Series: Darling VT (Book 2)
SOME WISHES DO COME TRUE
Ethan Gallagher is a firefighter in Darling, Vermont, who followed tradition and pledged his love on the Kissing Bridge to ensure lifelong happiness. A few years later, he’s a widower with two rambunctious boys who no longer believes in magic. But even he has to admit that free-spirited Willow Dunaway fills him with wonder…and an attraction he cannot deny.
Willow’s come back to Darling a different girl than the one who left after high school. Overcoming her past and owning her own business has made her into a strong, independent woman. Single dad Ethan appeals to her in a way she didn’t expect, even though settling down is the last thing on her mind. But after fire destroys the local food bank, the town rallies, and a fling between Ethan and Willow leads to unintended consequences. Can they find a way out of their heartbreak to make a home in each other’s hearts?
Emotional story of two people who seem like complete opposites but have more in common than they expect. Willow was a big part of the previous book, Somebody Like You, as Laurel's quirky best friend. She owns the Purple Pig Café, a healthy food restaurant, has colored streaks in her hair, a tattoo and a pierced nose, and does yoga and meditation. She has her life together just as she wants it to be. Ethan is a firefighter, widower, and father of two little boys. Though he has family to help, he often feels overwhelmed, guilty about taking advantage of them, and bitter about the loss of the life and dreams he'd had. Ethan frequently appears as grumpy, uptight, and brooding.
There are sparks between Ethan and Willow from the beginning, albeit unwilling ones. Their first couple of encounters don't go all that well. Willow sees Ethan as grumpy and judgmental and wonders how he can be such a grouch around his two adorable boys. She definitely gets the feeling that he looks down on her. At the birthday dinner at his parents' house, Ethan is snarky and snide about her yoga and meditation. It isn't until a little later that we get to see that it is really a bad case of envy that has Ethan behaving so badly. But as Fate finds ways to throw them together, Willow and Ethan discover that they have a connection that neither can deny.
I enjoyed seeing Willow and Ethan get to know each other, their early encounters facilitated by Ethan's sons. I loved the way that Willow stepped in to watch the boys when Hannah couldn't. She doesn't have much experience with kids, and it was fun to see her deal with the little crises that are inevitable. She was well on her way to falling for Ethan's sons. Ethan made me mad with his attitude when he arrived. I got that he was in pain, and frustrated, but he could have been at least a little grateful. One of my favorite parts was the day he took the kids to the Pig and had to eat a little crow along with the brownie. This begins a slow building relationship as Ethan and Willow acknowledge that they are drawn to each other. With each encounter, Ethan finds himself a little closer to being the man he used to be, able to smile and laugh and just be himself. But both are also wary of getting too involved. Ethan has been hurt so badly by the loss of his wife that he is reluctant to open himself up to that level of caring. Willow has issues from her past that she thought she had come to terms with, but because of her growing feelings for Ethan, she realizes that she had simply buried them beneath her surface serenity.
When the building attraction finally hit its combustion point, the result was frightening for each of them. Neither expected it to be as intense as it was, which sent both Ethan and Willow scrambling for cover. There was a lot of soul-searching and worry about being "ready" that neither was ready to face. The last several chapters were intense and emotional as something comes up that causes a collision between Willow's past and her future. I ached for her as she had to face those memories and make some decisions. I understood why she handled it the way she did, but I could see the trouble that was waiting for her. I could also understand Ethan's anger at what he saw as her betrayal. The pain that each experienced was heartwrenching, and I wondered how they were ever going to find their way back together. A scare brought on by an encounter with a bicycle opens Ethan's eyes to the truth. There was a terrific conversation between Ethan and Aiden that helped Ethan have the courage to open his heart completely to Willow. I also loved seeing Willow own up to her mistakes and take her own leap of faith. The icing on the cake was the final scene with Ethan's sons and Willow.
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