He was the eldest son of a legend, and being so, couldn't stay at his dad's club, where he'd not be allowed to breathe.
Instead, he went to their brother club and found somewhere to be himself. He wasn't treated delicately or protected. He was a prospect and acted as one. Death had chased him twice and failed, and he believed in life's precious moments.
She had loved and lost. The war had taken her future from her, and she silently screamed at the unfairness of it. Now she was alone, and nobody could breach her walls, not even her best friend. She needed time to come to terms with the decisions that had cost her everything. After a year away from Rapid City, her family decided it was time for her to return.
He came to fetch her, and she fought him hard. Words meant nothing to her. He couldn't understand her pain. When she finally made a bargain, he didn't give her time to backtrack. He swept her up and moved her back to their home.
What she didn't know was that he felt her pain. He'd lost a brother, a friend, and someone he'd admired. He didn't fault her for running, but he hated her shutting him out. He'd loved her since he first laid eyes on her. But she'd loved another, and he'd stepped back, despite his pain, and let her live her life. Now guilt ate him. He'd survived when many hadn't, and he was still here when the man she loved so much wasn't.
How could two people broken by the war find love again? Was it possible to start healing? It would take everything they had to move on and look to a future that had once seemed certain. They'd both discovered life was fragile, and the question remained: would they learn from it? Or were they doomed to loneliness for the rest of their lives?