FireHouse Hearts

When a divorced librarian joins the volunteer fire department at 45 to save her job, the last person she expects to fall for is the grumpy widowed fire chief who’s convinced his heart closed for business the day he buried his wife.

Rebecca Walsh’s life has imploded. Six months divorced, facing budget cuts that could close her beloved library, she makes a desperate move: join Maplewood’s volunteer fire department to prove her community value. How hard could firefighting be? Harder than she thought—especially when her training officer is Jack Morrison, the stern, impossibly attractive fire chief who thinks she’s wasting everyone’s time.

Jack Morrison has his life under control. Four years after losing his wife to cancer, he’s built a careful routine: work, teenagers, fire department. No complications. No dating. Definitely no falling for the enthusiastic librarian who shows up with a color-coded binder and zero upper body strength. But forced proximity has a way of breaking down walls. Between late-night emergency calls, his daughter’s weekly library visits, and Rebecca’s stubborn determination to prove herself, Jack starts remembering what it feels like to live instead of just survive.

When Rebecca’s ex-husband returns wanting a second chance, both Jack and Rebecca must decide: Is it safer to retreat to loneliness, or brave enough to risk everything for an unexpected love that could heal them both? In a small Tennessee town where everyone knows your business, two people starting over discover that the best love stories aren’t about perfection—they’re about finding someone brave enough to try again.

TROPES:
• Later-in-Life Romance (40s)
• Second Chance at Love
• Opposites Attract
• Grumpy/Sunshine
• Forced Proximity
• Workplace Romance
• Small Town Romance
• Slow Burn
• Single Parent Hero
• Widowed Hero Learning to Love Again
• Found Family

HEAT LEVEL: Sweet / Closed Door