When the Smoke Clears
Category title
When Tessa Ward flees a public scandal that destroyed her career, the last place she expects to land is her grandmother’s crumbling inn on the windswept English coast. She wants silence, anonymity, and space to breathe. What she finds instead is Jack Mercer — a reclusive war photographer who has already claimed the inn as his refuge.
Their first meetings spark more friction than warmth, but the storm-battered building forces them into shared rooms, shared meals, and unexpected honesty. As Tessa uncovers her grandmother’s old lists and Jack hides ghosts of his own, the inn slowly becomes a place where broken things are repaired — including them.
But when Tessa’s past resurfaces and Jack pulls away, both must choose: return to the lives that hurt them, or risk the fragile hope they’ve built together.
A quiet, powerful love story about healing and new beginnings.