From the novel Eleanor and Abel by Annette Sanford.

Retired schoolteacher Eleanor Bannister has built a life of quiet order and safe routines in her small Texas town. But when a storm tears a hole in her roof, help arrives in the form of Abel Brown, a charming stranger with warmth, kindness, and a past he’s not ready to share. What begins as a simple repair soon becomes a friendship that gently unravels Eleanor’s safe, solitary world. As laughter and tenderness creep back into her days, she must decide whether it’s worth risking her heart for love she thought long behind her. Poignant, gently funny, and full of heart, Fireflies by Matthew Barber is a luminous story about second chances, unexpected connections, and the quiet courage it takes to open up when life surprises you.