Hometown Heartbreaker

Book excerpt: He knows that Copper Ridge's newest bartender is running from her past…but will he recognize that she's his last chance at salvation before she leaves town in this sexy and emotional novella? Aiden Crawford knows all about responsibilities. He's already shouldering more than his share when beautiful drifter Casey James cruises into town with a broken car, a chip on her shoulder and enough secrets to have her ready to leave Copper Ridge the second she can afford the auto mechanic's bill. Aiden has no time for long-legged, sultry-eyed complications, especially when he catches her joyriding in his father's car, but when he realizes that she's hungry and homeless, he grits his teeth and does what he does best: takes on another person's problems as his own. Casey is no man's charity project—she takes care of herself and that's all she needs to survive. But in the gruff and ruggedly gorgeous Aiden, she finds a man whose demons match her own—and who tempts her to stop running once and for all. Yet even if she finds the courage to stay, can she convince him that a future together is possible before time runs out?