Protected

A second chance at first love

Years before, Wade Rycroft fell in love with Geneva Harris, the smartest girl in his class. The rodeo star and the shy academic made for an odd pair but their chemistry was undeniable. They made plans to get married after high school but when Genny left him standing in the rain, he joined the Army and vowed to leave that life behind. Genny married the town’s golden boy, and Wade knew that he couldn’t go home again. 

Could become the promise of a lifetime

Fifteen years later, Wade returns to Broken Bend, Texas for his brother’s wedding and walks into a storm of scandal. Genny’s marriage has dissolved and the town has turned against her. But when someone tries to kill his old love, Wade can’t refuse to help her. In his years after the Army, he’s found his place in the world. His job at McKay-Taggart keeps happy and busy but something is missing. When he takes the job watching over Genny, he realizes what it is.

As danger presses in, Wade must decide if he can forgive past sins or let the woman of his dreams walk into a nightmare…. 

Main characters:

Wade Rycroft

Geneva Harris

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Wade is the last of the bodyguards to get his own story. This is a reunion book. Sometimes I come up with a scene and see it so clearly that I build the plot around that scene. In this one, it's the scene where Genny pulls a gun because she's going to have her say no matter what. Her desperation is in that scene, and Wade realizes he might not understand what truly happened. I wanted a simple story where love heals Genny's soul. I wanted that spectacular moment where she is whole again. And then I realized that's not what happens. Genny's healing doesn't come from rocking sex- though it helps - or from Wade's love. It comes from hard work and a lot of therapy. I've talked about how Guns N' Roses kind of forms a playlist for a lot of the M&M books, and this one can be summed up by Patience.