When tragedy strikes Marley's family, the last thing she is looking for is love-until Elijah, her nephew's teacher, shows her it's worth fighting for. ***** 26-year-old Marley Wright's world is flipped upside down when her beloved brother is admitted into rehab and she becomes the primary caregiver for his two teenagers. Little does she know that her nephew's handsome high school teacher, Elijah, is the man who's going to fill her life with unbelievable passion. But when their exes come back with malicious intentions, Marley and Elijah's lives change beyond their wildest imaginations. And when tragedy strikes, will their love withstand the pressure? Content and/or Trigger Warning: mention of substance abuse. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

'Pain isn't remotely kind in that way. Pain wants its promised pound of flesh, ounce for ounce. It won't settle until you're left with nothing but a flaky shell of who you were. The burn of betrayal and the sting of rejection hurt, but nothing compares to the pain of being empty. Nothing hurts worse than not hurting at all and it makes no sense and perfect sense at the same time and I'm convinced I'm going crazy and I'm actually okay with that.'

The passionate story of Tessa and Hardin continues as family secrets, deep betrayals, and career opportunities threaten to tear them apart.

Twelve is about as unlucky as you can get. First off, her mom named her Twelve instead of Jessica or something normal, secondly she's, quite literally, dangerously clumsy. She can trip over the air. She's soft spoken but she does have a nice look to her. Which makes her a target for the cheer captain who's either relentlessly bullying Twelve or trying to make her join the cheer team. So what will happen when, through another unlucky incident, Twelve is paired with the class goth, Angel, and weird things start happening around her?