Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself.
I’m Burk Harmon, City Manager
for Harrison, North Carolina. People around here like to tease that I look a
lot like Drew Scott from the Property Brothers. I actually do have a twin
brother, Beck. He just moved back to Harrison and married his high school
sweetheart.
Tell us about where you live and why you choose to
live there.
Harrison is a sleepy suburb
of Charlotte, North Carolina. We moved here after our father’s death. He was a
popular golfer, and the sports community and media blamed my mom for his
suicide. Neighbors here tend to protect each other. They rallied around my
family so I was proud and honored to come to work for the city. I interned here
during college, and then I was offered the Finance Director’s job when I
graduated. My old boss finally convinced me to apply for the City Manager’s job
when he retired, and …here I am.
What is a quirk of your personality that most people
wouldn’t know?
I like my clothes pressed,
even my jeans.
What obstacles did you have to overcome to reach your
happily-ever-after?
The biggest obstacle was
convincing Lacie to relax her “no dating” policy. But then it was risking a
decade long friendship to woo her into a future together as man and wife, as
family. It was a challenge to show Lacie that all men were not created equal, but
I think I finally did it. Not sure what swayed her in my favor. Maybe it was
agreeing to escort her and fifty seniors on their trip to the mountains? Or the
private picnic lunch I arranged? Or tutoring her daughter with her math
homework?
Tell us about your special lady. What makes her
special?
She’s beautiful, on the
inside as well as the outside, and strong yet gentle. She’s a single parent and
a wonderful mother to Violet even though she didn’t have the best example. As
Assistant Parks and Rec Director, she works with the seniors, and she treats them
all with respect and dignity, with as much tenderness and affection as if they
were all her grandparents. The men in her life, men who should’ve loved and
protected her, taught her that she couldn’t depend on us, so she covers a world
of hurt with that make-my-heart-stop smile.
The first time you saw her, what did you think? Did
you like her immediately, or did she have to grow on you?
I met Lacie after I
officially came on board after graduation as the Finance Director. Lacie worked
in Parks and Rec and used to bring in the cash they collected late in the
afternoons. Her visits were the highlight of my days, still are, and I always
made time to talk. Seemed like she needed a friend. Back then, she was only
twenty one, a single parent of a toddler. It took a while before she took me up
on my offer to fix some things around her Grandma Wilma’s house and to help Violet
with math homework. It took her Grandma Wilma even longer to come around. Good
thing Violet was in my corner.
Deputy City Manager Burk
Harmon has always been the strong one for his family, but recently those
responsibilities have dwindled. When Lacie Heatherton, Assistant Director for
Parks and Recreation, ropes him into a city-sponsored trip to the mountains with
fifty seniors, Burk has two things on his mind: considering a possible
promotion and wooing Lacie past friendship and into a future. Lacie has
emotional scars and a thirteen-year-old daughter to remind her that men can be
cruel and unforgiving. Can Burk convince Lacie to relax her "no
dating" policy or will he surrender his dreams of family and love?
Labels: book, Burk's Surrender, Christian, crazy about writing, dating, Dora Hiers, friends, hero interview, Pelican Book Group, reading, romance, single parenthood, twin
