He’ll teach her to trust, she’ll show him how to feel again. Once, Tess O’Neil had it all: head cheerleader, dating the most popular guy in school, a GPA of 4.0 that promised the spot of Valedictorian and a SAT score that guaranteed a full scholarship to the exclusive Culinary Arts Institute of her dreams in Nashville. Prom night was the icing on the cake…or so she thought. A date rape shatters her trust, leaving Tess skittish of a man’s touch, and fearing she may never be able to have a normal relationship again. Now, three years later, she’s ready to move on. When the opportunity to spend the summer at a posh vacation resort in Canada interning as a pastry chef arises, Tess welcomes the chance to get away from the past and her overprotective family. What she didn’t expect was to meet a former soldier with a wounded soul and a gentle touch that awakens the woman within. Jaskson (Jax) Warren has seen enough of blood and sand. Two tours of duty in Afghanistan has left him with grit in his heart and memories that haunt his dreams. A month out of uniform with his loving but hovering family has him ready to fly apart like the IED that killed his best friend. When a fellow veteran invites him to Alberta for the summer, it’s just what Jax needs. He finds solace in running Stone Cliff Resort’s stables and caring for a horse in need of a gentle hand. At last he finds a modicum of piece—until a diminutive blond with big green eyes full of longing and doubt walks in to his stables. Suddenly, Jax finds himself walking a line more fragile than the minefields in the Middle East. In her arms, he finds the sleep of a peaceful heart—but when the demons come to him in the night will she still want the man they leave behind?