Past Tents

Love isn't past tense—it's the future. Clay Meadows runs a fast mile, but that hasn't helped him catch the one who got away. His jam is teaching Shakespeare, coaching track, and camping in the mountains. The last thing he wants is a scaredy cat art teacher with wild blond hair and devilish charm joining him on the Green Valley High senior retreat. Or is it? When his lifelong crush and best friend's sister is assigned as his co-chaperone, Clay sees an opportunity. He'll cure her fear of bugs, bears, and flimsy tents. She'll fall in love with the wilderness. He won't fall in love in the process. Even in close quarters—and a shared tent—Clay vows to keep his school crush firmly where it belongs—in the past. Until she edges open a crack in his heart and allows him to believe she likes what she sees. Ally Dalbotten is stubbornly self-sufficient and determined to protect her heart from unreliable men. She hates camping. And dirt. And wild animals. And the wilderness, for that matter. The last thing she needs is the gung-ho hottie of the English department revealing his Clark Kent alter-ego and flexing his camping muscles—along with his pecs. But under the façade of a man who runs from commitment Ally finds a vulnerable soul with a secret he's carried for years. Ally has a choice—risk that Clay is another guy destined to break her heart...or trust that he's the one who will love her forever. Past Tents is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #4 in the Teachers' Lounge series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.