The Beekeeper Next Door

Heath Underwood grew up in Lagrasse, Georgia, and left it years ago. Now he is back for one reason: to empty his late parents' house and sell it. He has no plan to stay.

Next door, Ali Harding keeps hives and raises her eight-year-old son, Charlie. She is a widow, and she has kept her life small and her heart protected. Heath has also been afraid of bees all his life, which makes the neighbor he did not expect a problem.

Then Charlie and Heath's dog become friends almost at once. The boy and the animal keep pulling Heath across the fence line, and each visit ties him a little more to the town he meant to leave. Old hurts come back to the surface for both him and Ali.

This is a small-town contemporary romance with a faith element. The pull between the two leads builds slowly, set against a family home, a dog and a child. The question running through it is whether their faith can carry them past their fears and toward each other.