Book excerpt: Close to the breaking point after a difficult year in the classroom, elementary teacher Jessica Coleson is looking forward to summer vacation. While staying at the old family homestead, she meets an intriguing man who may be as burnt out as she is. Factor in his rough-hewn good looks, she finds him hard to resist. Just turned forty and weary beyond words, rock star Mercury Phalen’s world has unraveled, culminating in the bust-up of his group and the dissolution of his marriage. Even though he laments the loss of his guys more, he’s not looking for an entanglement with another woman. Though Mercury is attracted by Jessi’s nurturing personality and sensual response to his touch, denying what exists between them is the wise choice—especially considering the baggage he’s dragging behind him. Yet he wonders: could this be the love he has yearned for and written songs about all these years?