What if the love of your life never betrayed you?

Cali Walton never expected the town she left behind to become her only option. But when her grandfather’s failing health calls her home, the nurse practitioner puts her career on hold and returns with her teenage son in tow. Nothing prepares her for coming face-to-face with Lane Massey, her first love, her son’s new football coach, and the man she believes betrayed her fifteen years ago.

Lane Massey walked away from the spotlight and pressure of professional sports to return home, where he now coaches young athletes and gives back to the community that raised him. But Cali’s return rekindles a longing he thought he’d buried long ago. Caught between old wounds, hidden truths, and a father determined to maintain control, Lane must confront the past and decide what—and who—he is willing to fight for.

Fifteen years ago, they lost each other. Now they must decide if the embers of their first love are strong enough to burn again—and whether they’re brave enough to stay.

The Embers That Remain is the second book in the Flint Hills Series, following The Magic of Light, which received the Kansas Notable Book Award.