If I Fall by Meg Embry

If I fall…will you pull me up?

Darby Avett has yearned for a mate and fawn of his own his entire life. Despite owning a very successful comic book shop and bookstore and having a well-built support system, his life feels unfulfilled. When a high-risk pregnancy places his best employee on bed rest, Darby finds himself in need of another person to cover his shift at the shop.

He hadn’t expected one to literally fall right into his life.

Harlan Peugh has spent the last eight months in Vale Valley working various jobs to make ends meet. After a traumatic event and subsequent self-destructive path leaves him alone and in self-imposed emotional isolation, Harlan just wants to get through his days and pay off his debts without imposing on the happiness of those around him, and he’s resigned himself to never finding a mate for fear of saddling them with someone who couldn’t give them everything they deserve. But then when he’s in need of a new job, one literally falls into his lap—or more accurately, he falls in front of it.

He just hadn’t expected he would fall quite so hard.

Just as Harlan begins to open up to the idea of a relationship, a run-in with someone from his past forces Harlan to reveal to Darby the very thing he knows will threaten Darby’s chance at happiness. And this time, there might not be anyone to help Harlan up again.

If I Fall is the fourth book in the fourth season of Vale Valley, but can be read as a standalone. Spend the holidays with the magical and mythical inhabitants of Vale Valley, and fall in love with the small town full of wonder, love, and enchantment.