Don't Take the Girl

At ten I was the unwanted tagalong on London Hale's fishing trip—the fatherless girl next door he resented having to include. But all it took was one hot Texas summer afternoon of fishing to change everything. At sixteen he saved my life and then he kissed me. The star quarterback and the quiet outsider we defied every small-town stereotype as we fell hopelessly in love. By eighteen we had our futures mapped out together until four desperate words shattered everything. ""Don't take the girl."" With those words my world collapsed and London disappeared from my life. Six years later I'm starting fresh at my best friend's ranch healing among horses instead of people until I discover that the rival rancher next door is none other than London Hale. The boy I loved. The man who should be in prison. He wants me gone and I understand why. His sacrifice cost him everything. But I never asked him to save me not the first time or the second.