Damaged Daddy

Unforgettable nights with the man who always keeps me safe—
And now I’m carrying his baby… and it finally feels like home.

Nate Bennett is the gruff, silent legend everyone in Ember Ridge whispers about.
Broad shoulders. Haunted eyes. A past wrapped in shadows he refuses to name.

Years ago, an ambush overseas took everything from him—his best friend, his loyal K9.
Since then, Nate’s buried himself in hard work and harder silences.
He shows up at my rescue shelter claiming it’s about the dogs, never about me.

But I see the truth in the way he looks at me.
The way his voice drops when we’re alone.
The way our late-night talks turn into even later nights tangled in sheets.

Somewhere between his walls crumbling and mine finally falling—
I fall for him. Hard.

But just as we finally let ourselves believe in more, danger finds us.
He throws himself in front of a bullet meant for me.
Now I’m the one pacing hospital hallways.
Praying the man I love survives long enough…
To meet the child who already calls him daddy in my heart.