Coming Home by Shelley Shepard Gray is the first book in the Woodland Park Firefighters series. 
Anderson Kelly and Chelsea Davis had been a couple in high school and Chelsea expected them to go the distance. Only Anderson broke up with her to join the Army, and a fraternity party changed Chelsea’s life.
Both are back in Woodland Park; Anderson working as a firefighter and paramedic, and Chelsea as an assistant activity’s director at a senior center. Both do their best to avoid one another until they reconnect through an event at the senior center. Anderson always regretted the way he broke up with Chelsea and how he handled the news that a one-night stand left her pregnant, and he wants to show her that he still loves her and will love her son as his own. Chelsea is hesitant; while she never stopped loving Anderson, she has her son to think about.
Readers are given glimpses of their relationship in the past and get to see how they’ve both grown as people. They both have regrets about everything that happened but are simply trying to be the best people they can be. Their romance is sweet and will have readers rooting for them.
I enjoyed Anderson’s interactions with Chelsea’s nine-year-old son, Jack. Jack, never having had a father figure, takes to Anderson immediately, and Anderson is just as smitten with him. At times it did feel like Jack was written as older than a nine-year-old, but it wasn’t to the point that I thought it was completely unbelievable.
There is also a secondary storyline involving Chelsea’s neighbor, Camille, and a budding romance with Frank, both of whom go to activities at the senior center. A big portion of this is Camille’s adult children insisting she needs to move away to a senior community, even though she’s not that old (she’s in her sixties). While I enjoyed her developing relationship with Frank, I felt there really wasn’t too much of a conclusion when it came to the issue of her children. It feels like it was just glossed over towards the end. Considering there was quite a bit of the book devoted to that storyline, I was expecting a little more than how it actually ended.
If you’re looking for a book with steamy scenes you won’t find it here, but you will find a sweet, heartwarming tale about second chances, forgiveness, and healing. This was a good start to the series, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with Anderson’s fellow firefighters.
Book Info:
Publication: November 29, 2022 | Berkley Books | Woodland Park Firefighters #1
In Woodland Park, a small town nestled in the foothills of Pikes Peak, Anderson Kelly and Chelsea Davis were once the high school “it” couple–the star quarterback and the valedictorian. They broke up when Anderson joined the army and one poor decision at a fraternity party changed Chelsea’s life. Now, she works long shifts in a senior center to support her nine-year-old son, Jack.
After multiple tours in Afghanistan, Anderson has changed, too–physically scarred but mentally strong–and he decides to move back to Woodland Park. Anderson and Chelsea steer clear of each other to avoid reopening old wounds, until they are forced to reconnect through the senior center. They soon discover that the love they once shared never completely vanished. But it will take a fire, a dangerous collision, and the love of one little boy to help Anderson and Chelsea see that the future they’ve always yearned for is in sight…
