Years ago, his secrets forced him to break her heart. Can love put it back together? ICU nurse Dani Davis has it all: a coveted job, a great condo, a surgeon boyfriend-though admittedly, things are a little shaky with the boyfriend. None of that matters when the beloved aunt who raised her falls ill. Dani races straight home to small-town Gladewater, Texas. She almost doesn't recognize her first love, Levi Cooper. He's grown up and filled out in all kinds of mouthwatering ways, but one thing hasn't changed - The painful mystery of why he left her heart in a million tiny pieces. Levi never planned on setting foot back in Gladewater. The family farm is getting to be too much for his aging mother, though, so he reluctantly leaves his corner-office career to take the reins. The farm comes with a thousand problems, and twice as many memories-all of them bad-except for his memories of Dani, the first love he cut loose for her own good. But when he catches sight of her red curls and flashing green eyes, he can't help but wonder if there's any chance to rebuild her trust-and recapture the love that never died.
Chapter 1 Prologue
"Levi, please!" Dani begged from the front seat of his truck. "Talk to me. It can't be that bad. If you'll just tell me what happened, I know we can work it out!"
She was met with stony silence and a hard set to his face that she didn't recognize. She reached up to turn that face to her, to get him to meet her eyes. She gasped when she saw the look in them. Completely dead. No emotion at all. She couldn't imagine what had happened to strip the life from those normally lively blue eyes that she loved. She couldn't conceive of something that bad.
Levi jerked his chin away from her grasp. He stared off into the middle distance, seeing nothing. "No, Dani, I told you, we can't be together anymore," his voice had a rough, raw quality to it that was foreign to her ears. "I'm nothing but trouble. I'll just bring you down."
"No! I love you. You can't mean this – I know something has happened! You can tell me anything and I'll love you just the same. Please, what is it?" Dani cried desperately, begging him to not shut her out.
Levi set his jaw and jerked his head no. He had to be strong. He had to break it off...for her. He knew she couldn't understand why he was doing this. They were supposed to be together forever, but he couldn't embroil her in his mess. He had to protect her. He reached over her lap, through her grasping hands, and opened the truck door without looking her in the face. "Goodbye, Dani."
Dani started to grab the door and pull it shut again but then she looked toward the house. She saw her aunt and uncle on the front porch, Uncle E's arm around her aunt. Aunt Lu looked worried, her eyes round and her hands clasped in front of her but Uncle E looked like he might go get his shotgun. His brows were pulled low and his mouth formed a deep frown. They had apparently heard her crying and yelling. She didn't want to bring them into this. With tears streaming down her face, she finally slid from the truck and closed the door. She stood on the sidewalk, her chest heaving in silent sobs as Levi stepped on the gas and rumbled down the road away from her. He never looked back. He couldn't. His heart was already being ripped from his chest.
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