Sweetwater Parish Sunrise

After a painful divorce, forty-two-year-old interior designer Lauren Mitchell returns to Sweetwater Parish with nothing but her grandmother’s crumbling Victorian house and the weight of failure. She expects the old town to remember every detail of the life she left behind, but what she finds instead is steady, patient strength in the form of Rick Caldwell, a forty-four-year-old contractor and single father.

As Lauren begins the physical work of restoring the house—peeling back layers of wallpaper, repairing leaks, and uncovering hidden family history—Rick’s quiet faith and careful craftsmanship begin to challenge the walls she has built around her own heart. Together they face town gossip, the demands of Rick’s young daughter Maya, and the constant pull of Lauren’s old life in the city.

Through shared coffee on the porch, late-night repairs in the rain, and the slow rediscovery of community and church, Lauren must decide whether she is only passing through Sweetwater Parish or whether she is finally ready to build a life that will last.

A story of second chances, restored homes, and the patient work of healing, Sweetwater Parish Sunrise is the first book in the Sweetwater Parish Hearts series.