Fixing Up the Farmhouse

An injured cowboy, a single-mom, and a connection they’re not sure they can trust.

Living at her best friend’s farmhouse, Bex struggles to navigate life after divorce and be the mom her three small children need. When a wounded cowboy also takes refuge at the farmhouse, he throws Bex’s life into a complete tailspin.

Dawson is charming, flirtatious, and completely unpredictable. Just what Bex doesn’t need right now. She needs stability, someone she can rely on, but she can’t help how drawn she is to Dawson’s likeable personality and rugged good looks.

Bex wants to give her kids a solid life—or as solid of a life as she can manage. Dawson is a roguish cowboy, not known for settling down. How can she even consider a life with him when she can’t trust whether or not he’ll take off again once he’s healed?

Is Dawson someone she can rely on? Or is she better off leaving the handsome cowboy—and the pieces of her heart he’s claimed—behind?

If you like the heartwarming, small-town feel of Jessie Gussman and the enthralling romance of Jody Hedlund, then you’ll devour this addictively moving series.

Buy FIXING UP THE FARMHOUSE and see if Dawson and Bex can find a life together or if they both leave this charming, quaint town today!

Chapter One

I didn’t eavesdrop on purpose, but when you’re sharing the same house with other people, someone is bound to overhear things they shouldn’t. And that someone would be me.

“He’s having a hard time in such a confined space,” Luke said.

He and Belle were in the room next to the one my kids and I were sharing at Belle’s farmhouse a few miles outside Bridgewater. In a house with seven bedrooms, Belle had enough room here that we could each live in the same house yet have our separate space, but change is hard for kids—heck, it was hard for me.

I was glad they didn’t ostracize us while we were living here.

“What are you getting at?” Belle’s voice was soft but insistent.

I should have closed the door or walked past Belle’s room across from mine, so they knew I was close by, but I suspected they were talking about Luke’s brother, Dawson.

Though I’d never met the man, I couldn’t help feeling concerned for him too.

With the horse kicking his head the way it had, it was a wonder the cowboy was still alive. It’d been several months since the rodeo accident, but he was still having a rough time of it.

“What do you think about Daws coming here for the rest of his recovery?” Luke said.

Even if I were in the room, the answer wouldn’t be up to me, but I still shook my head. Whether I felt sympathetic for the cowboy who’d been injured during his rodeo last fall or not, my kids and I already took up enough of Belle’s farmhouse.

She didn’t need another person here invading her privacy.

Just because that person was male didn’t matter in the slightest.

“I can’t see that it’d be all that relaxing for him,” Belle said circumspectly. “Bex’s kids are well-behaved, but they’re still kids.”

“We can ask if it’ll bother him. Dawson loves kids.”

I hesitated. This was probably the time to interrupt.

“Luke.” Silence followed Belle’s gentle mention of his name.

From the steps that filled it, I imagined Belle edging closer to her boyfriend-slash-farmhand.

“I know you think it’s best because this house is where you healed, and you want to share that with him, but the situation won’t be the same, especially since we’re fixing things up. Recovering in what is essentially a construction zone is going to be so noisy.”

“That’s it, though,” Luke said. “It’ll be best for his brain and good for him to have a purpose. He wants to get a job, but moving’s still hard. He needs room to do more without being on the clock. He wants to help and see how much he can handle.”

They talked like a married couple—in fact, their communication was better than Rock’s and mine ever was—but Luke and Belle had only been dating since Belle inherited this house six months ago.

Luke hadn’t even sneezed the word “marriage,” and I couldn’t figure out what was holding him back.

“I’ll think about it,” Belle finally said. “And I’m going to talk to Bex. She lives here now. What if she’s not comfortable having another man around here?”

Thank you, Belle.

“She’s got me around.”

“But you’re mine.”

“So?”

“Do I really need to spell it out for you? Dawson is a good-looking guy, Luke. A good-looking single guy. Bex doesn’t need that right now.”

Luke released a chortle. “He won’t be staying here long, I promise. He’ll only stay as long as he needs to finish his recovery.”

“What’s wrong with staying at your mom’s?”

“He doesn’t want to be at home with Mom and Kyler and Bryce. That house is full enough with the three of them. He would feel like he’s just taking up space. This way, he can feel like he’s contributing. Just until he can have a safe space to heal so he can pick up and leave again. Daws isn’t the kind to settle down.”

Not the settling down kind. Even better.

Honestly, they didn’t need to worry about anything happening between Luke’s brother and me. We were both temporary vagabonds.

The chances of seeing each other much at all were slimmer than a ruler turned sideways. I needed to make that much clear.

Here we go. I stepped into the room.

Luke sat on Belle’s bed, and the sound of shuffling and sliding cardboard told me Belle was in her closet. No wonder she’d been raising her voice—she’d been trying to sort through things while talking to him.

“Hey,” I said, making my presence known.

“What’s up?” Belle peeked her head out of the closet.

Her dark hair was twisted into a fat bun on top of her head. While she acted as calm as ever, Luke shifted uncomfortably. He was handsome with blond hair and a five o’clock shadow.

“I heard,” I said, not seeing any point in hiding it.