If you build it, love will come…to Hope’s Crossing.
Alexandra McKnight prefers a life of long workdays and short-term relationships, and she’s found it in Hope’s Crossing. A sous chef at the local ski resort, she’s just been offered her dream job at an exclusive new restaurant being built in town. But when it comes to designing the kitchen, Alex finds herself getting up close and personal with construction foreman Sam Delgado….
At first glance, Sam seems perfect for Alex. He’s big, tough, gorgeous—and only in town for a few weeks. But when Sam suddenly moves into a house down the road, Alex suspects that the devoted single father of a six-year-old boy wants more from her than she’s willing to give. Now it’s up to Sam to help Alex see that, no matter what happened in her past, together they can build something more meaningful in Hope’s Crossing.
Praise for USA TODAY
bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne
and the Hope’s Crossing series
“Thayne’s series starter introduces the Colorado town of Hope’s Crossing in what can be described as a cozy romance…[a] gentle, easy read.”
—Publishers Weekly on Blackberry Summer
“Thayne’s depiction of a small Colorado mountain town is subtle but evocative. Readers who love romance but not explicit sexual details will delight in this heartfelt tale of healing and hope.”
—Booklist on Blackberry Summer
“Plenty of tenderness and Colorado sunshine flavor this pleasant escape.”
—Publishers Weekly on Woodrose Mountain
“Thayne, once again, delivers a heartfelt story of a caring community and a caring romance between adults who have triumphed over tragedies.”
—Booklist on Woodrose Mountain
“Readers will love this novel for the cast of characters and its endearing plotline…a thoroughly enjoyable read.”
—RT Book Reviews on Woodrose Mountain
Currant Creek Valley
RaeAnne Thayne
MILLS & BOON
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To Janice Thayne, whose banana nut bread recipe
I’ll never quite be able to replicate, no matter how hard
I try. I love you dearly! Thank you for your
loving example over the years, and especially
for raising your son to be such a wonderful man.
Special thanks to Karen Proudfoot for the delicious
food descriptions that made me so hungry.
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
ALEXANDRA MCKNIGHT opened the door to her dream-come-true restaurant and held her breath.
She loved this place already and she wanted her dearest friends to see beyond the sawhorses and scaffolding and unfinished surfaces to the potential awesomeness of it.
The members of her book club filed in, a little out of breath after walking up the hilly Main Street from her sister Maura’s bookstore in downtown Hope’s Crossing. At least they had a lovely April day for the walk, sunny and pleasant, with only a few puffy clouds overhead.
Claire McKnight, Alex’s best friend and now sister-in-law, was the first one inside. She moved past the new double-sided river-rock fireplace that separated what would be the reception area from the first-floor dining room.
Claire whirled around to take in the walls, peeled back to bare brick, the original wood flooring and the intact fire pole that descended from the second-floor dining area that used to be the sleeping quarters of the old firehouse, back in the days when Hope’s Crossing was a rough and rowdy mining town.
“What a fantastic space,” Claire exclaimed. “I’ll admit, I was more than a little nervous when you told me Brodie and Jack were cooking up this idea. I mean, this old place has been an eyesore in town forever! I thought they should have torn it down years ago. Now that I see the renovations, my mind is racing with possibilities.”
“I know, right?” Alex beamed at Claire and her other friends and several family members gathered beside them.
“Pure genius to replace the fire-truck doors with that