Hearts made whole

This is one of those stories that has no good place to stop! There were plenty of things not to like about Ryan but somehow he kept surprising Caroline with his moments–like when he dragged himself out of his pain-filled drugged haze (old injuries from the war) to help rescue her little brother from an old well he'd fallen into. Maybe there was hope for him yet?

Caroline Taylor is determined to keep her family together and provided for after her father's death. But all she knows is the lighthouse, and the superintendent isn't about to let her be the first woman lightkeeper. He gives her a week to move out before the new man arrives to take over.

But...Ryan, the new hire, knows very little about the job–only a few things that his sister Emma has shown him when he visits her (readers may recall her from book 1). His injuries from the war are not yet fully healed, and he is further crippled by a dependence on opium, which was the pain medicine given to him after his injury. First impressions couldn't be worse when he stumbles into the lighthouse drunk, a full week early, not thinking anyone else could be there.

Can Ryan find any shreds of his lost manhood and manage the job? What will happen to Caroline and her younger siblings? And what about the person who's determined to stalk and harm the Taylor family? Will she find a safe haven with the tavernkeeper's son Arnie...or is his offer too decent to be real? And there's the little issue of suspected smugglers to deal with...

I'd rate this 16+ for drug use, drunkenness, and a couple of accidental indecent situations as Ryan wrestles the demons of his past.