Alrick Falls is a small coastal town where the Monroe and Baylor families grew up. By the end of Fumbled Hearts, Kalani Embers and Nate Monroe are together and engaged, living in Oceanside where Kalani runs her family’s business. Parker Baylor moved there with her after high school, works at her company, and is being groomed to take it over. Nate’s older sister Kenra is engaged to Kellan Vermont, a football player from Alrick Falls. Parker has been in love with Kenra since he was a freshman in high school.
Books in Series
Book 1: Fumbled Hearts
Book 2: Defenseless Hearts
Book 2.5: Fourth Down (Novella)
Main Characters
Parker Baylor: Lives in Oceanside with his best friend Lolli.
Kenra Monroe: Nate’s older sister, engaged to Kellan Vermont.
Supporting Characters
Payton Baylor: Parker’s pregnant sixteen-year-old younger sister.
Kalani “Lolli” Embers: Parker’s best friend and housemate. Engaged to Nate.
Nathaniel “Nate” Monroe: Kenra’s younger brother and Lolli’s fiancé.
Kellan Vermont: Kenra’s fiancé and Deaton’s older brother.
Deaton Vermont: Kellan’s younger brother and Payton’s boyfriend.
Arianna “Ari” Johnson: Mason’s twin sister and Kenra’s cousin.
Mason Johnson: Ari’s twin brother and Kenra’s cousin.
Recap Summary
Parker is living his best life in Oceanside when his sixteen-year-old sister, Payton, turns up at the door, pregnant and running from their mum. She arrives after accepting a lift from Kenra Monroe, Nate’s older sister and Parker’s longest-running heartache, who is engaged to Kellan Vermont. Payton is furious with Parker for leaving Alrick Falls without her.
The book often cuts back and forth, showing how Parker and Kenra ended up here. In high school, Kenra’s then-best friend, Liv, pushed her towards Kellan — a senior, a football star — instead of Parker, who was a freshman. Kenra and Kellan got together, and it was toxic from the start: controlling and manipulative. Kenra and Parker kept finding their way back to each other in the gaps, through late nights and honest conversations that never quite became anything, always ending with her returning to Kellan. After graduation, Parker moved to California with Lolli and tried to put it all behind him.
In the present, Kenra is a shadow of herself. Years of Kellan’s control have worn her down in ways her family immediately notices when Nate, Ari, Mason, and the rest of the group arrive in Oceanside. As she starts to let her guard down around Parker, they fall back into their pull towards each other, but getting free of Kellan is anything but straightforward.
They return to Alrick Falls together so Kenra can finally tell her parents that Kellan has been blackmailing her for years, holding leverage over Nate and their father’s business. Kellan intercepts her before she can, twisting the situation and forcing her hand again. He follows them back to California and ends up dragging Kenra and Deaton towards the Vermont estate. On the way, they get into a car crash. Deaton dies, and Kellan and Kenra are both hospitalised.
Afterwards, it comes out that Kellan coerced Kenra into a legal marriage to keep control over her life, and has been holding it over her ever since. Parker confronts him and makes it plain: he will burn down everything Kellan has built if Kellan does not release Kenra. Kellan agrees to the divorce, but makes a play through the Tomahawks, having quietly acquired shares he can use to hurt Nate and Lolli, and, by extension, Parker and Kenra.
There was no prenup, so before the divorce is finalised, Kenra transfers Kellan’s shares to Parker, stripping him of his last piece of leverage and handing Lolli and Parker full ownership of the team.
In the final stretch, Kenra moves in with Parker and Payton gives birth to a boy she names Deaton Baylor.
Next in Series
A companion novella, Fourth Down, follows Mia and Austin and was released as part of the Fumbled Futures box set. The wider universe continues with the Boys of Avix series, beginning with Say You Swear, which follows Ari Johnson and picks up characters from both Fumbled Futures books.
∫∫∫