Written by: Alys Murray

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Stepping off the Greyhound bus, I look at the town glinting in the distance beyond a crystal-clear mountain lake. The lines I’ve memorized from the ad are on repeat in my mind: accommodation and employment provided to women willing to relocate to a historic town with a shortage of women.

When Virginia first sees the ad, her breath catches. Female? Check. Small-town seclusion needed? Check. Currently without a home or a job? Check and check. She dabs an extra layer of concealer over the bruise on her cheek, bundles up her belongings, and her secrets, and escapes her life in Savannah.

But arriving at Fortune Springs, Colorado, Virginia realizes that her plan to lay low and heal her tattered heart won’t stand up against the prying questions from Calla, the brusque older woman who gives her a place to live. She’s on the brink of leaving when Calla’s twelve-year-old granddaughter arrives at the house, abandoned and alone. Virginia recognizes the feeling, and she realizes she can’t be another adult to let the girl down. Then there’s the handsome, aloof firefighter Owen, whose company is giving her a whole ’nother reason to stay…

But when she returns one day from a walk amongst the wildflowers to find a face from her past waiting for her, Virginia realizes that a secret she’s kept has exposed the people around her to a new world of danger. Can she find the strength to fight for the life, and love, she’s found in Fortune Springs?