She’s eighteen. He’s the man everyone warns her about.
Eli Mercer doesn’t let people get close anymore. Not after the war. Not after everything he’s lost. He keeps his world small—his garage, his dog, and the quiet edges of Clayborn where no one asks questions.
Then Kennedy Briggs shows up with a broken-down truck… and nowhere else to go.
In highschool, she’s already drowning—working late nights, caring for her sick grandfather, and barely holding her life together while the town watches and judges her every move.
She should stay away from Eli.
Everyone says so.
But Eli isn’t the monster they whisper about.
He’s steady. Protective. The only place Kennedy feels safe when everything else is falling apart.
And the more time she spends in his garage… the harder it becomes to ignore what’s growing between them.
Something forbidden.
Something dangerous.
Something that feels a little too much like home.
Because Clayborn doesn’t forgive scandal.
And when the town turns on Kennedy—and her fragile world begins to collapse—Eli is forced to decide just how far he’s willing to go to protect her…
Even if it means risking everything he’s built to keep himself safe.
A clean, slow-burn small-town romance featuring a protective hero, emotional healing, and a forbidden age-gap love story that will stay with you long after the final page.
