This is what he wanted. This right here. He'd not known it until now, but he wanted her with a ring on her hand, their hearts united. He wanted Mrs. Jared Flint to stare at him like Holly did, to make him want to forgo breakfast and make love to her instead.

Jared Flint struggles to overcome his spotted past and put his years in prison behind him, slaving away beneath the Texas sun. Yet, hard work has done little to abate his ever-present anger. With every brawl, he strikes back at his abusive past, unable to turn loose of the hate that almost took a man's life.

Holly Carleton hopped a train on a dare and headed south. After her mama's passing, she's been rudderless, always searching for that one thing to fulfill her. Taking a job at a ranch at one of the towns along the tracks comes on a whim. But walking in on cowboy, Jared Flint, half-dressed – that was accidental. And something she'll never forget. He's strength and brawn in a perfectly carved package.

The days passing, their attraction growing, it becomes clear, he's held aloof from relationships for a reason. No woman deserves a man like him. Except together, they have a future rich in possibilities, and if he can just turn loose of the pain, a chance for forgiveness and love.

Book 1 of the COWBOYS OF THE DOUBLE R series by SUZANNE D. WILLIAMS. 32,000 words. A Contemporary Western.