title: Trust Betrayed
author: Carole, Rose C.
description: Two tortured souls need each other to heal. One soulless villain vows to destroy them both. To escape an abusive boyfriend, trauma nurse Vanessa flees to her late grandmother's cottage a hundred miles away. With new friends and a new job at a rural medical center, she struggles to overcome her PTSD and her distrust of men. Building contractor Blake lives with crushing guilt. Scarred inside and out, he doesn't trust himself anymore. After the loss of his wife, he buried himself in work, avoiding friends and family and keeping his emotions buttoned up tight. When they meet, Vanessa feels not pity, but empathy, on seeing Blake's burn-scarred face. Fascinated by the moody carpenter, she wants to learn more about him. And what better way than to have him work on updating the house she'd inherited from her grandmother.  This cautious beginning blossoms as they reveal their inner fears and desires to each other. Can they let go of the past and find a future together? But her former boyfriend wants her back and will stop at nothing to find her. In this deadly cat and mouse game, lives are at stake. And time is running out.