Wintertime comes to Teaberry Island, with the stores serving locals at the quiet time of year. Among these is the Bluebird Bakery with the baker still opening early. Taylor Harp loves Teaberry Island and wants to make her business a success. She didn’t grow up here, but a fostered boy, Cody Cunningham, did and has returned after leaving the Army Catering Corps. He’s looking for a job, but finding life difficult due to occasional flashbacks and PTSD.
The shores of Chesapeake Bay lap this Hometown Brothers series, which began with THE FOREVER FARMHOUSE. Locals respect the hard-working fishermen, but everyone else has to earn a place. Savannah, sister of Taylor, comes here because she has no place else to go, and the bakery might use a hand. Little does she know that Taylor has already hired Cody. And it’s not like Savannah’s modeling career is useful in an island winter.
I actually enjoyed Savannah’s story more than Taylor’s. She was the prettier of the sisters, so she was dragged off as a young girl to beauty pageants, especially after their mother died and they were sent to different relatives. All she has learned has been to trade on her looks, makeup skills, and ability to flatter men. Now approaching the age of thirty, she knows she’s too old for that career, and the men she was with didn't respect her. Time to change her life. I was just surprised that she wasn’t savvy enough to open and build a bank account--she must have had one for model contracts. Taylor is justifiably cross at being the fallback option whether she feels like it or not.
Unfortunately, the sisters fell out years ago, over a boy; Cody as it happens. This was while they stayed on the island for the summer. I thought this was over-stressed as they had all grown up, but Lee Tobin McClain makes it a plot point in an already busy story. Yes, the island is busy. This is the time of year when locals get to meet, enjoy the open space, and catch up with donating goods, support groups, and kids’ reading afternoons. People who had no responsibilities suddenly gain plenty. They realise that they aren’t the most important person after all. Kids need reliability and good care. A chapter covers Cody’s veteran issues, and some people might like to skip over this if they find it distressing. Plenty else is happening, including baking, teen dramas, and ice skating.
THE BLUEBIRD BAKERY shows us the other side of the island, still warm in the midst of winter. Come visit and get to know folks.
New York Times bestselling author Lee Tobin McClain returns to her Hometown Brothers series!
A sweet new beginning on the Chesapeake Bay
Bluebird Bakery owner Taylor Harp loves how small and close-knit Teaberry Island is…except when the only response to her help wanted ad is from someone she hoped to avoid. She and Cody Cunningham shared a long-ago romance until he started dating her prettier younger sister. But though the sting of rejection remains, so do the sparks.
After PTSD ended his military career, Cody Cunningham came back to the one place that felt like home. A difficult childhood left him running from commitment, but when he’s suddenly left in charge of his young half siblings, Cody doesn’t hesitate. He’s ready to build a future, and he hopes Taylor will want to have a place in it. Will she keep him around long enough to see that the boy she knew is now a man who’ll love her forever?
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