Picket Fence by Kimberly Cates

Finnoula O'Grady had never had a home. Growing up in foster care, Finn had spent her childhood longing for a little house with a white picket fence. Years later her dreams came true when she inherited the rundown March Winds. But someone else was in love with her house--young Emma, the lonely niece of her next-door neighbor Cade MacDaniel.

Cade knew nothing about being a single parent. The only love and caring he'd ever done were for the old houses he restored for a living. But there was no denying that Finn's arrival had him feeling decidedly more human than usual. And when Emma finds a child's 150-year-old diary, they unearth a story that brings the three wounded souls together and begins to change March Winds from just a house. . .into a home.

My Thoughts

Finn, a new librarian in Whitewater, Illnois, buys March Winds, an old house that rests next door to the MacDaniel’s. Emma has claimed the house for her own and when Finn moves in, she is none too pleased. Hoping to scare Finn away, Emma plays a number of pranks in the hopes of making Finn believe the house is haunted. Unfortunately, her pranks cause a major accident and to make up for it, her uncle Cade agrees to the repairs.

During the process of renovation, Finn and Cade begin to fall in love. When Emma discovers an old diary written by her “ghost”, the barriers fall down and they come together as a family.

Picket Fence is a story of three lost souls overcoming the fear of rejection and abandonment and finding the courage to reach out and trust again. A family drama written with full character development and an engaging plot, Picket Fence is a heartwarming story that should be on the shelf of every romance lover.