Description
Cory Tate has spent her entire life armored in strength. Forced to raise her siblings while navigating the chaos of her mother’s instability, Cory learned early on that vulnerability is a liability. Even after the tragic loss of her mother, the heavy mantle of responsibility stayed with her, evolving into a suffocating shroud of anxiety, regret, and untreated trauma. Now, as an adult, Cory survives by keeping the world at arm’s length, convinced that her stoicism is the only thing holding her shattered world together.
The only crack in Cory’s iron walls is Denali “Denny” Houston. A steadfast presence since childhood, Denny is the light to Cory’s shadows—bubbly, deeply patient, and armed with a profound empathy born from her own history of loss. Denny has loved Cory for years from the sidelines, nursing the silent hope that the woman she cherishes might one day allow herself to be truly seen.
As the two find their lives increasingly intertwined, the lines between protectiveness and romance blur. To find peace, Cory must finally learn to stop being the one who carries everything and accept the one person ready to carry her. In this emotional journey through the bayou, two best friends must confront their pasts and find the courage to lean into a love that has been waiting for them all along.
