The Thunder Between Us (Hearts of the Twelve #2)

She believed in law, order, and the God of her ancestors. He came with dust on his sandals, thunder in his voice—and a message that tore everything apart.

Talia has worked the family vineyard since she could carry a pruning blade. With her father growing weaker, she now shoulders the harvest, the workers, and the taxes—clinging to the one thing she still trusts: tradition. In a world of Roman greed and rising unrest, faith must be quiet, reverent, and safe.

Then James of Zebedee arrives—loud, relentless, and impossible to ignore. A fisherman turned follower of a Galilean teacher, preaching kingdoms and miracles. To Talia, Jesus is no messiah—just another would-be prophet with reckless followers and dangerous ideas.

From the moment they meet, James challenges everything about her. But when a storm devastates the vineyard and tax collectors arrive early, Talia faces the unthinkable: accepting help from the very man she once tried to drive away.

James is brash, infuriating, and far too familiar with the cracks in her armor. But he stays—challenging her, helping her, seeing more than she wants him to. As the disciples labor beside her workers and the days stretch longer, Talia begins to question everything she thought she knew.

Maybe Jesus isn’t the threat—but instead—the answer. And maybe James isn’t the storm, but the one to walk with her through it.