The Heartwood and the Echo

By Nelle Bouchard

She ran from her past and broke his heart; now she's back, and he's the only one who can fix her father's crumbling house... and maybe the wreckage between them.

Maya Sterling bolted from Blackwood Ridge ten years ago, choosing city ambition over her teenage sweetheart. Now, summoned home to Australia's stunning Blue Mountains by her father's failing health, she's forced to confront the life she left behind - most notably, Kevin Morrison. The boy she ghosted isn't a boy anymore. He's a guarded, hurting man, his easy grin replaced by resentment, his heart barricaded against the woman who shattered it.

Enter Kev, the builder. Hired to repair the decaying family home, he's inescapable. Every shared space crackles with unspoken history, Maya's guilt battling Kev's icy wall of indifference. Forced into close proximity amidst sawdust and painful memories, the spark that once defined them refuses to be extinguished, warring with years of hurt and misunderstanding. Kev's a man deeply rooted in the mountains, loyal to a fault and wary of promises easily broken, while Maya grapples with her past choices and the ghosts of her ambition.

As repairs expose more than just rotten timber, moments of crisis force them together, shattering carefully constructed walls. A burst pipe, a fragile truce, and an explosive kiss ignite years of banked-up fury and undeniable heat. But when Maya's Sydney life calls, threatening her fragile new beginning and confirming Kev's deepest fears, trust is broken all over again.

Can a woman haunted by her choices and a man scarred by betrayal forgive the past? Can trust, once shattered, ever be rebuilt on foundations weakened by secrets and fear?

Escape back to Blackwood Ridge in this emotional and steamy second chance Australian romance The Heartwood and the Echo is Book 2 in the Blackwood Ridge Romances series - each book is a standalone HEA set in the beautiful Blue Mountains.

Perfect for readers who love:

Second Chance RomanceForced ProximitySmall Town Australian SettingsGrumpy/Sunshine (or perhaps Stoic/Returning City Girl )Past Heartbreak & Emotional ScarsHeroines Finding Their Way HomeSteamy Contemporary Romance

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F5PVJGQN
• ISBN13: 9798280654617
• Release Date: April 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 146 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"