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

Then the more pressing question. “What about me?”


Fischer sighed. “Look, you beat up an O’Dwyer who was whaling on a family member who is trying to do something right for those kids. Nobody in this town will look at you and think you did anything wrong. Well, nobody that matters anyway. I heard you have a fancy lawyer coming in. It’s not necessary, but I understand. Direct him to me and we’ll make sure nothing comes of this.” He gave Del his card and sighed. “Can you sign that and I’ll have one of the deputies drive you home.”


Del signed the statement and got up, swaying on his feet. “Whoa…”


Fischer steadied him by the arm. “Off the record? You get Justin and those kids out of this shithole town as soon as you can. There’s nothing good for any of them here, and none of them will ever be free of being an O’Dwyer here.”


Del nodded. “That’s the plan.” He still needed for Justin to get better and to find a house, and then talk to Justin and the kids about moving and…“Eventually.”


Chapter 66