Run for the Roses — Elizabeth Noble (1)

Relationships aren't in the cards for everyone and Vladimir 'Val' Mihalic figures maybe, in his case it's for the best. After ending the last in a string of abusive relationships, Val has spent the past year living alone, single and fear free. He's got a good job at Churchill Downs, a place for him, his three dogs and his horse to live the quiet life. When his best friend, Janelle, is seriously injured in a carjacking, putting her career as a jockey on hold, Val steps up to help her through the crisis. When Janelle's estranged father shows up at Val's front door, Val's life, and his resolve to stay relationship free takes a hard sideways turn.  Wyatt Harig always wanted to be a part of his daughter's life, their  estrangement was forced on them both. When she's seriously injured, he knows things have to change and he's the only one who can make that change. He gets to Kentucky to find his daughter unwillingly neck deep in an elaborate gambling scheme that's led to murder. What he also finds is Janelle's best friend and roommate, Val, a kindhearted, alluring man twenty years his junior.Val is a little happier than he'd thought he'd be when Wyatt stays and starts digging deeper for the truth about Janelle's 'accident'. As they uncover layer after layer of the events leading up to that fateful day, they build a solid friendship. That friendship combined with a mutual physical attraction have the potential to turn to love. Uncovering the truth and exposing conmen and murderers puts what's just begun between Val and Wyatt as well as their lives, in jeopardy.