The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt Summary, Characters and Themes

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is a witty, slow-burn romance that blends the chaos of home renovation with the complexity of rekindled feelings.

When LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds inherit a crumbling property from their grandmothers, they are forced into an uneasy partnership. Their past—a teenage summer fling that ended in resentment—makes co-owning the house a battle of wills. But when financial constraints push them into a marriage of convenience, their forced proximity forces them to confront old wounds, buried emotions, and undeniable chemistry. As walls come down—both literal and emotional—LaRynn and Deacon must decide if love is worth rebuilding, too.

Summary

LaRynn Lavigne returns to Santa Cruz after inheriting half of her grandmother’s property, only to discover that she must share ownership with Deacon Leeds, her former teenage fling-turned-nemesis. 

Their past is filled with unresolved tension, making the arrangement anything but easy. Deacon, a skilled contractor, still lives in the house and cares for their elderly tenant, Sally. 

He immediately assumes LaRynn intends to sell the house for a quick profit, while she is shocked by its dire state of disrepair. The house has suffered fire damage, plumbing failures, and years of neglect—restoring it will require significant time, effort, and money.

While LaRynn initially considers selling her share, she soon learns she cannot access her trust fund unless she is married. Seeing an opportunity, Deacon proposes a marriage of convenience: they wed, use her trust to fund renovations, and part ways once the house is profitable. 

Though reluctant, LaRynn agrees, and they marry in a courthouse ceremony with her best friend, Elyse, as a witness.

Their new arrangement immediately proves challenging. Deacon and LaRynn constantly clash over design choices, budgeting, and logistics. 

Their stubborn personalities and unresolved history make working together nearly impossible. Tensions rise further as they begin living under the same roof, sharing spaces in ways they never expected. 

Flashbacks reveal their teenage relationship—how their initial attraction was built on competition and unresolved emotions.

As the renovation progresses, LaRynn starts seeing Deacon in a new light. He isn’t just a rough, brooding contractor—he has deep ties to the home and a sense of responsibility shaped by his father’s death. 

Meanwhile, Deacon recognizes that LaRynn’s privileged background does not mean she is unscathed by hardship. She is still grieving her grandmother’s loss and struggling with unresolved wounds from her estranged father.

When a flood caused by a contractor’s mistake forces them into even closer quarters, their dynamic begins shifting. Moments of genuine connection emerge—shared laughter, lingering touches, and small gestures of care. A festival outing, where they pretend to be a real couple, only intensifies the confusion. 

The lines between their fake marriage and reality begin to blur.

Then, LaRynn’s father reappears, dredging up painful memories and doubts about her self-worth. Meanwhile, Deacon grapples with his growing jealousy when LaRynn interacts with other men. These emotional storms culminate in a heated argument, finally forcing them to confront their undeniable attraction. One passionate night changes everything, but in the morning, both try to downplay it.

As the house nears completion, LaRynn faces a difficult decision—should she sell and walk away as planned, or is there something more worth holding onto? 

Deacon, too, must decide if he is willing to risk heartbreak again. 

When an old acquaintance flirts with LaRynn, Deacon’s jealousy pushes him to confess his feelings. However, a misunderstanding temporarily drives them apart.

It takes a powerful storm damaging part of their renovations to bring them back together. Forced to rebuild yet again, they finally lay their emotions bare. LaRynn admits that she has spent years running from her feelings, and Deacon confesses that he no longer wants a transactional marriage—he wants a real one. 

In the end, LaRynn realizes she has found more than just a home in Santa Cruz; she has found love and belonging with Deacon.

In the epilogue, months later, LaRynn and Deacon are truly married, not out of necessity but out of love. They celebrate their journey with a small gathering for Sally and their community, proving that, just like home renovations, love requires patience, trust, and a willingness to build something lasting.

Characters

LaRynn Lavigne

LaRynn is a woman caught between her past and her future, shaped by deep-seated wounds and unresolved emotions. Having spent years distancing herself from Santa Cruz and her grandmother, she initially appears detached and pragmatic, focused solely on financial gain.

However, as she is forced to work alongside Deacon, the layers of her guarded personality begin to peel away. She is ambitious, independent, and sometimes emotionally reserved, but throughout the novel, her arc revolves around learning to embrace vulnerability.

The inheritance forces her to confront her familial ties, her unresolved grief over her grandmother, and the broken relationship she has with her father. While she initially agrees to the marriage of convenience for pragmatic reasons, it slowly becomes evident that LaRynn is not only afraid of commitment—she is afraid of truly feeling.

Her transformation is marked by the way she gradually lets go of control, stops running from her emotions, and embraces the possibility of love and permanence.

Deacon Leeds

Deacon embodies the weight of responsibility and sacrifice. Unlike LaRynn, he never left Santa Cruz, choosing instead to stay and take care of the building and their elderly tenant, Sally.

His dedication to the house mirrors his loyalty and sense of duty, but it also signifies his fear of change. Deacon is skilled in construction, yet his life has been defined by more than just rebuilding structures—he has spent years rebuilding himself after the loss of his father and financial struggles.

His grudge against LaRynn stems from his perception that she abandoned everything he held onto. Yet beneath that resentment is the pain of feeling left behind.

What makes Deacon’s character compelling is his gradual realization that he does not have to bear the weight of everything alone. His relationship with LaRynn forces him to confront his own emotional barriers and acknowledge his desires beyond just stability—he, too, wants love, companionship, and a home that is built with more than just bricks and wood.

Sally

Sally represents history, continuity, and the emotional foundation of the house. As the elderly tenant who Deacon takes care of, she serves as a living reminder of what the house once was and the importance of preserving both its physical and emotional structure.

Her presence reinforces the idea that the home is more than just a financial investment—it is a place filled with memories and the potential for new beginnings. She also serves as a guiding force for both Deacon and LaRynn, subtly pushing them to realize that their conflict is rooted in deeper feelings they refuse to acknowledge.

Elyse 

Elyse provides the necessary contrast to LaRynn’s guarded nature. She is the voice of reason, offering comic relief as well as emotional support.

As a best friend, Elyse plays the role of both confidante and catalyst, often nudging LaRynn to confront her feelings for Deacon. Her presence highlights the theme of chosen family—the idea that sometimes, the people we rely on most are not the ones we are related to by blood, but the ones who stand by us when we need them most.

LaRynn’s Father

LaRynn’s father is a symbol of unresolved childhood wounds and parental neglect. His sudden reappearance in her life disrupts the fragile stability she is beginning to build with Deacon.

His character represents the emotional baggage that LaRynn has carried for years, and his disapproval of her choices forces her to make a stand. His role in the novel is pivotal because he embodies everything LaRynn is trying to move past—his presence is a test of whether she will continue to let old wounds dictate her future or finally break free.

Themes

Reconstructing Homes, Reconstructing Relationships

The novel cleverly intertwines the physical restoration of a house with the emotional restoration of its characters. Both LaRynn and Deacon are deeply connected to the property, yet for different reasons—one sees it as a financial asset, the other as a legacy.

However, as they begin rebuilding the house, they also start rebuilding themselves. The broken walls, the exposed beams, the faulty plumbing—all these mirror the emotional damage that both of them carry.

Just as the house requires patience, effort, and compromise to be made whole again, so does their relationship. The idea that a home is not just a structure but something that must be nurtured and cared for becomes a driving force in the story, reinforcing the idea that emotional walls are just as fragile as physical ones.

Emotional Transactions and the Cost of Guarded Hearts

LaRynn and Deacon’s marriage of convenience is founded on a purely transactional basis—she needs access to her trust fund, and he needs the financial means to renovate the house. But love and relationships cannot function like business deals.

Over time, the line between what is real and what is fake begins to blur, exposing the flaws in their initial agreement. The novel explores how emotional detachment comes with its own cost; when people refuse to invest emotionally in relationships, they are left with shallow connections that do not last.

Both LaRynn and Deacon struggle with allowing themselves to be vulnerable, fearing that openness will lead to pain. However, they ultimately learn that love cannot be treated as a calculated risk—it requires full investment, even when the outcome is uncertain.

Breaking Cycles of Emotional Neglect

Family inheritance is a central theme in The Co-op, but not just in terms of property or wealth. LaRynn and Deacon both grapple with emotional legacies left behind by their parents.

LaRynn’s strained relationship with her father leaves her questioning her self-worth and her ability to trust others. Meanwhile, Deacon’s past is weighed down by the responsibility he inherited after his father’s passing.

They are both carrying wounds that were not entirely of their own making. Yet they have to decide whether to continue living under their shadow or break free from them.

The novel suggests that true healing does not come from ignoring the past but from confronting it head-on and choosing to build something better.

Learning to Live with Someone Versus Truly Knowing Them

One of the novel’s most engaging dynamics is how LaRynn and Deacon are forced into close physical proximity while still maintaining emotional distance. They live together, share responsibilities, and even share a marriage on paper, yet they continue to put up walls to protect themselves from emotional vulnerability.

The novel examines how physical closeness does not always equate to true intimacy—two people can be under the same roof and still feel miles apart. It is only when they begin to truly see each other beyond their past assumptions that their relationship begins to shift.

The forced proximity forces them to acknowledge things they would have otherwise ignored. The story shows that sometimes, love is found not in grand gestures, but in the quiet moments of learning to exist beside someone without fear.

The Illusion of Control and the Necessity of Surrender

Both LaRynn and Deacon start out the novel believing that they can control their circumstances. LaRynn wants to dictate the terms of her financial future, while Deacon clings to his sense of duty to maintain stability.

However, life—and love—do not operate on strict blueprints. The novel emphasizes the importance of surrendering control and allowing things to unfold naturally.

LaRynn’s character arc is particularly shaped by this lesson; she starts out rigid, unwilling to embrace uncertainty, but by the end, she learns that some of the best things in life come not from planning, but from allowing oneself to take risks.

Deacon, too, learns that he does not have to hold onto everything alone. Sometimes, the strongest foundation is built when you allow someone else to hold some of the weight.