Hathaway House Books
Welcome to Hathaway House, a heartwarming series from USA TODAY best-selling author Dale Mayer. Here you’ll meet wounded warriors as they’re given a second chance at happiness and love at a special physical rehab facility, including heroes from Dale’s other books as they continue on their journeys. Magic happens here! Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Former Navy SEAL Aaron Hammond has no idea how he wound up at Hathaway House, Texas. Nor does he particularly care. All he can see is his anger. Anger at the betrayal that destroyed his physical body and at the loss of the future he wanted but that he’ll never have now. He’s a cripple, less than half a man, and all he can look forward to is a half life, alone with himself and his pain. Dani Hathaway runs Hathaway House with her father, an ex-military man nicknamed the Major, and she knew Aaron and his brother SEAL Levi in another life. Levi was a good friend to her through her difficult teen years, but it was Aaron who caught her eye more than a decade ago. When she heard what happened to him, she moved heaven and earth to get him to Hathaway House, where she could help him regain his health and return him to the man he used to be. Old feelings resurface as Dani continues to push Aaron to acknowledge that his life is not over, and that, if he chooses, he can find both love and a future at Hathaway House.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Former Navy SEAL Brock Gorman has been at Hathaway House for more than a month with minimal improvement to either his physical or mental health. An vehicle accident on base two months ago caused major hip, back, and shoulder injuries that took away any chance he had of ever going on a mission again. Making it through BUD/S training and into the SEALs teams was the crowning glory of Brock’s life. Now it’s gone. Why try to get better when he has nothing left to live for? Physiotherapist Sidney Morning has been away from Hathaway House for nine months of specialized training. When she returns, there’s Brock. And, while she loves the tough cases, he might be more than she can handle. He’s big. He’s strong. He’s stubborn. He’s gorgeous. And he’s not making the efforts needed to get better. But, if Sidney can get under his skin and force him to jumping hurdles he’s not interested in jumping, she can help him see that there are things which still make life worth living. Sparks fly as Sidney and Brock fight their own emotions and each other, pushing Brock where he needs to go. … If they are lucky, he might find both healing and love at Hathaway House.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. When Navy SEAL Cole Muster entered Hathaway House weeks ago, he was doing well. His meds were under control; his recovery was progressing at a safe rate, and he was getting better every day. But, left to his own devices, Cole pushed himself too hard and took himself off his medication—and ended up causing himself harm and earned himself time in a hospital. Now he’s returned, hoping that Hathaway House can get him back on track one more time. RN Sandra Denver feels responsible for what happened to Cole. She was his nurse and should have realized that he wasn’t ready to leave Hathaway House. His setback was her fault, or at least she could have prevented it, if she’d made sure he was taking those meds she gave him daily. Now that he’s back, she’s finding it hard to trust not just him but herself. And she understands, when Cole has a hard time trusting himself too, it won’t make his recovery any easier. For Cole’s sake, Sandra must help him overcome his stumbling blocks as well as her own. With any luck, they’ll find a second chance at recovery, for both of them, at Hathaway House.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Navy SEAL Denton Hamilton has checked himself into Hathaway House, hoping for a fraction of the results his friends have gotten at the rehab center. Now missing a rib, muscles and a portion of his stomach, as well as suffering from PTSD, Denton would be happy to have his physical self healed. He’s not so sure he’ll ever get his mental health back, and finding a woman who’ll have him now—as his friends have been lucky enough to do—is out of the question. Who would be willing to love a man like him? Administrative Assistant Hannah Forsythe helps Dani run Hathaway House. A loner at heart, she’s drawn to Denton’s struggle and dismayed at his belief that no one could ever love him. But when an ill-advised observation she makes has unexpected consequences for Denton’s recovery, Hannah’s only choice is to separate herself from him to help him progress without her. As time passes, Hannah wonders if her choice has cost her everything she’s ever wanted or whether Denton can work through his feelings to give them both their happy ending at Hathaway House.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Former Navy SEAL Elliot Carver came to Hathaway House to get help with the lingering repercussions of a mission gone bad. His body is dealing with the physical trauma of a spinal cord injury, while his mind is caught in a loop of painful memories that he can’t sideline, and both won’t let him heal the way he’d like. Former ER Nurse Sicily Lawrence has just made her way out of a difficult relationship, and the quietness of the night shift at Hathaway House gives her peace of mind. The last thing she needs is to get involved in another volatile union. But she has seen injuries like Elliot’s before, and she knows that a certain type of therapy can help. One Elliot isn’t interested in trying. Now, for Elliot’s sake, Sicily must push him toward the progress he needs, even it means losing him. And, with time and luck, maybe they can cross the hurdle and find each other at Hathaway House.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Navy SEAL Finn MacGregor arrives at Hathaway House not only with half of one leg but with a stoma, one that necessitates the use of a colostomy bag. While it’s nice to once again see his old friend Dani Hathaway and her father, the Major, it’s tough to feel like the least sexy man on the face of the earth. Especially after he meets the pretty nurse in charge of his care … Fiona Smithers has seen practically everything when it comes to the human body, and Finn’s physical problems don’t faze her. Emotionally she’s wary though. Once before, one of her patients had confused the gratitude he felt for her as love. … That scenario left Fiona devastated to know her friendliness had been misunderstood. Whether deemed love or friendliness, those emotions directly effected that patient’s initial healing and then his setbacks of body as well as of heart and of mind, making her more determined not to run the same risks again. Yet, this time, she may not be able to help herself. She wants Finn in her life on a permanent basis, but, after seeing his obsession with her in his artwork, is that even possible?
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Navy SEAL Gregory Parkins knows he’s not so bad off as to need what Hathaway House offers, but he’ll do anything to get in. RN Meredith Anderson is there, and Greg loves Meredith. In the time since they split up, his life has been one disaster after another, including the one that ended his career—the career that separated them in the first place. Meredith was horrified to hear what happened to Gregory. But seeing his file was an even bigger shock. Greg thinks he’s basically back to normal, but Meredith knows he has a long way to go. She doesn’t know how to tell him, without running the risk of him leaving Hathaway House before his healing can really take place. But the last thing she wants is for him to walk away from her again. Not if there is any chance that they can find their way back to each other …
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Overjoyed at his transfer to Hathaway House, Heath Jorgenson is anxious to maximize his potential and to get better from the multiple injuries that sidelined him. But rest is necessary for recovery, and Heath’s body won’t give him any. Even when he buckles under and accepts the need for drugs, his body rejects them. And all the determination in the world won’t matter when your own body is working against you. Just when he’s about to give up, respite comes from the unlikeliest of sources. The sound of the cleaning lady slowly and methodically washing the hall floor outside his room lulls him to sleep and allows him to see some of the progress he’s desperate for. Hailee Cisco is grateful for the part-time job of washing floors at Hathaway House. Sure, it isn’t glamorous, but it’s honest work, and, along with her other job, it’s enough to pay the bills—of which Hailee has many. When Dani, the heart of and the partial owner of Hathaway House, offers Hailee a full-time job, Hailee is delighted at the chance to cut back to just one job. Until she realizes that her change in hours has an unintended impact on Heath’s sleep patterns …
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Getting accepted to Hathaway House is the new start Iain MacLeod has been waiting for. His old VA center has put him on the road to recovery, but he’s nowhere near where he wants to be. Much work remains to be done, and Iain is determined to do what’s necessary to get back to full power. But he has hit the limit of his current professionals’ abilities. He needs a new team. New eyes. New methods. He can only hope that Hathaway House has what he needs to keep moving forward. Robin Carruthers works in the veterinary clinic at Hathaway House. When she connects with Iain, she’s his biggest cheerleader and enjoys watching him take steps toward greater recovery. Until she realizes that, while Iain is growing in major ways, … she isn’t. When traumas from her past intrude on the present, and Robin is forced to confront issues of her own, she’s afraid she and Iain won’t find their way back to each other again …
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Jaden Hancock is blessed to still have two arms and two legs, but the one leg is so badly damaged as to be virtually useless. Until he came to Hathaway House, he’d never expected that it might become a vital part of his future. He’s willing to work for it, it’s just hard to see the lack of progress even after weeks. He knows he needs to accept his current state, but that feels like giving up. And that’s something he’s not prepared to do. But as defeat, and hope, and depression and final triumph he sees a future he’d never been able to envision before. Brianna Kole slowly adjusted to Hathaway House. She’d crossed the country to get away from her old life. As the newest staff member, she was polite but not overly friendly. She’d built walls to protect herself from getting hurt again. Only she’d arrived close to the same time as Jaden and in spite of her reservations they’d hit it off instinctively gravitating to the other new guy. But it wasn’t long before she was questioning her feelings… and his. It seems one step forward, then one step backwards. Will these two figure out what’s really important? Before it’s too late?
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Keith came to Hathaway House at his sister’s insistence. For he has already given up on regaining the future she keeps telling him that he can find here or, for that matter, any other future worth having. And, besides, don’t they know he’s too weak for the trip and for the treatment and for any of the plans the team has for him? Don’t they know he’s broken beyond repair, and nothing they can do will fix him? But apparently they don’t because no one listens to him. Not the doctors. Not his sister. And definitely not the tiny woman who keeps delivering his coffee at 5:00 a.m. Ilse, head chef for Hathaway House, rarely ventures out of the kitchen she manages. It’s easier to deal with the groceries and the staff than it is to see the pain and suffering of those she feeds. But something about Keith and his frailty calls to her. She can’t help but go out of her way to ensure he has everything he needs. Even though she knows she cannot keep their relationship on a professional level, once started. Even if not in her best interests to do so. Because, in this case, surely Keith’s best interests matter, so much more than her own.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Lance Mayfair sought out Hathaway House at the recommendation of a friend, who told him it was an answer to prayer. Lance knows more about prayers than answers, but, if he can see progress in one particular area of his life and health, it will be worth the effort and the pain. He’ll do anything he can to play music again. It’s all he has left now that his days as a Navy SEAL are over and, with them, any chance of a happy, productive life. However, the shoulder injury that ended his career pretty much guarantees he’ll never play his beloved instruments ever again. Unless Hathaway House and Jessica can work a miracle. Jessica has worked with many patients at Hathaway House, but she connects with Lance in a way she didn’t with any of the others. She can see the need inside him—his desire to create again, to heal through music. And his goal becomes her goal: to see him play music in his soul again. Only his music isn’t all he wants or needs, and making him happy goes a long way to making her happy, but it’s not enough. Both want and need so much more.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Health-care worker Shane has been at Hathaway House since the beginning. He’s watched patient after patient scratch and claw their way to recovery and has watched relationship after relationship blossom into love and marriage. He believes in love. Wants a true love of his own. Yet he wonders now whether anyone is out there for him. Until Melissa walks into his gym. Broken and beaten by life and overwhelmed with endless pain was never part of Melissa’s long-term plan. But a year after an accident sidelined her navy career, she’s still fighting her way back to a normal life—if such a thing exists for the woman she’s become. Her transfer to Hathaway House is a lifeline to her oldest friend, but, even with Dani’s encouragement, Melissa’s journey back to health is long and hard and maybe just a pipe dream. But she’ll try again. One more time. Separately, Shane and Melissa have been battling their own personal demons. When they meet at Hathaway House, the tough physiotherapist vows that his newest client will reach successes unimaginable to her. Together, working through her rehab plan, Shane and Melissa find a special tenderness behind each other’s strength.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Nash has been struggling to get back on his feet after his last set of surgeries. He pushed for a transfer to Hathaway House on an old friend’s recommendation and finally made it there—after multiple frustrating delays—only to find that he isn’t ready for the strides he hopes to make in the new facility. To add insult to injury, on his first day at Hathaway House, he comes face-to-face with Alicia, the only woman he’s ever loved and the last woman he’d want to see him in his current condition. Alicia let Nash go more than a decade ago, unwilling to settle for a long-distance relationship with the sailor, certain that her future would bring other dreams and other loves. But, when her brother fell ill, all her dreams shattered. She devoted herself to nursing him and, after his death, to helping others. Seeing Nash again is both pleasure and pain. The rapport between them is instant, as if the years apart had never happened. But, if they couldn’t make things work back then, when life was bright and new, do the people they’ve become in the years since have a shot at a future together?
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Uncle Sam’s Navy wasn’t kind to Owen Powell. After he walked too close to a landmine, he was left with leg and back injuries and a rough road to regaining his health. His career is down the drain; his future is uncertain, and every day is a struggle toward better mental and physical health. The last thing he expects to find is love in the midst of therapy at Hathaway House. Penny Abigail has spent all her adult life trying to prove to her family that she’s strong enough after a lifetime of illnesses to live her life on her own terms. Although frail, she’s worked hard to get to where she’s at today. She has created several charities and hands out large sums of money to deserving organizations, including Hathaway House. Meeting Owen wasn’t part of her plan, but she’s willing to run with it. The problem is convincing her overprotective family that the broken SEAL is good enough for her and is not just after her money …
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. It was Aaron who convinced Percy to take a chance on Hathaway House. Yet, when he arrives, Aaron is back at school, and Percy’s alone after all. The place is everything Aaron said it was, but the trip getting here set his progress back, from slow to nonexistent. Giada has worked at the center for several years and always went home happily to her brother at the end of the day. Only now her brother is engaged and planning to marry in six months. Change is happening, whether she likes it or not. And, in this case, it brings up a lot of turbulence in the family dynamic. Dani offers Giada a place of her own here at Hathaway’s staff quarters, but the path forward is not so easy. Thankfully Percy is there as both a comfort and a friend. Now if only he could find the progress he’s looking for, and she could find the new beginning of her own …
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Quinton had been a patient at Hathaway House in its first year. When she finally healed enough to move on with her life, she went into law and plowed forward. However, plowing forward may not have been the best answer for her physical injuries. While visiting Stan at the center, she collapses on her way to her brother’s room, as he’s a patient here now. The collapse shows a long-term issue, now an acute problem. After talking to Dani and Shane, Quinton’s booked back into the center on a short-term basis. Stan hurts for Quinton. She’s an old friend, and he’s watched her progress from his first year in business at Hathaway. He’d always had a crush on her but figured his window of opportunity had passed. Now with her once again as a patient, it feels like a second chance for a personal relationship, one he’s more than willing to take. Between her brother—who’s not getting along at the center—and Quinton’s own struggles to get back on her feet, thankfully she also has Stan and other old friends around, as Quinton takes the steps necessary to put her life back on track … in all ways.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. After a rough start at Hathaway House and a major reboot in attitude, Ryatt still struggles to get his feet under him at the center. Seeing his sister back here hit him harder than he expected. He would like to think that, once here, he had a free pass for the rest of his life—but apparently not. Now he needs to see real progress, everlasting change, to make that future for himself that he’s rather desperate to have. Lana always looked at life with a happy, fun-loving attitude. She loves working at Hathaway and interacting with the patients and staff. It’s heartwarming and rewarding work. Every once in a while she finds a patient who is reticent and even grumpy. That fits Ryatt, but she’s attracted to the dark broken depths of him. But can she show him another way to live and to view the world? She hopes so, as he’s already helped her to see so much more in her own.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Getting into Hathaway House before his friend wasn’t the plan, but that’s how it worked out, leaving Spencer in a state of waiting for his buddy to arrive. In the meantime, he has work to do. Right from day one he wants to establish and to maintain some independence in this way-too-busy center, luckily meeting the groundskeeper on his first attempt at getting coffee. Bella has been looking after the Hathaway House grounds for over five years. Although she’s seen and interacted with many of the residents here, she never really got close to any—until Spencer. Now she can’t help but watch his progress in awe, as he moves through his program with dedication. Is he trying so hard to show off to his soon-to-arrive friend? Or for her sake? Or because he’s eager to leave the center and start his new improved future? A future that won’t be in Hathaway House and one that might not include her …
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Victor found it hard to stay upbeat when faced with a life of pain and a body that seemed more broken than whole. Adding to his depression is that his injuries were deliberately caused by “friendly fire” during a joint training session. It was hard to feel his way through the fog, until one of his therapy sessions brought up the concept of finding joy in his life. As a pastry chef, Dawn loves to play with food. It makes her happy to see others smile. Only in Victor’s case the smiles were far between and too few to count. She made it her mission to find little ways to make him smile—only to realize that she was far too attached, considering he’d be leaving soon. Can he find a way forward, without leaving her behind?
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Dealing with the loss of his right leg was one thing, but dealing with his missing left arm was more than Wesley can handle. He can hide the prosthetic leg. However, the arm is damn-near impossible to make look normal. And being normal mattered—or so he thought. Alba is a therapist at Hathaway House, helping the patients come to terms with their new reality, in order to have the highest-functioning future possible. Wesley is on her roster, but, as their sessions progress, a connection builds that is hard to resist—or to ignore. But she has to stay professional. Yet, when she points out a few issues to help him change his perspective, their friendship hits a rocky spot. Needing to find her balance again, she pulls back. Only when Wesley accidentally meets a young girl, visiting her father at the center, does Wesley get the paradigm shift he needs. The transformation is there within his reach, if he makes the effort. And the results will be worth it. He knows that. As Alba once again returns to his inner circle, he realizes just how much effort he’s willing to put in to get everything he wants.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Self-sabotage isn’t a concept Xavier is familiar with, until he ends up at Hathaway House—his application sent in with his buddy’s. When Xavier’s application was accepted, but his friend’s wasn’t, Xavier struggles with success. Even his arrival at Hathaway is bittersweet, knowing his friend has been rushed back to the hospital. Talia, a patient coordinator at Hathaway House, witnesses Xavier’s arrival, her heart tugging at his obvious sense of guilt. Even with Xavier’s stomach barely holding down food and with his mind and soul emotionally struggling without his buddy, she knows Xavier’s got what it takes to make a great recovery here—if he just focuses on his own life. Hathaway is about progress, as Xavier’s about to find out, … with friends and without.
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Yvonne made a mistake leaving Hathaway House and walking away from Dennis. Hugely comforting and caring man that he was, she had been so determined to move forward and to be someone independent that she couldn’t see what he had to offer. Until it was too late. Dennis could only love and let her go years ago. Now she’s returned to Hathaway House—injured again, broken inside, emotionally devastated, and worn out from the hard fight she has endured over the last five years. And Dennis is forced to the sidelines, watching as the woman he loves once again struggles to work toward her new more-broken reality. If only she could see this as a second chance for both of them …
Welcome to Hathaway House. Rehab Center. Safe Haven. Second chance at life and love. Zander finds it hard to believe he’s finally made it to Hathaway House—months after Xavier came here. Although his friend is still here to greet him on his arrival, Zander’s essentially on his own. Seeing the contrast between Xavier before and now is amazing. His success should be something that springboards Zander to follow in his friend’s footsteps, but Zander’s frail health is always there in the background, holding him back. Nelly, a recently hired nutritionist, is thrilled to be at Hathaway House and seeing Zander’s weak body reminds her of all the reasons she went into this field. He’s desperately in need of every bit of help that the staff here can provide. Just to add to the chaos, a large wedding is being organized for Dani and Aaron. For Zander, seeing the happy couple reminds him of all that’s missing in his life and all that just might be here for him, if he can but reach out for it.