What happened between Cole Harding and Violet Eaton in their anonymous online chats was meant to stay buried in the past...until it didn't. It's a small world, but Ruby Creek is even smaller, and when Cole reluctantly moves to town for a business venture, he finds Violet working as a jockey on the family ranch, just as tempting as he remembers.

Cole had his chance with her, and he blew it. She ghosted him, and he closed himself off further than ever. But when a riding accident puts Violet out of commission, the two are forced under the same roof, and Cole finds his broody façade slipping. With every flush of her cheeks and every flare of heat in her eyes, the ice he's encased himself in melts. Violet makes him want things he shouldn't. Things he's been dreaming about since he first laid eyes on her years ago--things he doesn't deserve.

As a former soldier, Cole should have the discipline to walk away. He has scars older and deeper than anyone knows. His plan was to keep his secrets hidden and his heart locked away...

Until her.