Florida Veterans

Rising Hollywood star Summer Arden never in her wildest dreams imagined at forty she would be trading in her apron and coffee pot for movie scripts and makeup chairs. But, just when she starts enjoying the perks of her new life, fate shakes things up again and her world is submerged in turmoil. Summer finds herself in need of a real-life leading man, one who can protect her. Save her. Private sector warrior Mike Wade's job for the Security Six team is all he knows. Protect and serve has been his lifelong motto. When his childhood friend finds herself in a world of trouble, he enlists his team to protect the one woman who's always had a place in his heart. Blurring the lines between duty and desire is playing with fire. As danger rises, Mike realizes he'll do anything to save Summer, even if it costs him everything.

On the run from her abusive ex, Stacey Allen spends her days refilling coffee and wiping down tables, instead of using her finance degree crunching numbers. A low profile life is the only way to survive as she struggles to divorce her cheating husband. Having nowhere else to turn when trouble tracks her down, she accepts help from a mysterious stranger. Former Navy SEAL Hudson McCormick spends his days as co-owner of Sunset Security and his nights bailing his drug addict ex-wife out of bad situations, including one that leads him to a damsel-in-distress. He can't help but be drawn to a woman in need, even if he doesn't want to be. The longer she stays hidden away in the sleepy vacation town from her childhood, the more she realizes how much she loves the simple life and the more her feelings for Hudson grow. Just when Stacey starts to feel safe, his past collides with hers, putting them both in danger. Hudson will do whatever it takes to save Stacey - even if it means risking his heart.

Delicate and reclusive Shay Baird had a charmed childhood on a rural Florida farm complete with a picture-perfect family. Her youth was spent adventuring with the boy next door. Life was sweet and simple until Pax was removed from his home and her own life turned inside out. Shay now lives a solitary existence, with only her memories to keep her company. Navy SEAL Paxton Pearsal is no longer the little boy who barely survived his abusive parents. He's a defender and protector, no trace of the victim he once was. When Pax returns home to claim his family's land, he's shocked to find a beautiful woman in the place of his childhood friend. Shay is in trouble and as much as he wants to be the one to save her, he enlists help from his friends at Sunset Security to keep her safe while he's deployed. The illusion of living a sheltered and quiet life is shattered by secrets from the past, leaving her vulnerable. When Pax returns from his final mission, he finds that everything has changed... except the way he feels for Shay.**Please note this story was previously released in the anthology The Hero's Journey Home in 2018. This version has new content.