Breathe in. Breathe out. Survive.

Marilyn Ellis is finally putting her life back together. The domestic abuse she suffered may be labeled textbook by therapists, but it's the parts she's never told anyone that haunt her.

 She refuses to get trapped in that hell ever again.

Former Special Forces soldier turned rancher Noah Dempsey is more than capable of training the delicate single mom in moves and tactics that will help her feel safe. But his own tortured past makes him decidedly less qualified for anything more.

No matter how much her big eyes—and even bigger heart—draw him in.

However, when unexpected danger arrives in their small town, Noah knows this is a woman worth fighting for. Worth fighting beside. And he's going to be the one to do it.

She needs a hero.

He'll have to remember how to be one.