In a matter of minutes, I gained two kids, a house, a dog . . . and a hot doctor-farmer guy for a neighbor.

I never anticipated being a single mom, but I did expect to get pregnant first. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined taking custody of my niece and nephew, let alone moving back to my hometown.

Even more surprising is the guy living on the other side of my pond who could pass as a model for an outdoors catalog. Oh, and he's a doctor.

Too bad he met me at my worst—barely dressed and several days past a shower, still holding the half-eaten cookie cake that sent me spiraling into a sugar coma. Of course, losing one's sister and trading in a life of traveling the country for Apple Cart County could do that to a person. It did do it for me.

With my life in so much upheaval, the last thing I need is to fall for the guy next door. But he's making it hard to resist with handsome smiles and helping around the property. And as an instant mama to a middle schooler and second grader stuck in the town I escaped almost a decade ago, I need all the help I can get.

This sweet-heat-level small town, romantic comedy is the first in a new series set in the fictitious Apple Cart County, Alabama. Hart of Dixie meets Sweet Magnolias as friends navigate raising kids among busy lives and nosy neighbors.