North of Superior (Harding's World of Romance #3)

Harding fans will be enthralled by the latest novel in the series, this time a longer work in which she proves that she can capture the reader’s interest and emotions in a more complex, realistic love story with imperfect heroes, endearing secondary characters and poignant moments mixed with her trademark lighthearted style.
North of Superior is an emotionally charged romance set in the wilds of Northwestern Ontario. Naomi Miller has just returned to Thunder Bay with her ten-year old daughter to help her ailing grandfather and to make a fresh start when her life becomes entangled again with the sexy NHL player, Erik Landsverk, who has no idea that he is the father of her child. It is a story of love lost and found, of loyalty, family, memory and the hope of second chances, in the gritty reality of small-town life.
Naomi Miller knew one perfect summer of romance when she was eighteen, with the NHL hopeful, Erik Landsverk. Both agreed not to try for a long-distance relationship because each had big dreams: an NHL career for Erik, and university for Naomi. By the time she discovered that she was pregnant, he had left town. Naomi had been living with her grandfather because of her own mother’s disastrous relationships. Rather than reveal the father of her unborn baby and be forced into a shotgun wedding, she abandoned her plans and ran away to become a struggling single mother.
Now returning to the grandfather she hasn’t spoken to in ten years, she hopes to regain some control over her life and finally to move forward, leaving her mistakes behind her. Meanwhile, Erik has spent ten years in and out of the NHL, struggling with back injuries and concussions. He has come to Thunder Bay for the summer while he recovers, to help to run his family’s lumber mill business and to consider his career options and his struggling relationship with a model in LA. As a hometown hero, he is asked to help coach the major junior team as well as a children’s hockey camp that runs through the summer.
Unwittingly Eric becomes the coach for Naomi’s daughter, Cody, a scrappy, resilient little girl who has grown up with very little stability apart from her dog. When Naomi accidentally bumps into Erik again, the old chemistry and connection is still there but Naomi’s realization of her unfairness in keeping Cody a secret jeopardizes the growing attraction between them until a crisis forces them both to face the choices which have shaped their lives.