As I Grow (Strawberry Springs)

He never sticks around. She makes him want to.

Grace Day is Strawberry Springs' designated "good girl." Her people-pleasing tendencies have kept her out of the rumor mill, which is exactly where she wants to stay. But when a hot-as-hell playboy in a cowboy hat blows into town, she's tempted to do something out of character. When one night with no attachments turns into two nights and feelings she can't ignore, Grace realizes that she's set herself up for heartbreak. After he leaves town as promised, she realizes that she'll be left to pick up the pieces on her own . . . until she sees two lines on a pregnancy test.

Dean Briggs keeps everyone at an arm's length, and he's really good at it. He never lets himself get attached to his hookups—though he struggles to get a certain curvy woman with soft brown curls out of his mind. When she finds him and tells him that she's pregnant with his baby, he realizes that there's no keeping his distance this time. He's determined to be there for the mother of his child, but he's been scarred by love before, and that's a risk he's not willing to take.

As her due date approaches, Grace and Dean have to decide what life looks like with each other in it. Will they retreat into old patterns to protect themselves, or can they grow into something more?

Contains mature themes.