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

“Of course. Until it all grows too big, why not,” she replied cheerily.


“You’re saying that like it’s a done deal.”


“Oh Uncle Del, there are people waiting for you to resurface, both from your restaurant and your cable days. It’s not like you’ve been completely forgotten.”


He would’ve loved to believe her, but sometimes it wasn’t that easy.


“I’ll talk with a friend who does YouTube on the side. See what he says about editing and stuff. Cameras too. I’ll email you when I have something concrete.”


“Sound good,” Del said, just as Harper came into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. “Hey, Harper, have a good nap?”


She nodded and yawned, then froze as she saw the phone.


“Do you want to say hi to my niece, Abigail?” Del smiled at Harper gently.


“Uh, okay.” Harper edged to Del’s side of the table and peered over his shoulder curiously but so very cautiously.


“Hi, Harper!” Abigail waved at her.


Chapter 49