Adverse Conditions — Elle Keaton

Cooper Springs is worth saving, as long as conspiracy theorists, serial killers, and Vincent Barone all stay out of Xavier's way.Xavier swore he'd never move back to the flyspeck of a town he'd grown up in and he kept that promise for over twenty years. Now he's back for good.Vincent never left. After earning his teaching certificate, he stayed in town to be close to his elderly parents. These days he's the single dad of a fifteen-year-old daughter and working two jobs to make ends meet. He's perfectly happy with his life.Xavier's mission is to save Cooper Springs. But his efforts are being hindered by his stodgy, straight-laced, rule-following neighbor, Vincent Barone. Dark-eyed, broad-shouldered, and muscly Vincent, who Xav stealthily ogles when he toils in his yard sans shirt. For a high school shop teacher, Vincent is too sexy. And he has a kid. And he infuriates Xavier. And anyway, love is for suckers.Vincent doesn't have time to date. And he certainly wouldn't date his flashy, arrogant, neighbor who he absolutely did not have a crush on in high school. Who did Xavier think he was, moving back to town and throwing his weight around, causing butterflies in Vincent's stomach, and making his stupid heart beat faster every time he saw him?Cooper Springs has changed since they were kids, and maybe two guys can move from hate to love. But are they ready? Will Vincent bend a few of his rules? Will Xavier reign in his chaotic tendencies? Is love in the air?Then there's the matter of the grisly discovery in the woods, murder is bad for business.Welcome to Cooper Springs, home to UFO chasers, Sasquatch believers, conspiracy theorists, chainsaw artists, and regular folk just trying to make a living. And, quite possibly, a killer.Adverse Conditions is the first in the Reclaimed Hearts series, set in the wilds of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, it is an opposites-attract, older lovers, silver fox, enemies to lovers, small-town romance, with a little murder. HEA guaranteed.