I knew Mia was in trouble the moment she came running back to Haven Brook—the home she swore she would never return to. It wasn’t just the terrified look in her eye or the constant watching over her shoulder that told me she needed my help. It was the way my body felt every time I was around her. The urge to protect her while trying to fight the electricity that sizzled between us when we touched. But she wasn’t mine to touch, and her being on the run was a harsh reminder of why. It was a race against time as she tried to escape the clutches of her abusive and controlling husband, and we were quickly running out of it. I knew that I had to do everything I could to save Mia, the only problem was that she wasn’t mine to save. I learned that the hard way the first time she left and took my heart with her.

One night changed everything. A moment of pleasure turned into months of stress after a one-night fling showed up, claiming to be pregnant with my child. Even with regret weighing heavily on my shoulders, I wanted to be a good man and do the right thing. The problem was that something felt off, and it wasn’t just the strain that it was putting on my relationship. Maybe it was the lies I caught her in or the sudden infatuation she had with me. I should have listened to the warnings. I should have paid attention to what was really important. Instead, I almost lost everything that ever mattered to me, including the one girl that I truly loved.

They say that you find love when you’re not looking, and I definitely wasn’t looking. My only focus was on raising my son and giving him the life his mom would have wanted him to have before she passed. When a woman came crashing into my life—literally—I had no choice but to stop and help. She was stranded with nowhere to go, and there was an uneasiness about her that sent chills up my spine. It was apparent that she was running from something, but the question wasn’t what, but rather who. I should have drawn the line and kept my distance from her. I didn’t need any unnecessary drama in my life. But when her daughter had the same frightened look on her face, I knew that I couldn’t. Letting them stay with us was only supposed to be a temporary solution until the storm passed. We weren’t supposed to fall so easily into acting like a family. It should have been easy to let her go and walk away from whatever was haunting her. But as life had already taught me, nothing was ever easy.

Life is full of secrets, so it shouldn’t be any shock that I had a few of my own. Being a single mother to three—technically four if you count my son’s best friend—overly protective men made it hard to share the big news with them. Christmas is supposed to be a happy time for family to come together and enjoy the festivities, so why did I feel like I was sitting on pins and needles? I’ve never needed the approval of anyone before. Why was I suddenly so nervous? Maybe it was just nerves, or maybe it was the butterflies that made me feel alive again for the first time in forever.

There were three things in life that I truly baseball, women, and my family. Not necessarily in that order. The funny thing about life is that it can change in an instant, and the things you love are taken in a heartbeat. It was a new year, a new start, a fresh beginning. Or so I thought. My career was over before it had started, and I found myself stranded in a town even smaller than Haven Brook. The only good thing about getting stuck there was that there was only one mechanic in town, and she was hot. Kayce was as wild as the purple in her hair. Her infectious laughter and witty banter were enough to pull me in, but the darkness in her eyes hinted that she was hiding something. Something big. Her secrets quickly caught up with her, and there was nowhere to run. Everything she thought she knew wasn’t what it seemed, and I found myself tangled up in the webs of lies spinning around her. I had fought death before, but this time, I wasn’t so sure I would be so lucky.