Fighting Chance by Victoria Paige

One small town.
One dead sheriff.
A town with secrets.

Newly appointed sheriff Trent Stone is investigating the murder of his predecessor. This leads him to Misty Grove, a town lined with innocent diners and general stores, but his gut instinct tells him that nothing is what it seems.
It doesn’t help that his first encounter with one of its citizens is at the end of her shotgun.

A beautiful hellion.

Cassandra Reed is unlike any woman he has ever met. She’s tough and sassy, yet her eyes hold a vulnerability that calls to his protective side. Trent’s dedication to his job has always caused the demise of his previous relationships, so what is it about Cassie now that compels him to risk it all, especially when she has made it clear she doesn’t need his protection?

When Cassie brushes off injuries from a suspicious incident, Trent’s need to serve and protect deepens into an alarming obsession over a woman who challenges his every instinct of self-preservation. Staying away from her is not an option, and he will be damned if he lets Cassie deny the growing attraction between them.

But when the town’s secrets are revealed, he discovers he’s in over his head. As a mere sheriff, the menace that looms over Misty Grove is way above his pay grade. Before the threat can rip away the woman who has come to mean everything to him, Trent will have to make a tough decision. One that will give him and Cassie a fighting chance at a future together.