Mountain Protector (Ordela Mountain Men #2)

Lacey

I've spent my life mixing healing herbs and keeping my heart locked away. After years with a man who left bruises on my skin and soul, I'd accepted that "good enough" was all I deserved.

Until Mikey Coleman's fist connected with my ex-boyfriend's face.

The same Mikey who fixed my truck since high school. The same Mikey whose blue eyes followed me across rooms for years while I pretended not to notice. The same Mikey whose calloused hands now trace my curves like he's memorizing a map to treasure.

I never expected to fall for my grandmother's best friend's grandson. But when he pins me against his truck under October stars, whispering that I've always been his, how can I deny what's been building between us for years?

As I help my newly-separated mother rebuild her life, Mikey becomes my rock—steady, unwavering, and burning with a passion that melts my carefully constructed walls. His mountain cabin feels more like home than anywhere I've ever been.

But when my ex resurfaces with the same old patterns, my instinct is still to run. Can I finally believe I deserve the kind of love that protects instead of destroys?

Mikey

I've wanted Lacey Finnegan since we were teenagers.

Instead, I watched her waste years on a man who dimmed her light. Watched her flinch at sudden movements. Watched her hide behind fake smiles at town events.

When I find her ex's hands on her again, something snaps. One punch becomes a promise—no one hurts her again. Not while I'm breathing.

Now she's finally mine, sleeping in my flannel shirts, sharing meals with my grandmother, fitting into my life like she's always belonged. Somehow, we make perfect sense.

But Lacey's still healing, still learning to trust. When her father's betrayal shatters her family and her ex keeps circling, I'm faced with a sometimes loving someone means knowing when to step back and when to stand between them and the world.

She calls me her protector, but she doesn't see that she's saving me too—from a lifetime of loneliness in these mountains I could never leave.

CONTENT WARNING: This book contains descriptions of domestic violence, physical abuse, references to infidelity, and confrontations with an abusive ex-partner. Reader discretion is advised.