When painter Manora Fredrickson left Baltimore for a fixer–upper located in her ancestral Tyner, North Carolina, she figured she'd be getting away from the distractions of the city: the noise, the crime, the event invitations...her ex–husband. Happy to be a recluse at age twenty–eight, all Nora wants to do is paint, lick her wounds, and maybe sneak across the county line for some of Hattie's artery–clogging fried chicken.

Enter Matthew Vogel. His little piece of Tyner abuts Nora's and from the moment the consummate bachelor stops by her barn to find her dancing around like a Jersey City showgirl, he decides the spunky firecracker is the woman for him. Nora doesn't agree, but she can't get the brawny fisherman off her mind or her doorstep.

As much as Nora is attracted to her charming neighbor, she thinks Matt deserves better than a curmudgeonly hermit. Her last marriage fell apart because of her commitment to her art. Matt wants to convince her it won't happen again—not with him.