In a matter of seconds my entire world changed, and it was in that moment that I stopped living and simply began to exist.

In my grief, I sent a letter to the first boy I ever loved.

I didn't expect him to write back.

Sergeant Devin Ulysses Clay did what I couldn't: he put the shattered pieces of my heart back together. But now that I'm whole, I have a decision to make. Do I return to my life as I knew it and the fiancé I left behind, or do I walk away from it all for the only man to ever break my heart?

***
A letter from Katie Devora--a letter that I almost didn't open. Her words put a fire back inside of me that I didn't know I'd lost.

The Army saved me from a callous mother and a life on the wrong side of the tracks that was quickly spiraling out of control. So unlike most of the men in my platoon, going home wasn't something I longed for.

I was content overseas, spending my days defending this country that gave me my life back. Fighting became my new normal ... until her.