Austin hates to think that Kat had tapped into his inner psyche and had pulled out the one job he both wants yet is terrified to do. He'd walked away-or maybe had been chased away from Rox. He is no longer sure; he only knows that he needs closure on a marriage that had been heaven, until it turned to hell. And now the same family he'd married into had gotten, then lost, a War Dog. And, sure enough, Kat had found out about his entanglement, asking him point-blank if it was time to get his life together.

Rox had sent Austin away in the red heat of temper, and he'd gone, as in gone and never to return. Now here he is, sitting in her kitchen as if they'd never had such a tumultuous past. Finding out he'd returned for the missing War Dog and not for her bit hard. Still, she'd called in about Cowboy, the missing dog, but hadn't expected them to send Austin. It's as if the gods weren't done ruining her life.

Finding the missing War Dog and sorting out the other unsettling issues on the ranch Austin had fallen in love with years ago isn't going to be easy-particularly with Rox at his side-but he knows he is fighting for more than just peace and justice. He is fighting for his-their-future. One that, deep down, he never truly let go of.