Laura Bell is home for good. Twelve years ago she left her home behind--but she could never forget the boy next door. Now, hurting from a broken engagement and fed up with city life, Laura returns to her family's ranch. But her homecoming is bittersweet. Twelve years apart has changed Eli Hawthorne. Yet the bond they once shared has only deepened with time.  Eli never gave up hoping that someday Laura would return to their small ranching town in the California foothills. But the battle-scarred soldier is a world away from the carefree boy he once was. And Laura has her own wounds to heal. Together they just might fill the empty places in their hearts and find the love of a lifetime.