Trentham, Laura. Cottonbloom series.

As a boy, Nash Hawthorne spent countless afternoons on the Louisiana side of Cottonbloom with Tally Fournette, wading in the river, peeling oranges and catching frogs. When illness stole his mother, Nash yearned to take Tally and run away-for good. Instead, he crossed the state line to live with his aunt. It was a short distance as the crow flies, but it swept him into a whole new world. After Nash left, Tally managed to struggle through her own losses without him. But now that she crossed paths with him again-at Cottonbloom College, where the grown-up, gorgeous Nash teaches history-she is reminded of their cherished youthful connection ... and an attraction that has only gotten stronger with age. Between Tally possessive ex and Nash's snobbish aunt, no one thinks they belong together. In a town torn apart by old resentments and rivalries, can they find their way back to the life they once shared-and turn their long-lost dreams into a real and lasting love?