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Safe Zone: A Later-in-Life, Sweet Firefighter Romance
He was burned and hospitalized after a fire. His girlfriend left him. When a pretty therapy dog owner enters his life, can he learn to love again?
Safe Zone is a stand-alone novel and the first book in the Gulf Coast Firefighters series.
When thirty-nine-year-old Sydney Davenport decides to volunteer at the hospital with her therapy dog Hitchcock, she knows she’s found meaning. After a failed marriage in her past and a stagnating relationship in her present, she’s ready to bring joy to others that’s missing in her own life. So she’s surprised to find an instant challenge in the city’s hero, belligerent and injured firefighter, Kevin Orchard, who doesn’t want her visit or her sympathy. This reaction isn’t what she signed up for. It would be so easy to walk away and return to her south Florida bridal shop. But Hitchcock has a mind of his own, putting Sydney back in Kevin’s path. She’s attracted to his persistence in the face of adversity. Sydney’s time at the hospital lights a spark in her heart—one she didn’t realize was possible. But acknowledging feelings for Kevin means hurting her boyfriend—something she doesn’t want to do.
Sydney must choose between what’s comfortable and what feels a lot like true love.
Forty-year-old Kevin Orchard is the city’s hero. His name and picture have been splashed all over the media—at least the old picture of him…before he was burned and broken. Kevin’s girlfriend hasn’t visited him, so he lies alone in his darkened room on the 7th floor of his Gulf Coast hospital. All he wants is for things to be like they used to a beautiful woman to love; a purpose to go on living. But people don’t always get what they want. The last thing he needs is anyone feeling sorry for him, especially a volunteer and her dog. It doesn’t matter how funny the pup’s actions are or how cute the woman is…at times. But Sydney and her dog continue to show up, and Kevin finds himself drawn to Sydney’s determination and compassion.
Kevin must decide whether he’s going to cling to mourning his lost past or accept his new reality and the possibility of new love.
Safe Zone is a stand-alone novel and the first book in the Gulf Coast Firefighters series.
When thirty-nine-year-old Sydney Davenport decides to volunteer at the hospital with her therapy dog Hitchcock, she knows she’s found meaning. After a failed marriage in her past and a stagnating relationship in her present, she’s ready to bring joy to others that’s missing in her own life. So she’s surprised to find an instant challenge in the city’s hero, belligerent and injured firefighter, Kevin Orchard, who doesn’t want her visit or her sympathy. This reaction isn’t what she signed up for. It would be so easy to walk away and return to her south Florida bridal shop. But Hitchcock has a mind of his own, putting Sydney back in Kevin’s path. She’s attracted to his persistence in the face of adversity. Sydney’s time at the hospital lights a spark in her heart—one she didn’t realize was possible. But acknowledging feelings for Kevin means hurting her boyfriend—something she doesn’t want to do.
Sydney must choose between what’s comfortable and what feels a lot like true love.
Forty-year-old Kevin Orchard is the city’s hero. His name and picture have been splashed all over the media—at least the old picture of him…before he was burned and broken. Kevin’s girlfriend hasn’t visited him, so he lies alone in his darkened room on the 7th floor of his Gulf Coast hospital. All he wants is for things to be like they used to a beautiful woman to love; a purpose to go on living. But people don’t always get what they want. The last thing he needs is anyone feeling sorry for him, especially a volunteer and her dog. It doesn’t matter how funny the pup’s actions are or how cute the woman is…at times. But Sydney and her dog continue to show up, and Kevin finds himself drawn to Sydney’s determination and compassion.
Kevin must decide whether he’s going to cling to mourning his lost past or accept his new reality and the possibility of new love.
Audible Audio
Published October 16, 2025
About the author
Susan Oloier
32 books45 followersSusan Oloier is the author of My Life as a Misfit, Fractured, Superstitions, Outcast, Haunted, and the screenplay Simple Fugitives. She is co-author of the Horror Street Series. She has been a columnist and writer for both regional and national publications, including The Daily Beast. Susan currently lives with her husband and two sons. When she's not writing, she loves to read, rock climb, and ride her bike.
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