Barrel House

In a split second, life can steal a last breath . . . and derail all future plans. While flying home after a phone call that left me heartbroken, a row to myself would have been ideal. Instead, I was unknowingly sitting shoulder to shoulder with a strikingly attractive single dad and ex-Marine. I could have pretended not to notice the man, but there was something familiar about him. It didn't take long before I pieced together where I knew him from or why he was back in my life. With chaos holding me hostage, I wanted to hide but couldn't avoid Brett Pearson, our old family friend, and my teenage crush, because he kindly offered to help out with my family's business-The Barrel House. Handling my father's distillery would be a distraction from my brutal reality. Except, I never paid close attention to the art of making bourbon, unlike Brett, who was full of bourbon knowledge. He offered to teach me a thing or two, but all I could focus on was the way his lips moved when he spoke to me. I needed to grieve, and my head was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but my heart was splitting at the seams. Bourbon was spilled, drinks were shared, but could passion ignite from a dying last wish?

Life isn't a game. Life isn't an empty bottle of bourbon spinning on a warehouse floor as I hold my breath. I feel weak when others perceive me as strong. I'm passionate though I appear to hate the world around me. I see beauty in all ugly things. I feel pain when I laugh. No one knows the truth. Well, no one knew the truth until now. Somehow, Brody Pearson understands more about me than anyone else in my life. The severed connection should mean something significant, but I don't know if I can forget all my self-proclaimed promises.

One kiss... and her lips forever lingered on mine as if tattooed there. Melody Quinn, all through high school I loved her from afar. Of course, in a cruel twist of fate, she waited until right before I left for boot camp to confess she felt the same. In that tender moment, we shared a kiss that branded her name onto my heart. Despite intense training, deployments, and life-altering tragedies, never once did she leave my thoughts. Now, years later, fate has led me home. I can't help but wonder... is a second chance possible? Reconnecting won't be easy. My life has changed in ways she may never accept. But the spark that has always been between us explodes into an electrifying jolt every time she looks my way. The timing is horrible, but I have to risk it. She needs to know no matter how stormy these Bourbon Nights get, I'll never walk away from her again. Contains mature themes.

In the final book of the Barrel House series, Brody Pearson's walls break down. The truth behind his humor, the reason for who he is, and the justification for why Brody is the silent hero to so many will melt hearts while he races to the ends of the earth to mend the one broken heart needing his love the most. Contains mature themes.