Love in a Small Town

Sam Champion, a math professor, arrives in tiny Browning, Illinois, eager to sell his mother's childhood home and return to Arizona for his appointment to department head. But when his red-haired neighbor, Lily Madison, sets her house on fire, and he invites her to move in with him, everything changes. Owner of an aromatherapy shop, she's also Browning mayor, water commissioner, welcome wagon ambassador, board member, and chairman of their upcoming twentieth class reunion. An optimist with big plans for the small town and a dream for Sam, who's not a dreamer, she's sure his mother wanted him to live in his grandparents' house and insists life in a small town is the best. Sam's head is swimming, and Lily's winning on several scores, but Sam has a career, condo, and a relationship with a female colleague in Phoenix. Lily Madison brightens Sam Champion's life, but he doesn't realize how much until he tries to walk away from her and Browning. [Cover art by Dirk A. Wolf and Mary Z. Wolf]