when I came back to Val-Du-Lys with my son. But fate has a cruel sense of humor. Now I’m working in his brewery… and sleeping in the loft above his garage. He hasn’t changed. Sharp edges. Hard muscles. Walls no one could scale. And he still looks at me like I’m the wildflower that cut him all those years ago. We were enemies once. Now we’re neighbors. Every stolen glance, every brush of his hand pulls us closer to a line we swore we’d never cross. Then he kisses me. Hard. Hungry. Reckless. The kind of kiss that burns hotter than whiskey and leaves me aching for more. He vowed he’d never forgive me. I swore I’d never need him. But the past has a way of catching up. Secrets that don’t stay buried. Threats that circle too close to the people I love. And suddenly the man I betrayed is the only one standing between me and a storm I never saw coming. Because once Phoenix claims me… he’ll fight like hell to keep me. This is a full-length novel with an HEA. No cheating. less

Blurb. Some people are made of light. Others are made of shadows. I have always been both sunshine and sin, and I was never meant to outrun the darkness I was born into. I didn't return to Val-Du-Lys because it was safe. I came back because it was the only place my heart still recognized, a quiet town holding memories I never learned how to leave behind. Small towns don't forget. Not the past. Not secrets. And not the boy I loved before I understood how dangerous love could be. Eric Thorne... moreBlurb. Some people are made of light. Others are made of shadows. I have always been both sunshine and sin, and I was never meant to outrun the darkness I was born into. I didn't return to Val-Du-Lys because it was safe. I came back because it was the only place my heart still recognized, a quiet town holding memories I never learned how to leave behind. Small towns don't forget. Not the past. Not secrets. And not the boy I loved before I understood how dangerous love could be. Eric Thorne. We were never supposed to exist in the same world. The police director’s son and the daughter of a man everyone feared. What began in secret turned into scandal, and I learned quickly that loving him meant putting him in danger. So I left the moment high school ended, believing distance was the only way to protect him from the life my father was pulling me into. Years later, I'm back. As encrypted messages begin appearing again, ones only someone from my past should know, and I realize someone is watching my every move, Eric is the one who steps closer, steady and unshaken, even when I try to push him away. The history between us still aches. The love never faded. In a town where shadows return without warning, he reaches for me anyway. This time, choosing him might expose everything I ran from, but loving him has never felt more worth the risk. less