Dream House — Jean Brashear

----- originally published as --- Sweet Mercy


Her dream house is the scene of his darkest hours.

With his own hands, artist Micah Smith built every inch of the cottage for the fragile wife he cherished and the child who cost her life. His dreams gone and his heart broken, he left everything familiar behind, including the cottage he'd built with such love.

A foster child most of her life, bar owner Jezebel Hart has spent her life longing for family and home. In this abandoned, neglected cottage she sees a chance to create her dream at last.

That she cherishes what he can't bear to be near is bad enough, but that sparks fly between them adds insult to injury -- yet their attraction will not be ignored. Discovering that her bombshell exterior wraps a generous heart, that her inner strength matches the power of her compassion, endangers the hard exterior that has been his only protection from the grief he cannot let go.

For Jezebel, learning that his anger masks a heart in desperate need of healing only strengthens her attraction to him. Her capacity for joy draws Micah from his darkness and makes him want to hope.

But a secret could shatter their fragile bond…before it ever has a chance to grow.