Shelter for Elizabeth: Badge of Honor, Texas Heroes Book 5, Susan Stoker

A minor kitchen fire brings Beth and Cade together but that same element just might have the power to tear them apart.  While Beth is struggling with agoraphobia as a result of an intensely traumatic situation from her past, she can't help but be drawn to the large, handsome firefighter who seems to know just what she needs when the request for medical treatment might take her from the safety of her home.  Cade has a soft spot for damsels in distress.  He needs to be needed.  Lucky for him, his confidence that Beth is someone worth pursuing leads him into his ideal relationship.  But when that relationship is tested by hasty conclusions, harsh words, and dangerous new habits, it'll take more than a chivalrous nature to save what they're building.

As always, I love the way difficult situations are tackled by this author.  In this story there's counseling, not shying away from bad things, and complete honesty in behaviors.  It's not as simple as that list suggests, it's much more in-depth considering all that the characters experience and what they have to go through to find their happy ending.

Beth was good, in her head a little much, but overall a great character struggling with traumatic events and their effects.  I enjoyed that she was brilliant, relatively resilient, a strong woman who knew what she was doing and why.  It would have been nice if she were completely transparent and forthcoming about her newest struggle with the man she was falling for but the fallout from that got her into a place to get the help she really needed.

Cade was solid.  Yes, his emotions and mouth ran away from him at times, but still a solid man who knows who and what he wants.  I wasn't a fan of Cade jumping to conclusions and then down her throat.  The way he spoke to Beth because of his misunderstandings of what she was really struggling with, the real reason behind her new coping mechanism, wasn't a way to get his point across or to hear hers either.  She pushed for him to open up and talk about what was bothering him really got them into that situation, but I can't say that waiting until the next morning would have been better either.

Both the reunion and resolution were honest, painful, and full of love and acceptance.  The way the author orchestrated their reunion and then tackled the incident from Beth's past was a surprise and definitely necessary for her characters' evolution.  It opened doors for Beth to see a different perspective, to move beyond what happened and find healthy ways of coping with her situation.  It also gave us a sense of "completion" even though the individual struggles aren't magically healed for anyone that was involved.  What it did was bring it all full-circle allowing Beth to incorporate the healthy aspects into her recovery rather than allowing her to continue blocking out the experience and never fully addressing it so she can move beyond it.

Such a great story with a stellar ending.  So much happiness and love surrounding them to show that while struggles don't magically disappear at the words "The End," there's always support, compassion, and community backing you while you heal.

*$4.99 on Amazon!