Justin O'Dwyer is 19. Four days ago, his mother died of a drug overdose, and now Justin is back in Enterprise, Oregon, trying to figure out how to raise the younger siblings he's afraid of losing to the foster system. Justin is completely out of his depth. Harper is six, and hates him. Wyatt is four and doesn't remember him. And baby Scarlett, at fourteen months, has never even met her big brother before. When Scarlett gets sick and won't stop screaming, and when Harper runs off in the middle of the night, Justin is at the end of his tether. In desperation, he knocks on a neighbor's door begging for help.<br><br>Del Abbot is 38, and living in his grandparents' old place in Enterprise after his marriage broke down and he lost his restaurant in the divorce. He's a chef, even had his own show on cable for a while, but now he's looking for a new start, if he could just figure out what exactly that entails. When the O'Dwyer family barrels into his life one night, Del can't refuse to help. What begins as a trip to the hospital becomes a regular child-minding gig while Justin struggles to find his feet. And the more time Del spends with Justin, the more they both want more than friendship. But small town life comes with its own bigotry, and, in Justin's case, that bigotry has always been close to home.<br><br>When an act of violence threatens to destroy the small family they've built, both Justin and Del need to put aside their pasts and reach for their future together.

Family Recipe

“Get this, the mom, whatever her name is, apparently died four days ago. The oldest kid, Justin, it looks like he’s back and trying to take care of the little ones.”


She leaned down to peer into the camera. “Wait, doesn’t…hold on a minute.” Bernie gestured with her hand and vanished from the view.


Soon enough, Del could hear her talking to someone. He concentrated on trying to figure out who she was with, but then he heard steps coming closer. Suddenly the toaster popped and he jolted.


“Holy shit!” Del hissed, holding his hand over his heart.


“Language, Delbert,” his mother said, picking up the tablet and peering into it. “What’s this about the O’Dwyers?”


Great, thanks Bernie, for telling Mom was at your place.Del groaned internally.


“The woman died and the oldest came back to take care of the little ones, I guess?” he recapped, and Mom frowned thoughtfully.


Chapter 14