Storms & Embers

When Category Four Hurricane Ida barrels into her small Louisiana town, Star Cheramie faces an impossible choice: evacuate to safety or stay behind to protect the coastal motel she's worked at for eighteen years while her father battles cancer just miles away. She stays.

As the storm tears through everything she's ever known, guests panic and the hotel begins to come apart around her. Through it all, Star refuses to abandon the people depending on her, even when the cost feels greater than she can bear.

Retired Air Force firefighter Zeke Cooper arrives with a disaster response team expecting another assignment, another devastated town, another place he'll leave behind when the work is done. Keeping his distance has always been easier than putting down roots. Then he meets Star.

Exhausted, determined, and carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, she's unlike anyone he's ever known. As they work side by side through the aftermath of the hurricane clearing debris and rebuilding shattered lives, an undeniable connection begins to grow between them.

But love is complicated when the future is uncertain. Star's responsibilities continue to multiply as her father's health declines, while Zeke knows his time in Louisiana is running out. The deeper their feelings become, the harder it is to ignore the reality standing between them.

When the storm finally passes, will they find the courage to build something lasting together or will they become another casualty of the devastation left behind?