Smalltowns Stories

WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION In 1955, mixed-race Ethan Harper leaves his progressive hometown for a summer in Alabama where he's not welcome, except by resident free spirit, Juniper Jones. ***** After getting himself into a bout of trouble, 16-year-old Ethan Harper's parents send him to Ellison, Alabama, to live with his aunt and uncle for the summer. But the year is 1955, and Alabama is a far cry from his beloved home of Arcadia, Washington. As much as it's hotter in temperature, it's colder in every other way, and Ethan learns the hard way that people see his mere existence as a threat. Amidst all the mayhem, a fiery, free-spirited, oddball walks into Ethan's life. Her name is Juniper Jones. She is the first person in Ellison who seems unfazed by their racial differences, and she promises to give Ethan a summer he will always remember, filled with endless adventure and discovery. With Juniper, Ethan can breathe, he can be, despite the incessant attention and bullying their newly formed friendship attracts. Can the two survive the summer, run in the light and block out the noise of the outside world? [Published version comes out June 16, 2020 with Wattpad Books!] [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

~ But as he stepped toward the stairs, another flash of lightning lit up the room, followed immediately by a crack of thunder so loud it seemed to shake the foundation. Jake stumbled in the dark, and his foot caught on the edge of the kitchen table. I heard him curse softly as he lost his balance, and before my right brain could stop me, I lunged forward to catch him. My hands found his shoulders just as he reached out to steady himself, and his palms found my waist. The motion sent us both off balance, and we tumbled backward together. Jake's chest rose and fell against mine, each breath sending heat spiraling through my body. One of his hands was still on my waist, his fingers digging into the fabric of my shirt while the other braced against the counter beside me. "...Claire." His breath fanned my lips, hot as iron. ~ Claire Whitmore fled her toxic marriage for a quiet cottage by the sea, vowing never to let anyone control her life again. Practical, wary, and fiercely independent, she's content with her freelance work, her massive orange tabby, and a dying lemon tree that mirrors her own slow recovery. Until the day she rescues her neighbor's toddler heading straight for the deadly ocean waves-ALONE. Jake Morrison is a sleep-deprived single dad doing his best-and failing. When Claire marches over to scold him, she ends up feeling sorry for the struggling guy and takes a gig caring for little Emma. What begins as a reluctant favor turns into small moments of joy. Jake's daughter loves coloring on the floor, park picnics, and sandcastles, moments that slowly chip away at Claire's walls. And Jake? He's a joy all on his own. But as feelings grow, so do the complications in Claire's life. A high-profile job offer in New York. A manipulative ex who wants her back. Financial threats to her beloved cottage... and the constant fear that opening her heart means losing herself once more. [Cover by Jessica Henney]

WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION When a summer of fun turns upside down, Olivia must figure out whether her paranoid imagination is playing tricks on her or if she's being followed - and by who. ***** It's been years since Olivia nearly drowned in Caldwell Beach, and after moving away, she's back for the summer to reconnect with old friends. However, not everything-or everyone-is the same. Her childhood best friend, Miles, is still sweet and carefree, but his older brother West is not. Disowned and working at the local garage, he's distanced himself from everyone, until Olivia accidentally uncovers the reason why. But as the two grow closer, strange things begin happening to Olivia. She can't stop seeing shadows and hearing voices, but as she slips into a downward spiral of obsessiveness and paranoia, she must fight to uncover the truth behind who is after her, and why. [[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]

WATTPAD BOOKS EDITION. The past always resurfaces . . . Five years after almost drowning, Olivia Cathart returns home to Caldwell Beach determined to face her fears and take some risks-not just by swimming but by opening her heart. Hoping to rekindle her friendships, she's excited about a carefree summer with her best friends Keely and Miles. But life in the sleepy town has changed, and no one and nothing is as it seems. When a series of startling crimes threaten Olivia's fragile state, she is plunged into a terrifying game of cat and mouse. Her only solace from the chaos is West, Miles's disowned and ruggedly handsome brother, but even he can't answer the question on everyone's minds-is Olivia really in danger or is it simply all in her head?

WATTPAD BOOKS EDITION. There are some friends you never forget. It's the summer of 1955. For Ethan Harper, a biracial kid raised mostly by his white father, race has always been a distant conversation. When he's sent to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle in small-town Alabama, his blackness is suddenly front and center, and no one is shy about making it known he's not welcome there. Enter Juniper Jones. The town's resident oddball and free spirit, she's everything the townspeople aren't-open, kind, and accepting. Armed with two bikes and an unlimited supply of root beer floats, Ethan and Juniper set out to find their place in a town that's bent on rejecting them. As Ethan is confronted for the first time by what it means to be black in America, Juniper tries to help him see the beauty in even the ugliest reality, and that even the darkest days can give rise to an invincible summer . . .

Aubrey Collins thought she had the perfect life-until she caught her fiancé with her best friend. Now she's back in her hometown, hiding a secret... and trying to stay away from the one man she's never been allowed to want.

Lena didn't notice the exact moment things changed. It wasn't sudden enough for that. It started with small adjustments-the kind that didn't ask permission. A shelf above the kitchen window. A presence that didn't announce itself but stopped leaving. A man who spoke in certainty instead of explanation. Tate didn't fit into her life so much as he worked his way through it, as if space was something you could measure, build into, and quietly occupy without disrupting what was already there. At first, Lena kept watching for the moment it would feel wrong. For the moment she would need to step back. But the moment never came. Instead, there were mornings where his tools stayed out longer than expected. Evenings where silence felt less like absence and more like company. Conversations that didn't circle toward meaning because meaning was already understood. Nothing about it demanded definition. And that was what unsettled her most. Because people weren't supposed to stay like that. Not without explanation. Not without effort. Not without being asked. Tate never asked. He just came in-and didn't leave. And somewhere between routine and recognition, Lena stopped trying to decide what this was becoming. Because it already had. Not loudly. Not all at once. Just the way things do when they're allowed to remain. *This is book 1 that will be part of a 3 book series.

Kelly just wants her business to succeed, and getting involved with a bodyguard is not part of her plan - but he is the only one who can keep her safe... ***** Kelly Harris is determined to make her antiques business a success. She won't let Tanner, a bodyguard who likes first edition poetry books, interfere with her life. But winning a mystery box at an auction changes everything. With Tanner working alongside her, they decipher the code in a forgotten journal, uncovering a young girl's journey to freedom and a powerful family's secret. Working for a high-profile security company, Tanner has seen the worst that humanity can do. He doesn't believe in love. But when disaster strikes, he finds himself doing everything he can to keep Kelly safe - even if that means letting her into the most vulnerable part of who he is. Leeanna Morgan is a USA Today Bestselling Author.

When Hayley falls for a bodyguard whose secret is more dangerous than her own, she must decide how much she is willing to risk for love. ***** Tank has spent his life protecting people. He works for one of the most successful security companies in the world, makes more money than most people see in a lifetime, and has a past that no one can ever know about. Hayley Elliott will do anything to keep her mom safe. Her sister has found a cure for Alzheimer's and their mom is living proof that the supplement works - but hiding from the people looking for the supplement's formula is impossible. When the threat to their lives becomes deadly, she has no option but to trust a man who's living with a secret more dangerous than her own. With more at stake than their own lives, Tank and Hayley have to decide what is more important: protecting the past or risking everything for love. Leeanna Morgan is a USA Today Bestselling Author.

WATTPAD BOOKS EDITION Griffin Tomlin is dead. And Clara's sister killed him . . . Four months after the murder, the entire town of Shiloh is still in shock. For Clara Porterfield, the normal world has crumbled around her in a million chaotic pieces. Now Clara lives in a new reality, where her sister awaits trial for murder, her mother obsessively digs in a dead, frozen garden, and her father lives and breathes denial. At school, Clara is haunted by her classmates' morbid curiosity-and all of the unspoken questions they won't ask. But none of them knows what she knows . . . Now Clara's sister wants something from her-the one thing in all of this that Clara isn't ready to face: the truth about what really happened that night. Because this story didn't die with Griffin Tomlin. There's another story that needs to be told. And sometimes, the lies we're told are nowhere near as deadly as the lies we tell ourselves . . .

Laney came back to Riverbend to grieve her husband. She didn't expect to face Tate Harrington- her husband's brother who always hated her. And in a town this small, avoiding each other isn't an option.

Magnolia Carter is stuck in a small Southern town she never wanted to call home. Living with Hunter Banks, a brooding bad boy with a mysterious past, sparks fly between them, even though they can't seem to get along. Then there's Chase Keaton, the mayor's handsome, all-American son, who seems perfect in every way. Torn between the excitement of Hunter's unpredictability and the steady charm of Chase, Magnolia's caught in a whirlwind of secrets, drama, and first love. With the town whispering around her, she must figure out who she really wants-and who she can trust.

Four years ago, Juliette Bennett walked away from the only love she thought she'd ever have and never looked back. She buried the past, built a life for herself, and protected the one secret she could never reveal: her daughter, Maisey. Mason Brooks, the golden boy of college hockey, has been chasing his dreams, unaware that he's already a father. When fate reunites them unexpectedly, old sparks ignite, old wounds reopen, and the truth threatens to shatter everything Jules has fought to protect. Now, Jules must decide: let Mason in and risk everything, or keep her icy lies frozen forever...

━━ In which Y/N travels to a small town to catch her cheating boyfriend, and begins an unexpected friendship with a handsome cowboy. boothill x fem!reader, small-town summer romance

Vivienne's life changes the moment she turns eighteen and the bond snaps into place-with someone she never expected. At first, it feels like fate. He's charming, attentive, everything a fated connection is supposed to be. But the longer she's with him, the more something feels... off. Subtle at first. Easy to dismiss. Until it isn't. Over time, the bond that was supposed to be a source of love becomes something else entirely-something heavy, something controlling. Vivienne finds herself shrinking in ways she doesn't fully understand, caught in a dynamic she can't quite name but can't escape either. And then, suddenly, it's over. In the quiet aftermath, she's left with space-more than she knows what to do with. Space to breathe. To question. To begin again. That's what leads her to a small farm, to something simple and grounding. She isn't looking for anything more than a furry friend. But she finds Noah instead. He's steady where her past was uncertain. Gentle where things once felt sharp. And though he's long past the age of expecting anything like fate, something about the way they meet feels quietly, impossibly right. This time, there's no pressure. No weight. Just a chance at something real.

A clean execution. No fingerprints. Detective Scarlett John thought she was getting a fresh start, but Pine Creek was a trap disguised as an opportunity. Now, caught between a grueling investigation and a past she can't outpace, Scarlett must find out who is pulling the strings. In this game of shadows, the truth is far more dangerous than the lie.

;ଓ ❛ call me at midnight lets give this thing a try ❜

Some summers change you. Some summers ruin you. And some follow you long after the tide goes out. Seventeen-year-old Tegan Walsh has spent her whole life in Coral Cove watching wealthy families treat her coastal town like their private playground. While tourists fill the Shoreline Club every summer with yacht parties, bonfires, and perfect oceanfront lives, Tegan's family is barely staying afloat. Getting a job at the Shoreline Club was supposed to help her escape. Instead, it pulls her into a world of secrets she was never meant to touch. Especially when she meets Luke Callahan, the quiet, magnetic son of the club's powerful owner. Luke is everything Tegan thought she hated: privileged, untouchable, born into a life she could never belong to. But beneath the polished image is someone just as trapped as she is. What begins as stolen conversations and late-night swims slowly turns into something deeper, something dangerous. Because Coral Cove has always protected its wealthy families. And the closer Tegan gets to Luke, the more she begins uncovering the truth about: old affairs, buried scandals, a fire the town never recovered from, and the secret her own family has been carrying for years. Now, with friendships breaking apart, corruption unraveling across the coast, and one devastating truth threatening to destroy everything she loves, Tegan must decide who she's willing to become when the summer finally ends. In Coral Cove, everybody has something they're protecting. And every family has one summer they don't talk about.

Athena Jane Jang has three rules for the summer before college. Work the truck. Don't get attached. Leave clean. She breaks all three by midnight of the first night. Cameron Cove Treadway shows up with a duffel bag, an empty camera strap, and a secret heavy enough to sink him. He's supposed to be a favor. A one time thing. The kind of person you help on a Tuesday and forget by Thursday. Athena has never been good at forgetting. And Cameron - for the first time in a long time - has absolutely no desire to disappear. What follows is one summer. One food truck. One grandmother who knows everything before it happens and says nothing until it matters. One brother whose absence says more than his presence ever could. And two people who were never supposed to be anything to each other - slowly, inevitably, becoming everything. The dangerous thing about summer is that it makes you believe in things that were never meant to last. Until they do.

In Miraflores, Peru, Isa is everyone's favorite topic-mainly because she's seventeen and still single. In a neighborhood where gossip travels faster than Wi-Fi and futures are practically planned for you, Isa is used to being watched, discussed, and occasionally "helped" along. So when she gets the chance to leave for the UK, she takes it-thinking distance will finally quiet the noise. It doesn't. Because coming back home means facing everything she tried to outrun... including the one person who has always felt like home. And in Miraflores, secrets don't stay secret for long.