The strong merciless fingers that wrapped around her throat and the whispered threats, sent all of Lacey Robertson’s alarms ringing. It was the slap in the face of reality that sent her life on a new path. Causing her to flee the busy life of a head-chef, trading it in for a peaceful job on a secluded ranch. But the tall, dark haired cowboy that was her new boss, was causing a new kind turmoil in Lacey’s life. A childhood spent in foster care, she had never been comfortable with men, and Grant was no exception. He made her uncomfortable by setting her skin afire with his smokey grey eyes and left her longing for more. He didn’t need anything else. Grant had enough irons in the fire. With a ranch to run on his own, a kitchen that he barely managed not to burn down every day, and a bone-crushing grief that he somehow managed to keep at bay, the last thing he needed was another problem. The feelings that Lacey stirred inside of him were unwanted and unneeded, he was struggling to control his growing desire for the long-legged blond. Only the knowledge that city transplants never stayed kept him grounded in reality, Lacey would leave, just like his father had.