Free Falling Summary: Jill Shalvis’s Colburn Brothers Romance
Free Falling by Jill Shalvis: A Story of Blueprints, Old Grudges, and a Manor Full of Secrets
Emma Sumner arrives at an 1886 colonial manor in Star Falls, California, with a temporary contract, a set of architectural drawings, and no permanent address.
Her subleased apartment burned down in an electrical fire, her belongings are gone, and she is sleeping in her Subaru while saving for a deposit.
Free Falling by Jill Shalvis follows Emma’s collision with the restoration firm’s project manager, Caleb Colburn — the college hockey star she has resented for years.
Their shared jobsite is a historic property hiding a Prohibition-era basement, and their shared history is a tangle of assumptions neither has ever tested.
The novel is the second book in the Colburn Brothers series.
TL;DR: Free Falling at a Glance
- Who: Emma Sumner, a level-one architect secretly living in her car, and Caleb Colburn, a project manager and former Division One hockey player.
- Where: Star Falls, a small Sonoma County town with a soulmate legend, a historic manor, and a tight-knit community.
- The Setup: Academic rivals from college are forced to work together on a landmark restoration.
- The Turn: A storm traps them on site overnight, and long-held misconceptions start to collapse.
- Central Tension: Emma’s pride and fear of abandonment versus her need to accept help.
- Key Themes: Homelessness and hidden hardship, family loyalty, forgiveness, and the idea that damaged things can be restored.
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Characters in Free Falling
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Emma Sumner | Level-one architect specializing in Construction Design Management at Henderson and Hall; secretly homeless after an apartment fire. |
| Caleb Colburn | Project manager at Colburn Restorations, known as “The Fixer”; former San José State hockey player. |
| Ryder Colburn | Eldest Colburn sibling and co-owner of Colburn Restorations; engaged to Penny Rose. |
| Tucker Colburn | Youngest Colburn brother; estimator for the family firm and a paid firefighter. |
| Kiera Colburn | Caleb’s younger sister; widowed mother of twins Abi and Alex. |
| Henry “Hank” Colburn | The siblings’ father, a former Marine left nonverbal and childlike after two strokes and a craniotomy. |
| Hazel Pierce | Master finish carpenter hired to replace Ricky Herman on the Henderson job. |
| Bill Pierce | Superintendent at Colburn Restorations and Hazel’s father. |
| Suzie | Emma’s best friend from Santa Rosa. |
| Rosalind Hall | Co-CEO of Henderson and Hall Architects and Emma’s executive boss. |
| Darren Henderson | Owner of Henderson and Hall, who inherited the 1886 manor. |
| Ricky Herman | Finish-carpentry subcontractor whose tool trailer goes missing. |
| Penny Rose | Ryder’s fiancée and a local caterer and café owner. |
| Nell | Penny Rose’s grandmother and Hank Colburn’s daytime caregiver. |
| Calvin & Klein | Caleb’s two rescued 80-pound Boxer dogs. |
| Ruth | Senior architect at Henderson and Hall whose maternity leave creates Emma’s temporary post. |
Free Falling Summary: The Full Story
Spoiler warning: the following section recounts the plot in full, including the ending.
The prologue opens years before the main story, as Caleb Colburn leaves his childhood home in Star Falls. He and his siblings — Ryder, Tucker, and Kiera — grew up under their abusive father, Hank Colburn, a former Marine.
Ryder brings Caleb to San José State University to study architectural history and try out as a walk-on for the Division One hockey team. Caleb’s playing career later ends abruptly after a severe ice injury, leaving him with chronic leg pain, scars, and migraines.
Hank eventually suffers two strokes and a craniotomy. He is left nonverbal, cognitively altered, and childlike, and he lives under Caleb’s care.
In the present day, Emma Sumner arrives at the 1886 American colonial manor in Star Falls. She is a level-one architect at Henderson and Hall, temporarily filling in for the primary architect, Ruth, during maternity leave.
Emma is in severe financial distress. Her subleased apartment burned down in a storm-induced electrical fire, destroying everything she owned, and she is now living out of her beat-up green Subaru.
At the manor she meets Colburn Restorations’ project manager, Caleb Colburn, along with his brother Ryder. She immediately recognizes Caleb as her arrogant college academic rival.
In college, Emma worked long hours in the cafeteria while maintaining high grades. She resented Caleb because she believed his star-athlete status earned him a $100,000 architectural scholarship and a summer term in Europe that she needed.
Caleb, for his part, secretly harbored a crush on Emma. He was drawn to her refusal to be charmed by his athletic fame.
Despite their sharp banter, the two demonstrate strong professional chemistry. While inspecting the manor, they discover a forgotten Prohibition-era speakeasy hidden behind a pivoting secret bookcase in the basement.
Inside the hidden room is a tattered canvas bag holding thousands of dollars in old $100 bills. The discovery adds a layer of local history to the restoration project.
Tensions shift at the annual Star Falls black-tie charity gala at the Bufford Hotel. Emma attends to win favor with Rosalind Hall, and Rosalind switches the seating tickets so that Caleb ends up next to her.
Caleb dances with Emma and later delivers a charismatic keynote speech that wins over the ballroom. When Emma’s car battery dies in the parking lot afterward, Caleb jump-starts it with his truck and texts to confirm she got home safely.
Unable to afford a motel or find an open campsite, Emma begins sneaking into the unmonitored manor late at night. She showers there and sleeps in the furnished attic room, leaving before the work crews arrive at dawn.
An atmospheric river storm then batters Star Falls with 80-mph winds and flooding. Emma seeks refuge at the manor, and Caleb arrives to inspect the property.
A giant coastal oak falls across the driveway, trapping them both on-site without power. Inside the dark manor, Caleb suffers a debilitating migraine brought on by storm stress.
Emma uses acupressure techniques to ease his pain and fetches his medication from his truck. They retreat to the third-floor attic bed, share food, and sleep in each other’s arms.
Caleb dispels Emma’s long-held misconceptions about college. He explains that he was never a full-ride player but a walk-on, and that the scholarship saved his life by allowing him to pivot to architectural history after his hockey injury.
Overcome by mutual desire and emotional trust, they engage in passionate make-out sessions and make love in the attic.
After the work crews clear the fallen tree, Emma retreats emotionally. She fears she is just another conquest for Caleb, who carries a reputation as “The Ghoster.”
Meanwhile, strange incidents plague the Henderson project. Finish-carpenter Ricky Herman’s tool trailer is stolen, and someone covers the security cameras with black trash bags and blinds them with high-powered flashlights.
Colburn Restorations fires Ricky and hires Hazel Pierce, a talented master carpenter and childhood friend of the brothers. Tension on the jobsite escalates alongside the security problems.
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While inspecting the attic after the storm, Caleb discovers a dainty gold sapphire necklace beneath the bed slats. It is an heirloom belonging to Emma’s deceased mother.
Realizing Emma was sleeping in the unheated attic, Caleb confronts her late at night. Emma breaks down and admits she is homeless and living out of her car.
Caleb refuses to let her sleep in danger and convinces her to move into his farmhouse. Emma is embraced by his chaotic, loving family, including Hank, Ryder, Tucker, Kiera, the twins Abi and Alex, and the dogs Calvin and Klein.
Ryder proposes creating an in-house Construction Design Management department at Colburn Restorations. He authorizes Caleb to offer Emma the head position with full competitive pay.
Emma then receives a skimpy, low-paying permanent job offer from Henderson and Hall, and she panics. Believing Caleb’s offer is an act of pity or “fixing,” she fears an unbalanced relationship and tries to walk away.
Their conversation is interrupted when security alarms report an intruder and a power failure at the Henderson manor. Caleb rushes to the site and orders Emma to stay locked in his truck with the dogs.
Worried for his safety, Emma disobeys and follows him into the dark property with Calvin and Klein. Hazel Pierce, who had come looking for her father after seeing suspicious activity, hears footsteps in the pitch-black exterior.
Hazel mistakes Emma for the jobsite vandal and shoves her in self-defense. Emma falls against the rough stucco wall, sustaining a concussion and a bleeding head wound.
Caleb finds Emma bleeding, calls an ambulance, and stays by her side at the hospital. As she recovers from a grade-one concussion, he openly confesses his love and admits she is the only person who has ever made him want to stay forever.
Emma realizes she loves him too and officially accepts the head CDM position at Colburn Restorations. It is also revealed that Ricky Herman’s stolen trailer was secretly returned to the back barn, and police track the suspicious activity to a third party.
Months later, in the epilogue, Emma has settled into her new job and her own apartment. She plans to move into Caleb’s home permanently when her lease expires.
While walking in downtown Star Falls decorated for the winter holidays, Caleb pulls an engagement ring box from his pocket. His brothers Ryder and Tucker catch him in the act and tease him.
When Emma approaches, Caleb drops to his knees on the sidewalk and formally proposes. Emma joyfully accepts, and they embrace under the golden winter sunlight.
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Who Should Read Free Falling?
Free Falling suits readers of contemporary romance and romantic comedy who prefer small-town settings, dual points of view, and rivals-to-lovers dynamics.
The novel alternates between Emma’s and Caleb’s perspectives across 36 chapters, a prologue, and an epilogue.
Readers who follow workplace romances with a construction or restoration backdrop will find the jobsite setting central to the plot.
Those interested in stories about housing insecurity, homelessness, and financial precarity will find those subjects treated directly rather than as background detail.
The book also appeals to readers of family-centered romance, since the Colburn household — including Hank, Kiera, the twins, and the rescue dogs — occupies substantial page time.
The pace is fast, the banter is frequent, and the plot balances workplace mystery with emotional resolution.
Memorable Quotes from Free Falling
“For everyone who has ever fallen for the one person they absolutely, definitely, 100 percent should not have…this one’s for you.”
“Always back your teammate, even if you hate them.”
“I had a crush on you the size of the moon.”
“Hockey was never my endgame.”
“You don’t have a place to live.”
“I do. In my car.”
“You gave me your heart, and there’re no takebacks, Emma. I’m keeping it. But I promise you… it’s the most precious thing I own. I’ll take care of it and protect it forever.”
“I love you in the mornings pre-caffeinated and not sure what year it is. I love watching you at work, all creative and badass. I love being with you in the evenings, swearing at your laptop.”
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Free Falling: Book Snapshot
- Genre & Subgenre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy; Small-Town Romance, Enemies-to-Lovers, Workplace Romance, Forced Proximity
- Core Narrative Tropes: Academic rivals, forced proximity during a storm, hidden homelessness, hero falls first, protective hero, small-town soulmate folklore
- Tone & Atmosphere: Witty, warm, banter-heavy, with emotional vulnerability and coastal California weather
- Primary Conflict: Emma’s anxiety, pride, and fear of abandonment, combined with security threats and vandalism at the historic manor
- Pacing Style: Fast-paced dual third-person point of view alternating between Emma and Caleb
- ISBN: 978-1464243929 (ISBN-10: 1464243921)
- Pages: 384
- Book Structure: 38 core sections — 1 prologue, 36 chapters, 1 epilogue — plus an unnumbered bonus preview excerpt from He Falls First
- Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; publication date February 3, 2026
- Series: Book 2 of 3 in the Colburn Brothers series
