Widow's Fire - J.P. Smith

At twenty-three, Rory never imagined becoming a widow.

After the sudden loss of her husband, Mark, her future disappears overnight, leaving her drowning in grief and emotions she never expected. Desperate for escape, Rory retreats to her childhood home for the summer, hoping distance will quiet the ache she carries with her.

Instead, she finds complications.

Wesley, her childhood best friend's older brother, the boy she once couldn't stand, now feels dangerously familiar. And then there's Hayes, Wesley's best friend, who awakens something in Rory she thought she'd never find again.

Caught between guilt, desire, and the question of who she's allowed to become after loss, Rory is forced to confront a truth no one prepares you for: grief doesn't follow rules, and neither does healing.

Widow's fire isn't a betrayal, but a desire born from surviving loss and the struggle to move forward and feel again.