Heartstrings and Helmets
Hearts in Hawthorne Book 1
by Alexa Aston
Oliver-Heber Books
June 17, 2025
Available in: e-Book
Welcome to Hawthorne, Texas, a place where many former citizens return, drawn to their hometown's slower pace and family values, finding lasting love and happiness.
A man who's gained fortune and fame. A woman who's known heartbreak and despair. A second chance for a couple who went their separate ways years ago . . .
As a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, West Sutherland walks away at the peak of his career, ready to find a quieter life in his hometown of Hawthorne, Texas. He's hired by his former high school coach and mentor and will have a place on the Hawks' coaching staff next year. He's surprised to find Kelby Blackstone in town, the girl he's never forgotten.
Kelby Blackstone married her college boyfriend, who was drafted into the NFL. Injury-prone, he turns to alcohol and drugs, and Kelby divorces him. She moves to Dallas and forges a new career path and life, until she receives devastating news that her father has suffered a stroke.
Although as teenagers, West and Kelby maturely agreed to go their separate ways after high school, running into one another in Hawthorne fourteen years later causes unresolved feelings to surface for them both. They decide to explore what they missed out on the first time, finding their shared past and old friendship soon grows into deep feelings for one another.
The road to love is never easy, however, and they must deal with obstacles in their professional lives, even as they find strength in their shared passion for their hometown and each other.
Will a second chance at finding lasting happiness be in store for West and Kelby?
Find the answer in bestselling author Alexa Aston's Heartstrings and Helmets, the first book in Hearts in Hawthorne. This romance contains no third-act breakup!
Award-winning and internationally bestselling author Alexa Aston lives with her husband in a Dallas suburb, where she eats her fair share of dark chocolate and plots out stories while she walks every morning. She’s a binge fiend (The Crown and Ozark are favorites) who enjoys travel, sports, and time with her family. Her historical romances bring to life loveable rogues and dashing knights, while her contemporary romances are light and flirty and sometimes contain a bit of suspense.