Raised in the south, Pierce Rooney is a quiet, goodhearted guy. He’s easy on the eyes, book smart, and—hard for most women he meets to believe—still single. Pierce loves his job at Lockland Distilling, because he loves the Lockland family. And bourbon. But his true passion is his side-gig as a volunteer firefighter.

 

Wynona Herzog just moved to the south, to the Kissing Springs, Kentucky area, with her teenage son to start over after an ugly, sometimes violent, marriage and divorce. Still licking her wounds a bit, Wy’s reserved, careful about who she befriends, who she trusts. She’s over the fifteen years she wasted on her husband, but now she’s a wreck over her unruly, troublemaking son.

 

When Pierce and Wy meet at the scene of a small fire, sparks fly. But not the good kind. Pierce suspects Declan Herzog of starting the fire and worries what else the kid might be capable of. Wynona insists that Dec’s behavior isn’t that out of hand and proves her son didn’t do it. Burying the hatchet over a drink one night, Pierce and Wy eventually develop a friendship—one that feels like it could be more.

 

But when a fire threatens Pierce’s livelihood and people he loves, he goes on the warpath, certain this time Declan Herzog is responsible. Will Wynona be able to prove her son’s innocence? And if she can’t, will Pierce go on the attack and insist Declan be arrested, or will he show the single mom and her son a little mercy?