Roots & Wildflowers

At seventeen, Kasie thought adulthood would arrive all at once-like a movie scene where suddenly everything made sense. Instead, she's juggling cosmetology school, closing shifts at Walmart, and a heart that keeps getting attached to the wrong people.

Then there's Sam.

Older, steady, impossibly easy to talk to.

What starts as late-night conversations in grocery aisles and teasing during closing shifts slowly turns into something neither of them expected. Between Walmart parking lot talks, summer nights in a rattling Chevy Cruze, cheap fast food, and quiet moments that feel bigger than they should, Kasie finds herself falling for the one person who makes life feel safe instead of temporary.

But growing up isn't as simple as falling in love.

It's learning how to build a life while still figuring yourself out. It's first apartments with creaky floors, bills spread across kitchen counters, fights that end in understanding instead of goodbye, and discovering that marriage looks a lot less glamorous-and a lot more beautiful-than she imagined.