Briars Patch

As a teenager, Roman "Bud" Marasek was shy and withdrawn, a farmers kid who grew up to be a farmer himself. The first girl he loved was Briar Sankey, a popular girl with big, beautiful eyes and a wild clothing and makeup style. It took him years to work up the courage to ask her out, and their date was the best night of his life. But, when she never answered his calls after that and started dating the star athlete, hed realized hed only been wishing for the moon. Years passed, Bud fell in love with Evette, had a daughter, and his wife died unexpectedly. Raising Harper hasnt been easy alone, but at forty-seven he feels completely unprepared for being both father and mother to a moody teenage daughter with too many boyfriends and life-and-death meltdowns. He turns to Briar for help. Briar is running her mothers restaurant, has finally toned down her style, and, unbelievably, has never married and seems content to be alone. Looks are deceiving...

Briar had spent her life confident she had all the time in the world to make a life for herself and any choice she wanted. At forty-seven, she no longer has the same choices. With both of her parents gone, shes the only one left to run the restaurant, her mothers legacy to the small town of Amethyst and what she considers her "patch" in the big, wide world. Additionally, the few eligible men in the area dont interest her.

Letting slip an unintended faux pas, a friend of both Briar and Bud reveals to Briar that Bud has had a thirty year crush on her. Suddenly his reason for coming by the cafe nearly every day of his life takes on startling meaning. In truth, shed barely noticed him most of the time. When he asks her for help with Harper, she cant refuse. And suddenly shes seeing Bud in a whole new light...and falling in love with the sweet, shy man whos been there all along.