On the road to recovery, sometimes it helps to circle back to where it all began.

Azzette Bettencourt spilled brain cells and broke bones, but three years later she's confident she'll return to her life in the lab to create space-age laser gadgets. Unfortunately, her parents don't agree. They compromise and she returns to her roots in Alaska to spend the summer at her cousin's bed and breakfast. They're expecting her to relax, live an organic lifestyle and discover her boundaries. She's expecting to build a revolutionary weather sensor, her ticket back to an independent life.

Builder Aiden Shaughnessy's looking for time away from raising the last of his six siblings. Bonus? Some good old Alaskan adventure. If a fifties kind of woman wants to take care of him, life will be damn near perfect. The one he finds can cook, but she's trickier than a double-blind dovetail joint. Other than the fact she likes her diamonds inside a laser, she's as much a handful as the siblings when they were younger. Except she's made a gizmo that contributes to his brother's successful ascent of Mt. McKinley after the year's biggest storm. Is he ready for a life with a woman as brilliant as Einstein, but with the curiosity and attention span of a toddler?

Warning: Carpenters, climbers, chickens and bears. . . Oh my!

65,000 Words