Veterans of Willowbrook Ridge Series by Julia Stone

She sneaked into his cabin, ate his food, and stole his heart. Now he's keeping this runaway bride.Bentley:I live on this mountain for a reason.Quiet. Safe. No attachments. No risks.Then, in the middle of a thunderstorm, she breaks into my cabin—soaked to the bone, wedding dress torn and clinging to every curve.Too young. Too innocent. Too tempting.I should throw her out. Ride out this storm alone.When I find her asleep in my bed after eating my food, there’s no way I’m letting her go... moreShe sneaked into his cabin, ate his food, and stole his heart. Now he's keeping this runaway bride.Bentley:I live on this mountain for a reason.Quiet. Safe. No attachments. No risks.Then, in the middle of a thunderstorm, she breaks into my cabin—soaked to the bone, wedding dress torn and clinging to every curve.Too young. Too innocent. Too tempting.I should throw her out. Ride out this storm alone.When I find her asleep in my bed after eating my food, there’s no way I’m letting her go.She ran from a man who didn’t deserve her.Now she’s trapped with the grumpy mountain bear who’s been craving someone just like her.Josie:I was supposed to marry a man who only cared about my last name.Instead, I bolted—straight into a thunderstorm, down a mountain trail I barely understand, and into the path of the grumpiest, roughest man I’ve ever seen.Bentley doesn’t smile. Doesn’t talk much either.But he watches me like I’m the only thing that’s ever made him feel something.He’s a reclusive veteran with a beard, an axe, and eyes that make promises without saying a word.I should be scared.But in this cabin—stranded with lightning outside and heat crackling between us—I’ve never felt safer… or more wanted. less

His best friend’s daughter is all grown up—and trapped with him in a thunderstorm.Alani:Dean was always a mystery—my dad’s buddy during the war, distant and unreadable.When he answered my first email three years ago, I clung to those messages like lifelines.Now I’m here, under his roof, and everything feels heavier than it did on screen.He’s kind, but guarded. Protective, but cold... moreHis best friend’s daughter is all grown up—and trapped with him in a thunderstorm.Alani:Dean was always a mystery—my dad’s buddy during the war, distant and unreadable.When he answered my first email three years ago, I clung to those messages like lifelines.Now I’m here, under his roof, and everything feels heavier than it did on screen.He’s kind, but guarded. Protective, but cold.I came to this mountain to find peace, but all I can think about is him—his silence, his scars, the way he looks at me when he thinks I’m not watching.When the storm hits and the lights go out, there’s nowhere to hide.Not from the past.Not from the heat between us.And definitely not from the truth neither of us is ready to say out loud.Dean:We agreed in the emails—if she ever needed a place to land, I’d be here.It felt safe when it was just words. A promise I never thought she’d cash in.But now Alani’s on my porch, suitcase in hand, asking if the offer still stands.My best friend’s daughter. Twenty-one. All grown up.I offer her the spare room in my cabin, tell myself it’s temporary, that I’m just helping her get her start.She wants peace and quiet to chase her photography.But there’s nothing peaceful about having her under my roof.Not when her presence stirs things I’ve buried deep.And when a storm rolls in, knocking out the power and trapping us together…There’s no more hiding from the truth—or from her. less