Finding Home: A Closed-Door Small-Town Romance. Up North, #3

Elizabeth McGowan came back to Iron Creek knowing exactly who she was supposed to be. A teacher. A caretaker. The dependable one. With two science degrees she's never used and a classroom full of second graders who adore her, Elizabeth has built a good life-one rooted in routine, responsibility, and putting everyone else first. It's safe. Predictable. And quietly lonely. Arlen James never planned on staying, either.
A retired football star turned guardian to his two young nieces, Arlen is just trying to keep his family together and his head above water. Love isn't on his radar-not when his life is already full of obligations, expectations, and eyes watching his every move. As Elizabeth and Arlen are drawn together by circumstance, community, and two girls who need stability, what begins as cautious friendship slowly becomes something deeper.
But when old dreams resurface and new opportunities force Elizabeth to question the life she's settled for, she must decide whether staying safe is worth giving up the future she's always wanted. Finding home, it turns out, isn't about where you belong.it's about who makes you brave enough to choose it. Finding Home is a heart-warming, closed-door small-town romance about found family, quiet courage, and discovering that sometimes the life you're meant for is the one you didn't plan.