Where the Embers Rest

Ten years ago, Iris Thatcher fled her rain-soaked Oregon hometown with a broken promise and a secret she never intended to keep. Now a family emergency drags her back down the same highway she abandoned, and the life she built in Portland feels a thousand miles behind her. Holden Reyes has done his best to forget her. He has a daughter now, Lily, bright and curious, the child Iris never knew existed, and a quiet life constructed on the ruins of what they almost had. He's not offering absolution, and he's not asking for forgiveness. But when Iris steps back into his world, the old pull between them refuses to stay buried. As Iris reconnects with her oldest friend Maeve Sutherland, endures the watchful silence of Sheriff Colt Bishop, and finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Wren Marchetti, who seems to know more about the town's hidden history than anyone should, she begins to realize her departure didn't just wound one man. It scarred an entire community. When a long-buried truth surfaces and threatens to unravel everything Iris thought she understood about her family and her past, she must decide whether to run again or stand and fight for the home she abandoned. The embers of her old life are still glowing. Whether she fans them into flame, or lets them finally die, will determine who she becomes.