A REASON TO LOVE

Everyone thinks soldier Spencer Lang died in action, so when he comes home the day his best friend is marrying the girl of his dreams, things get complicated.

After high school, Spencer joined the Army to escape his brutal uncle and find his way in the world, but he always expected to come back to Snowberry Creek and marry his old friend Callie. All his plans are shot to pieces, though, when he and his unit are attacked in Afghanistan and he’s mistaken for dead. Rescued after his friends were evacuated, none of them got the news that he’s alive, and they’ve been grieving his loss while he’s been recovering. Turns out his Army buddies came to Snowberry Creek to break the news to his loved ones and fell in love with the town—and some of its residents—which makes it even harder for Spencer to settle back in. Support and encouragement comes from Melanie Wolfe, daughter of the family who owns the local factory. Trouble is, the recently deceased Mr. Wolfe practically ran the place into the ground, and Melanie is trying to turn it around. Melanie left town after high school, too, with no plans to ever return, but she always remembered the roguish bad boy who’d never looked twice at her back then, when she was the prim and proper Wolfe daughter. Now she’s back, determined to save the factory and help the boy she used to like, who’s now a man with shadows in his eyes. In the third Snowberry Creek novel, two unlikely hearts wind up on a shared path to healing, and we are charmed by their growing realization that they are just what the other one needs to be happy. Smooth storytelling and engaging secondary characters enhance a satisfying romance.

Morgan maintains her winning combination of small-town tenderness and sexy, wounded heroes.