Grumpy Hero: a Western Small Town Romance

He's a grumpy mountain rescue expert who hates risks. She's a thrill-seeking snowboarder desperate to save her family business. When Hazel's brother disappears in avalanche territory, these sworn enemies are forced to team up for a dangerous search mission in the Colorado Rockies. As the temperature drops, the heat between them rises—but can a man who craves safety ever love a woman who lives for adventure?

BENNETT

I'm the guy who keeps people alive in the mountains, and I've got the scars to prove why safety matters. My reputation for being an overprotective hardass is well-earned. Then Hazel Preston organizes a backcountry event that I publicly condemn, and suddenly I'm the villain threatening her family's legacy.

Now her brother is missing, she's looking at me with those wild amber eyes, and I'm the only one who can help her. I shouldn't want the woman who stands for everything I fight against. But watching her charge fearlessly into a blizzard makes me feel things I've spent years burying in the snow—and the need to protect her might be the one avalanche I can't control.

HAZEL

My family's equipment shop is failing, and this backcountry event is our last chance. I've poured everything into proving that adventure isn't something to fear—until Bennett Ryder, mountain safety god and professional dream-crusher, decides to tear it all down with his gorgeously grumpy face and his stupid, valid concerns.

Then my brother disappears, and suddenly Bennett's strong arms are all that's keeping me from falling apart. I hate that I notice how his eyes soften when he looks at me, or how safe I feel when he touches me. Falling for a man who thinks my passions are dangerous means risking more than my heart—it means choosing between the freedom I crave and the man who makes me feel truly alive for the first time.