Against The Tide

Avery
I had the perfect life. A successful husband. A beautiful home. The sweetest little girl.

All I had to do was keep quiet.

One blow turned my world to nothing. Every blow after that gave me the courage to run: bruised, bleeding, with my daughter's hand in mine and nothing else to my name.

I wasn't looking for a man to save me. I was looking for somewhere safe to fall apart.

Then Rhett Reynolds showed up with his surgeon's hands and his steady voice, calling me sunshine like I hadn't forgotten what warmth felt like. He doesn't just see my bruises, he sees me. And for every wound he heals, he uncovers a piece of the woman I buried to survive.

The only problem is, the hell I ran from isn't done with me yet.

Rhett
I've spent ten years avoiding anything that looks like love. One failed marriage and a lifetime of guilt will do that to a man.

Then Avery Summers showed up with mossy green eyes, a bruised jaw, and a seven-year-old daughter who begged me to read her bedtime stories and teach her to ride the waves... and just like that, they owned me.

I'm a surgeon. I fix things. But Avery doesn't need fixing-she needs someone to stand beside her while she puts herself back together. Someone to fight for her and her kid when the devil they ran from comes knocking.

I'm not a perfect man. But I'll burn down anything that threatens them.

I don't care how dangerous it gets. How many threats come for the ground we stand on or how far against the tide we have to push.

I will sacrifice everything, including my last breath, to protect what's mine. My girls.