In the dusty heart of Rootstown Creek, Lila Shaw returned home to settle the ranch she never wanted and finally put the past behind her.
Fourteen years earlier, she had sworn she would never come back. Then her father died and left her the one thing she never wanted: the family ranch and all the painful memories that came with it.
She never expected Ryder Kane to still be there. Once, he’d been the quiet boy who always appeared when she needed him most.
Now, he was a scarred, brooding cowboy with rough hands, haunted eyes, and a devotion so fierce that time had never managed to weaken it.
For years, Ryder had protected the ranch, repaired what was broken, and watched over the life Lila had left behind. While she’d been running from the past, he’d been preserving it for her.
But some secrets refused to stay buried, and the truth about the darkest chapter of Lila’s childhood threatened to destroy the fragile future they were building together.
Because the man who had always protected her had been keeping one devastating secret of his own.
And Lila had to decide whether she could trust the cowboy who had loved her enough to sacrifice everything for her.
