Is an independent cop the best family man? Niall MacLachlan's one priority is the law. He fought his way from the wrong side of the tracks to earn his badge and won't jeopardize it for anything. After all, trusting his family nearly cost him everything as a kid. So, no. This loner has no desire for a wife and children to call his own. So why is his entirely too attractive landlady, Rowan Staley, slipping past all his defenses? She and her young family–complete with noisy dog–are everything Niall thinks he doesn't want. But he can't keep his distance when she turns to him for protection from a neighborhood threat. And in the end, letting her go might be impossible.