Published 2017

Blurb: No one would say Keelie Lockhart isn’t determined.  Taking on the role of both mom and dad to her two young kids, she’s managing life the best she can.  Saddled with a century-old dilapidated farmhouse she can’t afford, a bevy of goats, two dogs, and a geriatric donkey, the last thing she has time for is a man—even if that man is a knight whose shining armor comes in the form of worn-in jeans and work boots.  

Controlled, methodical, and focused—Asa Hollingsworth takes charge of everything in life.  Working close to home after years away, he finally has the time to focus on his kids. Little does he know, a chance meeting with a petite, strawberry-blonde stranded on the side of the road, would intertwine their lives in a way he’d never want to untangle.  

But when school bullies turn into something much worse, Asa starts to dig around.  He never dreams the troubles lurking in the hallways of the local high school would shake his family to its core.  With drug dealers lurking, bullets flying, and threats coming from every angle, Asa must do everything he can to protect the ones he loves.  

Because in the end, there’s nothing more precious than the gift of life.  

Warning:  Oh, I’m sorry, that’s a fake ID.  If you’re not eighteen, consider yourself bounced and walk away from my books.  I’ll gladly welcome you back when you become a legit adult. That is, unless you’re my parents or my children.  If so, walk away and don’t come back. You don’t need to know what’s in my head. 

May be spoilers:

Gifts is the 3rd in The Killers series. It has 31 chapters with an epilogue and is about Asa and Keelie. I do recommend reading the series in order as we have seen Asa from the very first story.

They meet on the side of the road after her disaster of a first date, then again when she’s his daughter’s school counselor.

Definitely instaconnection. They come together to try to help Asa’s daughter as she’s having problems.

For a minute he thinks all he has time for is what is going on with his kids, so he sends her a text to let her go. It hurts her, but she understood. It only lasted for a few hours.

She’s been celibate for over 2 years. She does have a dead spouse, but she definitely wasn’t pining over him and Asa was not second best. She does push away off and on as she’s very honest that she has issues. He doesn’t let him push away, he’ll let her give him the silent treatment, but no real space.

Steam hits later in the story, and it’s pretty hot. She’s been celibate for over a couple of years and it doesn’t really bring up his past. We do meet his ex, but it was easy as they are good parents to their kids, but they’ve been divorced for 13 years, so it didn’t bother me.

Great read, I thought. I loved. It. Lot of semi pushing away, but it was still good.

No cheating, no ow/om drama, no real separations.

Epilogue is 4 years out. They are happily married with all their kids together. I loved them. I do really wish they had of had a child together, but that’s my own preference.

Very good read that flowed well, which made for a great read. No skimming, and I know 31 chapters sounds like a lot, but it sure didn’t feel that way. I gave it 🌟🌟🌟🌟.

Goodreads Shelves: celibate-hero, celibate-heroine, dead-spouse-ex, epilogue-married, faithful-since-meeting, fast-read, hea, instalove-lust, love-how-he-loves-her, no-cheating-between-mcs, no-ow-drama, no-ow-om-drama, no-separations, no-sex-scenes-with-ow-om, no-virgins, push-pull, read, safe-for-me, steam