The crack of a nail gun doesn't just pierce wood-it shatters his mind.
Welcome to Jaxon Holt's new warzone: fatherhood.
Decorated soldier Jaxon Holt survived Kandahar's hellfire. He wears titanium where his leg used to be. But nothing armored him for this:
Trigger #1: A truck's tailgate clangs like machine-gun fire. He freezes. Sees sand. Smells blood.
Trigger #2: His daughter hugs his prosthetic, whispering, "Does your robot leg have secret weapons, Daddy?"
Trigger #3: His pregnant wife Evelyn watches him silently drown-and he can't say why.
His PTSD is back. And this time, retreat isn't an option.
Evelyn Holt didn't cross oceans to save her soldier just to lose him at home. With her dream bakery rising from the mud and their baby kicking beneath her apron, she sees Jaxon's walls rebuilding:
The nightmares he swallows at 3 AM
The way he flinches at Sophie's laughter
The terrifying moment he drops to his knees in the snow, gasping: "I'm buried alive, Evy..."
But when Sheriff Ben-their family's bedrock-collapses with a secret that could destroy them all? Jaxon's silence becomes a grenade.
Trapped by a blizzard and haunted by ghosts, Jaxon faces his deadliest mission:
Protect his family from the storm outside.
Protect them from himself.
Build a future before the baby comes-or lose everything.
One hospital phone call. One bakery opening day. One last chance to choose: armor or love.
He carried shrapnel in his leg.
She carried hope in her womb.
Together, they'll wage the war that matters most.