Rust and Wildflowers

Rust and Wildflowers: A Coming-of-Age Novel of Broken Families, Grief, and Small-Town Secrets

Molly Parker has already lost more than most sixteen-year-olds ever will. Her mother’s death has left her adrift, a grandmother’s love the only anchor in a life split wide open. But when the courts send her back to live with her father—an ex-con who abandoned her to alcohol and silence—Molly is forced into a broken world she never chose.
Twenty-nine-year-old Henry O’Connell has returned to his hometown to bury his father, only to find himself drowning in grief and regret. In this small, weather-beaten town where power lines stretch across gray skies, Molly and Henry’s paths collide and their fragile connection blurs into a dangerous attraction—with consequences neither one of them could expect. 

Molly clings to the memory of her grandmother’s garden and the hope that she might still find a place where she belongs. Henry drifts through empty days in his childhood home, haunted by failure, silence, and everything left unsaid. In the fading glow of street lamps and the long hush of summer nights, two lost souls find in each other the warmth the world has denied them. But their tender bond is laced with a quiet yearning—forbidden, and off limits. As secrets fester and the shadows of the past close in, Molly and Henry must choose whether to resist what pulls them together or surrender to a ruin they may not escape.

Rust and Wildflowers is a darkly atmospheric coming-of-age novel that blends family drama, small-town secrets, and forbidden longing into an unforgettable story of loss, resilience, and the dangerous cost of love. Perfect for readers of literary fiction and emotionally charged family dramas who are drawn to stories of grief, redemption, and the fragile hope that blooms even in the harshest soil.

Publisher - BookVAULT Publishing

Language - English

Perfect Bound

Contributors

By author

Craig Dooley

Published Date - 2025-09-09

ISBN - 9781806545544

Dimensions - 22.9 x 15.2 x 0.8 cm

Page Count - 154