I really enjoyed this one! Slow-building, realistic relationship, steamy hot sex, interesting characters who have quite a bit of emotional baggage, and interesting plot points.  The first part of the book is from Samuel’s POV, the second from Rey’s, and the remainder from both. This really helped in developing the characters and understanding their motivation.  I didn’t want to put it down until I finished. They definitely got their HEA, but there were some open plot points that were resolved in the next story which was just as wonderful.

Fixing the home can heal the heart—if you can find all the pieces.

Police officer Samuel Briggs is getting to know the people on his new, third-shift beat, but he’d prefer they not know too much about him—or the painful past that drove him away from New Mexico to start fresh in small-town Stratton, PA.

All he wants is peace, a manageable routine, and time to fix up his project home. There’s no room in his broken heart for a new relationship. It’s crowded with too many memories. But there’s something about the Dixie’s Cup short-order cook, who’s flirty one minute, distracted the next, that piques Sam’s interest.

Part-time cook, part-time hardware salesman and full-time handyman Rey King lives to work—but not because he loves it. Relationships? No time. Until one glance at Sam’s haunted eyes sends a plumb line straight to his wary heart.

One afternoon of impulsive, no-strings sex begins to grow into a cautious friendship. But when Rey is seriously injured protecting a friend, the cracks in their already shaky foundation begin to show. Falling in love wasn’t in either man’s recovery plan…and this time, the risk could be too great.