In a small town where second chances are rare and love isn't on the agenda, two souls collide, each carrying their own baggage. The free-spirited Trish Cassidy dreams of building her own horse ranch, but for now she's stuck waitressing just to stay afloat. Her clingy ex-boyfriend adds to the chaos, making her question her ability to build a life for herself. Just as she's about to give up on her dreams, fate sends a rugged modern-day cowboy into her life, offering her an opportunity she never could have imagined. All she has to do is resist the new boss's magnetic pull. Dalton James, an enigmatic loner, has one rule when it comes to his horse ranch: no interference. He wants to build his empire his way, free from family expectations and romantic entanglements. Yet when he stumbles upon Trish Cassidy, a woman who refuses to be rescued, he finds himself compelled to be her protector. Despite her independence, he can't help but do the right thing by her, even when she insists she doesn't need saving. If he's not careful, his protective instincts might push her back into the arms of her ex. In a town where pasts are hard to escape, can Trish and Dalton navigate their budding feelings and trust each other enough to seize their second chance at love? Corrissa James was not always a country girl. In fact, she fought it all her life, traveling the world to live in far-flung cities like St. Petersburg, Russia, Caracas, Venezuela, Varanasi, India, and Guadalajara, Mexico. She didn't realize she was meant to live in the country until she returned to her roots in Nebraska, where she discovered the beauty of the fields around her (even if she was allergic to them) and the intensity of Mother Nature (who sure packs a wallop!). Corrissa wrote her first romance stories in junior high, although at the time she didn't really know what happened after kissing, so she improvised with lots of ellipses (...). Her professional writing career initially took her away from romance--but never far away as Corrissa could always be found with a romance book at hand (she's particularly fond of the work by Johanna Lindsey). Today she focuses on western romance novellas, offering afternoon reads focused on strong women and the men they choose (never without some struggles along the way).