Balsam Inn

The first time I met her, Jacinthe Gauthier-Laframboise was running screaming after an escaped donkey while covered in manure.

It wasn't exactly a meet-cute, but luckily, I'm not looking for a relationship. Dating has been on the backburner ever since life threw a wrench and left me to raise my daughter on my own.

I'm finally finding my feet again, and they've led me to the charming small town of La Cloche. It's the perfect place to grow my business as a farrier and create some stability for me and my kid.

Unfortunately, Jacinthe makes me feel anything but stable. She's a chaotic whirlwind of a woman who doesn't know the meaning of the word quiet, but somehow, I can't get her out of my head. Or my house.

She's my new landlady's daughter, and living on the same farm together means there's no escape: not from her devious dark eyes, her surprising moments of softness, or the way she's cracking open my heart just as fast as she's falling into my fantasies.

Letting her in means risking my new life, but letting her go means giving up what might just be the very best thing in this town.

I've gotten used to making tough choices, but this could be the most impossible one of all.