RustySoul30
Grace Monroe never meant to fall for the town's biggest red flag.
He's emotionally unavailable, covered in tattoos, drinks too much whiskey, disappears without explanation, and somehow still thinks glaring counts as communication.
Oh... and he keeps fixing things she never asked him to touch.
Her car.
Her porch.
Her life.
Parker Calhoun was never supposed to become someone's safe place.
Not after war.
Not after grief.
And definitely not after burying the only woman he ever loved.
A retired Navy SEAL and legendary sniper, Parker has spent years outrunning ghosts, drowning memories in whiskey, and remembering the future he lost when his wife died overseas. Love isn't part of the plan anymore.
Then Grace crashes into his life with smoky pink hair, sharp opinions, and a five year old little brother she's desperately trying to raise after losing their mother.
She's twenty three, stubborn as hell, running on exhaustion and coffee, and somehow still manages to carry the weight of the world without asking anyone for help.
Especially not Parker's help.
At first, they clash.
She thinks he's overbearing.
He thinks she's impossible.
But somewhere between late night phone calls while he's gone on missions he won't talk about, groceries mysteriously showing up on her porch, and a little boy who starts telling people Parker is his dad...
Things start feeling dangerously close to a relationship.
The problem?
Parker knows exactly what happens when he loves someone.
He loses them.
And Grace has already buried enough people to know loving a man built for war comes with an expiration date.
Because legends don't stay retired.
And men like Parker Calhoun never come home unchanged.
Some scars don't fade.
But maybe some hearts are worth the risk.