Practicing Partners

Part of the Maiden's Bay series:

Romancing Rivals
Casting Cupid
Practicing Partners

Editions:ebook, Hardcover

Healing hearts takes more than medicine.

Bran Jackson, a gifted trauma surgeon, finds himself at a crossroads after his fast-paced lifestyle in Seattle lands him in hot water. Suspended from the hospital, he retreats to his hometown of Maiden’s Bay, hoping to take over his grandfather’s medical practice and salvage his career. The quiet coastal town seems like the perfect place to start anew—until he meets his competition.

Aubrie Turnbridge, a pediatric oncologist, wants to put the shadows of her past in Dallas behind her. Moving to Maiden’s Bay offers a fresh start and the chance to work at a small-town doctor’s office. She’s ready for the change, but not for the infuriatingly charming doctor she’s up against. Bran’s arrogance grates on her, and his motivations are as questionable as his roguish grin is disarming.

As Bran and Aubrie vie for the coveted position, the clinic becomes a battleground for their ambitions and a surprising catalyst for their hearts. With every patient they treat together, their rivalry softens into mutual respect, and then something more.

Practicing Partners is a heartwarming tale of rivalry, redemption, and romance set against the charming backdrop of Maiden’s Bay. Bran and Aubrie must navigate their own wounds and the healing power of love to find a cure for their lonely hearts.

Published: October 15, 2024

Publisher: Radiance

Genres:

Romance

Tags:

sweet romance

About the Author

Mary Shotwell

Mary Shotwell is the author of small-town love stories with happily-ever-afters for all seasons. Her debut romance novel Christmas Catch (Carina Press, 2018) was a Golden Leaf Finalist and earned a starred review from Library Journal. She loves incorporating her science and nature background into her fiction. When adulting, she’s a wife to husband Matt and mother to three children. She currently resides in Tennessee.

Other Books By Mary Shotwell

Series: Maiden's Bay

Sorted First to Last

Romancing Rivals

Casting Cupid

Practicing Partners

Forgotten Fayetteville and More Hidden Histories from Washington County

Washington County has nearly two centuries of stories to tell, and many of them have been forgotten.
In this follow-up to Forgotten Fayetteville, local historians J. B. Hogan and Susan Parks-Spencer uncover more of the people, places, and events that shaped Fayetteville and the surrounding county. Explore the violent early years of Evansville, revisit the shocking murder that led to the execution of the Burnett family, and discover what made April 1864 one of the deadliest months in Washington County history. You’ll meet John Rollin Ridge, the first Native American novelist, learn the story of Rebecca Brown Tollett’s life in slavery, and examine the tragic lynching of Reverend Anthony Bewley.
From vanished towns and frontier churches to forgotten cemeteries, pioneering families, and overlooked chapters of Native American, Black, and immigrant history, these stories reveal a richer and more complex past than many realize. Woven together, they form a portrait of the lives, triumphs, and tragedies that shaped this corner of the Ozarks and the communities that call it home.
Whether you’re a lifelong resident, a newcomer, or simply a student of Arkansas history, Forgotten Fayetteville and More Hidden Histories from Washington County invites you to look beyond familiar landmarks and rediscover the people and events that helped shape the Ozarks.

Owl Dreams

SARAH BIBLE HAS spent most of her life cleaning up after her mother, Marie. College in faraway New Mexico was supposed to be her escape.
When her boyfriend is sent to prison back in Oklahoma, Marie spirals and is committed to a psychiatric hospital. But before Sarah can bring her home, she is abducted by a mysterious Choctaw psychiatrist named Hashilli, a man rumored to be a shapeshifting witch who can steal your face as easily as your identity.
The police dismiss Sarah’s fears. Every lead disappears into a maze of false names, missing records, and dead ends. And the deeper Sarah digs into southeastern Oklahoma, the stranger the world becomes.
Her only allies in this quest are an imprisoned ex-con, a schizophrenic patient who may know more than anyone realizes, and Big Shorty, an enigmatic cemetery caretaker locals whisper about like he’s already dead himself.
To save her mother, Sarah must orchestrate an impossible breakout, unravel a web of kidnapping, murder, and identity theft, and hunt a predator who hides behind borrowed lives.
From the backroads of Choctaw country to the wild Kiamichi Mountains, Owl Dreams is a haunting supernatural thriller filled with danger, dark humor, folklore, and desperate people fighting for one last chance at redemption.

Almost the End of the World

The Apocalypse Called. It Wants a Do Over.
Seventeen-year-old Corey Walker was fully prepared to die. An asteroid the size of Texas—Perses—was supposed to wipe out everything. No college apps, no student loans, no awkward graduation speeches. Just… boom.
Then the last-minute save actually works. Earth survives. So does Corey.
Yay?
Turns out, staring down extinction leaves scars. The government’s toast, the economy’s in a coma, and nobody knows what to do next. Turns out, staring down extinction leaves scars. The government’s toast, the economy’s in a coma, and nobody knows what to do next. Corey returns to Augustus Boarding School at the insistence of his mother and finds a weird new student cult—The Refuge—targeting the most scared and vulnerable on campus, including those closest to him.
When Corey meets the fiery Paige, he finds himself with an ally against The Refuge. She’s the first person who makes him feel awake again. Together, they start pushing back. That’s when things get messy. Fast.
Now, Corey’s a reluctant leader, with enemies, followers, and a target on his back. Whether he likes it or not, he’s being forced to answer the question everyone’s been avoiding:
If the world didn’t end… what now?

Roan & Weatherford