A heartwarming journey of love, growth, and the bonds that tie hearts together even when life leads down unexpected paths.
Mechanic Jace Easton grapples with the sudden changes happening around him. His younger sister, Tassie, has always relied on him, but now she’s off traipsing around the globe with the prince of her dreams. As Tassie prepares to step into her future, Jace is confronted with the harsh truth that she has matured, and so has her best friend, Deena. The deepening attraction he feels for Deena—a pull that becomes increasingly difficult to ignore—leaves him further unsettled and struggling to accept his new reality.
Deena Durant may earn her living welding farm equipment, but her true passion lies in crafting metal sculptures. Alongside her artistic dreams, she clings to the hope that Jace might eventually see her as more than his sister’s friend. Until then, she conceals her feelings and does her best to encourage him as everything familiar shifts into unchartered territory.
When Jace and Deena work together to help Tassie’s dreams come true, will they discover their own path to true love?
Marrying the Mechanic is a celebration of unexpected love, personal growth, and the power of relationships in a wholesome, small-town romance.
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EXCERPT:
Dane chuckled and moved back beside him. “I see. When did this happen?”
“What happen?”
“You getting all tied up in knots over Deena Durant. Isn’t she dating some dude from Burns?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know, man! I’m not tied up in knots over anyone.”
“Of course you aren’t.” Dane thumped him on the shoulder. “But it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if you were. Deena cleans up well. Since you’re a mechanic, her welding skills could come in pretty handy.”
Jace growled, wondering what would happen if he shoved his fist into Dane’s face to get him to be quiet. Deputy Knox Strickland walked by and gave him an odd look, so he decided it was probably best to avoid engaging in fisticuffs with his best friend at a dance held at the school.
What was happening to him?
Jace felt like he was fourteen again and full of bottled-up anger and anxiety that had no way to release. Maybe he should just take Deena home now before he did or said something he’d later regret.
The band leader welcomed everyone, and the musicians launched into a fast-paced tune. Jace watched as couples hurried onto the floor and started two-stepping around the gym.
Deena wasn’t one of them.
He watched her take a seat at a table where Eli and Tassie had left their cups of punch. Deena seemed perfectly content all the way over there by herself through the first and second song.
By the third, Jace found himself wanting to ask her to dance, even though he dreaded stepping all over her toes.
“You should ask her to dance,” Parker said as he, Hud Cole, and Nate Knight walked over to him. “I bet she won’t bite.”
Dane gave him a slight push forward. “It won’t hurt anything to ask her for a dance, man. Go on. Do it.”
“I heard a rumor that she broke up with the bread delivery guy. As far as anyone knows, she’s fair game,” Nate said, tipping his head toward Deena.
Jace didn’t think he could take down all four of them at once, but the thought of slugging the men tormenting him held a great deal of satisfaction. Rather than succumb to the urge, he gave Dane one more parting glare, then strode across the floor until he stood beside Deena’s chair.
“Hey, there,” he said, smiling down at her. “I realize this might be asking you to risk permanent damage to your feet, but would you like to dance with me?”
Deena grinned and stood. “What’s a broken toe or two between friends?”
He wanted to shout that friends wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when it came to their relationship, but it’s what they were. What they’d been for a long, long time. Before he said something to embarrass himself and reveal his feelings for her, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor.
A slow dance, just swaying back and forth, couldn’t be too hard to manage. Could it?
Nerves nearly overtook him as he turned to face Deena, and stepped on her right foot. Appalled by what he’d done, he moved back, but she grabbed onto his hand and tugged him forward.
She laughed. “Are you sure it’s safe to dance with you?”
Author Bio:
Whitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries -- not always in that order.
Whitney is a multi-award-winning author of romcoms, non-fiction humor, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.
She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.
Gold Medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2017.
Silver medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016.
Finalist RONE Awards, 2016.
Finalist at the IRFA 2016, 2017.
Finalist at the Book Excellence Awards, 2017
Finalist Top Shelf Indie Book Awards, 2017
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