Clutching a Beating Heart — J. Adams

Sonora Kingston is a loner. She also carries a secret. After losing her mother, her younger sister takes off. When Sonora is kicked out of her home by her older sister, she starts a new life, determined to make it on her own. She has never known the love of a man and has no interest allowing one to get that close. But that was before meeting Kellen Youngblood.