No Excuses

2025 HOLT Medallion Award Winner, Best Short Contemporary
Roxie Greene is happy being the grumpy recluse everyone avoids. She likes being alone. But the production on her lavender farm is ramping up and business is booming. Even she realizes she needs help. She doesn't expect the help that shows up to be River Montgomery. He's arrogant. He's not used to manual labor. He's disconcerting. And a flirt.
But the ad has been up for six months and he's the only one who's responded.
She does everything she can to keep him at a distance. Like grumble at him and feed him fried baloney sandwiches for dinner.
He does everything he can to make her smile.
An opposites attract, grumpy heroine vs. golden retriever hero, age gap romance.