Valor Springs, Texas—where the creek still remembers two kids who swore they’d always find their way back. Nash Hawthorne has spent years turning that boy into a soldier, then a cowboy-quiet security protector for Lone Star Security. He follows orders, keeps his heart on lockdown, and pretends he’s forgotten the girl who once dared him off the rope swing and into a first almost-kiss. He hasn’t. Not for a single sunrise. Delaney Coleman left town chasing big-city dreams. Now she’s back to save her family’s ranch, and trouble is waiting—mysterious “accidents,” missing livestock, and a saboteur who wants the Coleman Ranch ruined. Nash’s assignment is move in, lock down, keep Delaney safe. But the minute he steps onto Coleman land, the past steps with him—fireflies, carved initials on the dock, and a pull that feels like coming home. Now they’re pretending to date to save her ranch. Delaney breaks his rules with a smile. Nash fixes the fence, checks the locks, and pretends it isn’t killing him to want what walked away from him years ago. When the saboteur ups the stakes and old secrets surface, Nash has to keep his distance like a good soldier…or claim the only woman who ever felt like forever. Tropes to Bodyguard romance • Ex-military hero • Cowboy protector • Small-town Texas • Back to her hometown • Saving the family ranch • Childhood friends to lovers • Almost-first-kiss history • Second chance romance • Fake dating • Forced proximity • Living on the ranch • Grumpy/Sunshine • Protective hero • Touch Her and Die • Who Did This To You? • One Bed • Slow burn with sizzle • Ranch sabotage mystery • Family legacy stakes • He’s emotionally locked down • She challenges his control • She falls first, he falls harder • Texas-big HEA Vibes to He checks the perimeter before sunrise • “I’m not here for you.” (lies) • Boots on her porch at midnight • Fixing fences with quiet devotion • A storm hits and they’re stuck together • He sleeps closer to the door • A hand at her lower back in public • “We’re convincing.” • Dust, denim, and dangerously soft moments • Bandaging his knuckles after a bad night • He learns her coffee order without asking • She makes him laugh when he least expects it • Old memories on the dock • Fireflies and unfinished kisses • A fake relationship that turns terrifyingly real • He doesn’t say love—he shows it • And so much MORE! From USA Today bestseller Logan Chance comes a Texas cowboy-security romance where danger rides shotgun and a grumpy protector gets branded by love. *Meet the heroes of Lone Star Security. Cowboy bodyguards forged under the Texas sun. Dangerous when they have to be, gentle when it counts, these ranch-bred alphas wear Stetsons over steel and carry more scars than they’ll admit. They don’t do anything halfway. Instead, they do sunup to sundown, with dust on their boots and love in their hearts. These protectors will ride through hell and high water to prove worthy of the women they love.