Chase Wilde Comes Home

Bestseller Ryan (True Love Cowboy) launches her Wyoming Wilde series with a heavy, deeply emotional western about love and loyalty. Chase Wilde was estranged from his family following his mother’s death and left home to join the army. Now he’s back with numerous injuries, a crippling case of PTSD, and a prescription drug addiction. He finds a lifeline in his determination to prove himself to his two-year-old daughter, Eliza, and her mother, his former one-night stand Shelby Payne. Physical therapist Shelby has carried the burden of her own birth her whole life: her father kidnapped and raped her mother, who then attempted to kill both herself and baby Shelby. Only Shelby survived. This dark past makes it hard for her to believe that anyone could love her, least of all handsome Chase. But even when their happy ending seems to be in sight, threats from her past may tear them apart. Ryan tackles the many tough topics here with an empathetic eye, and dispatches the story’s (perhaps somewhat exaggerated) villain in a thoroughly satisfying way. This moving tale of redemption and romance will melt the hardest of hearts. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Mar.)