A Bride for the Rancher
Leah Hudson returned to Kittering Creek for one reason only—to stand by her best friend's side as Maid of Honor, then disappear again before anyone asks the questions she's spent years avoiding. The last person she expected to face across the wedding aisle was Galen Kittering, the man she loved and left without explanation. Now he's the Best Man, and her carefully guarded secret—the real reason she fled—threatens to unravel with every stolen glance.
Galen Kittering built his life on honesty and hard work after Leah shattered his world by vanishing without a word. He's finally found peace in the rhythm of ranch life and family obligations. The last thing he needs is Leah Hudson walking back into his orderly existence, stirring up old pain and impossible longings. But when circumstances force her to stay at the ranch bunkhouse, avoiding her becomes as futile as forgetting her ever was.
Thrown together by wedding duties and a flooded inn, they're trapped in a dance of polite smiles and aching tension. Every shared moment awakens the connection that once burned between them, but Leah knows the truth she's hidden—about the pregnancy she lost, the choice that drove her away—would destroy any chance of forgiveness. She came home to help a friend, not to fall for Galen all over again.
But Galen sees through her carefully constructed walls to the wounded woman beneath, and his protective instincts war with his wounded heart. As wedding festivities swirl around them and the Kittering family draws her back into their embrace, Leah faces an impossible choice: reveal the secret that could cost her everything, or lose Galen forever.
In a town where everyone knows your business and second chances are rare, can two people who share a broken past find the courage to trust again? When the truth finally comes to light, will it heal old wounds or prove that some hearts are too damaged to love again?
