North of Forty Press

Author: Thurman Hart

  • From Picnic to Pops

    Cougar Connection #4

     I waited for him to sit across from me. “In fact, everything is very good. I just…” I sat there, mouth open, searching for words. Everything sounded corny or horny, and I didn’t want either one. Finally, I said, “I want you to stay. Tonight.” I looked at him. “That’s supposed to be an invitation. I know it didn’t sound like one, but…”

    Ebook available on Amazon Kindle and at your favorite retailer.

    Dr. Renee Whitaker is turning fifty, and she isn’t sure that’s something worth celebrating.

    Her life is already good: a successful pediatric practice, a comfortable home, and the independence she worked hard to build. What she doesn’t have is someone to share it with. On a friend’s suggestion, Renee reluctantly tries Cougar Connections—and meets twenty-nine-year-old Evan Mercer.

    Their first date is just lunch in the park.

    Then comes an old-film double feature. Thai takeout. Long kisses. A troublesome maple tree. And the growing realization that neither of them wants this to be just a fling.

    Renee knows what twenty-one years between them might mean. Evan knows what he wants.

    And when Renee finally works up the courage to ask who should join her for a long-planned birthday night at the Boston Pops, she discovers that turning fifty might be worth celebrating after all.

    Some connections aren’t planned. They’re felt.

    From Picnic to Pops is the fourth standalone story in the Cougar Connections series—an open-door age-gap romance about taking chances, unexpected intimacy, and finding something worth holding onto.

  • After the Spin Cycle

    Night Shift #3

    Coming Soon

  • Dogwalks and Catfish

    Night Shift #2

    Available Oct. 15

    She patted my leg. “You’re a good man. Most people would just call animal control.”

    “Socks didn’t need control.” The old man’s feet twitched in his sleep. “He needed love. That’s all any of us need, really. A little love.” I smiled at the memory. “Monique gave him his name. Said she felt better with a dog around while I was at work. I did, too.”

    Darnell Brooks has his routine figured out. Thirty-two years working nights. Morning walks with his old dog, Socks. A little fishing under the Sunderland Bridge when he needs some peace. At fifty-five, widowed and settled into the life he has left, he isn’t looking for anything to change.

    Then Socks meets Tigger.

    Tigger’s owner, Becca Sullivan, is fifty-one, works nights in the emergency room, and talks enough for both of them. What starts as two tired night-shifters walking their dogs after work becomes breakfast at Cumberland Farms, an invitation to go fishing, and a quiet night under a bridge where two people who have both lost more than they expected begin talking about the things they usually keep to themselves.

    Darnell hasn’t wanted a woman since his wife died. Becca isn’t sure she can trust being wanted after the man she loved chose someone else.

    But sometimes starting over doesn’t require forgetting what came before. Sometimes it begins with an old dog, a spoiled Boston terrier, and a plate of freshly caught catfish.

    Dogwalks and Catfish is a warm, single-sitting contemporary romance about two middle-aged night-shift workers discovering that companionship can become friendship—and friendship can become something neither of them expected.

  • The Other Side of the Couch

    Night Shift #1

    Coming Soon

  • This Particular Weekend

    Cougar Connections # 3

    Coming Soon

  • Tomorrow is Tomorrow

    Cougar Connections #2

    Coming Soon

    “Hello, Mateo.” I returned his smile. His face was broad and friendly. Quick to smile, and it went all the way to his eyes. Which were heavenly. The kind of eyes that were made for staring into.

    “Have a seat. Tell me why a handsome man like you is available on Friday night.”

    He shrugged. “Well, I guess I was waiting for the right lady to invite me for a drink.”

    “I’m not a handsome man,” I responded, raising an eyebrow. I straightened my back and gave the girls a slight adjustment. “Please, tell me you notice that.”

    His eyes followed the movement and lingered at the vee that dipped between my breasts.

    “Oh, I noticed. Right away.”

    Joanna Kaczmarek knows exactly what she wants.

    At forty-six, she has a home she loves, a life she built for herself, and no interest in rearranging either one for a man. When a Friday-night date falls through, she decides she doesn’t need romance. She needs a younger man, a little uncomplicated fun, and maybe a very good reason not to spend the weekend alone.

    Mateo Ribeiro is thirty, gorgeous, hardworking, and supposed to be temporary.

    One drink turns into a night together. Then breakfast. Then a Saturday spent moving firewood, laughing, dancing, and discovering that incredible sex might not be the most dangerous thing happening between them.

    Joanna isn’t looking for a boyfriend. Mateo isn’t asking to be one. Neither of them knows where this is going.

    Maybe they don’t have to.

    Tomorrow is tomorrow.

  • Between Nothing and Everything

    Cougar Connections #1

    “I’m not opposed to having a family, and I’m definitely not opposed to sex. But there’s got to be something in between, right? Like maybe just having a nice meal, like this. Or watching a movie. Just picking up the phone and saying hi. Not everything should have to mean everything or nothing, you know?”

    I looked at Eric and really listened to what he was saying. He wasn’t looking for all the answers. He wasn’t even looking for all the questions. He just wanted something in between the times when he had to figure out where everything was going. I could understand that. I was kind of there too.

    Megan wasn’t looking for forever.

    At fifty-one, divorced for a decade and comfortable with the life she has built, she isn’t even sure she’s looking for a relationship. Then a dating app introduces her to Eric, a twenty-six-year-old man who is easy to talk to, impossible not to notice, and very clear about wanting to spend time with her.

    Dinner becomes an afternoon together. An afternoon becomes kissing. And somewhere between bookstores, pizza, and evenings on Megan’s deck, something that was supposed to be casual starts feeling unexpectedly real.

    Neither of them knows what to call it. Neither is ready to make promises.

    But Megan knows one thing: this isn’t nothing.

    Between Nothing and Everything is a short, open-door contemporary romance about unexpected attraction, honest desire, and two people giving themselves permission to enjoy something good without knowing where it will lead.