{"product_id":"smoke-between-us-paperback","title":"Smoke Between Us - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eEric J. Neal\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSmoke Between Us\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Novel of Love, Loss, and the Healing Flame\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvan Holt was built for fire-calm under pressure, fearless in chaos, and willing to throw himself into burning buildings when others turned away. But after years of emergency calls steeped in tragedy, the fire is no longer just out there-it's inside him. Nightmares stalk his sleep. Anger simmers beneath his skin. And something vital inside him is beginning to fracture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter one call goes particularly wrong, his team pushes him to seek help. That's how he ends up in the office of Dr. Lena Rowan-a psychologist known for her poise, precision, and quiet resilience. She's steady where he's volatile, patient where he's stubborn. And their first sessions are nothing short of a battlefield. Evan refuses to talk. Lena refuses to retreat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the walls start to crack.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs sessions unfold, Evan begins to relive not just the horrors of his job, but the trauma he thought he'd buried for good-a childhood fire, abuse cloaked in silence, and the faint memory of a woman who once shielded him from the flames.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat neither of them expects is that Lena was that woman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYears ago, on the worst night of Evan's life, she had been the stranger who wrapped him in her jacket and whispered, \u003cem\u003eYou're safe now\u003c\/em\u003e. Neither recognized the other at first-but when the truth emerges, it binds them in a way that no textbook could prepare them for.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLena, too, carries her own grief: a husband lost to suicide, a life built around helping others while quietly unraveling inside. The more she sees Evan, the more their pain mirrors each other's-raw, familiar, and dangerously intimate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen a rain-soaked night leads to a kiss that crosses every professional boundary, Lena makes the painful decision to transfer clinics. Meanwhile, Evan commits himself to healing-joining a group therapy program for first responders and finally learning to speak the truths he's long avoided.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWeeks pass. The silence between them grows heavy. And then Evan writes the letter that changes everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"You weren't just my psychologist. You were the first person to stay.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Lena arrives at the firehouse-not as his therapist, but as herself-they sit together as equals. For the first time, they speak openly. Honestly. Without fear.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a final chapter full of hope and quiet beauty, Evan brings Lena to the site of his childhood home-now a thriving community garden. There, he shares his plan: to launch a support group for first responders, built on healing and honesty. And he wants her help-not as a therapist, but as a partner.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSmoke Between Us\u003c\/strong\u003e is a poignant, deeply emotional story about the intersections of trauma, memory, and unexpected love. It's a novel about what we carry, what we bury, and what happens when someone finally helps us breathe again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFor the first time in years, he inhaled-and didn't taste smoke.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 188\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.4 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 24, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47267889119481,"sku":"9798231780938","price":28.78,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/pDyaQt1CJR9798231780938.webp?v=1768873132","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/smoke-between-us-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}