I also understood Lucca Romano, a former college basketball coach filled with guilt, fear, and anger after a car accident killed several of his players. I don’t know if I could be that strong - though it’s a fragile strength which comes crashing down on more than one occasion. As a mother, I found Hope’s pain and guilt wrenching and utterly believable, and I admired her determination to live as full and happy a life as she could despite her loss. But Hope is also coping - silently and alone - with one of the worst things that can happen to a parent. She’s a warm, vivacious woman who loves her job as kindergarten teacher, bus driver, and basketball coach. How can a book be heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time? Emily March manages it in style in her latest romance set in the fictional town of Eternity Springs, Colorado.

But when a weak moment leads to consequences that shake Hope’s faith, it’s up to Lucca to put aside his heartache and show the teacher that here in Eternity Springs broken hearts can heal-just in time for Christmas. However, the high school team needs his coaching expertise, so she sets out to draw him from his cold, solitary shell and into the warmth of life in their small Rocky Mountain town. Hope understands Lucca’s suffering she lives it herself every day. She has to believe-because giving up would mean crumbling under the greatest loss a parent can endure. Schoolteacher Hope Montgomery believes in miracles. Nothing can-except maybe a vibrant new neighbor who won’t give up on him.

Even a winning record and big offers can’t dent the wall of guilt that Lucca has built around himself. After tragedy strikes his team, college basketball coach Lucca Romano arrives in the haven of Eternity Springs to reassess his life.

Heartsong cottage by emily march