Duck

Reuben Nelms clawed his way free from a nightmare legacy of terror and torment in dusty West Texas, vowing never to look back. But after more than a decade away, a desperate summons drags him home, where old ghosts rise to claw at his soul. Amid the haunting echoes of fear and regret strides Brenda Calloway—the fierce, unforgettable woman he abandoned long ago. As sparks reignite in the barren heat, Reuben must grapple with his dual existence: the loyal brother in the Rebel Wayfarers MC, or the man he once was. Can their rekindled flame take root in this unforgiving land, or will the pull of his Chicago brotherhood tear it all apart?

From the sun-scorched fields of his youth, Reuben fought tooth and nail to shatter his family’s toxic chains—one of his deepest scars being his failure to shield a vulnerable woman from his own kin’s cruelty. For years, he guarded her from afar, finding solace in the shadows until the Rebel Wayfarers MC offered him purpose and redemption. As Duck, he’s watched her thrive under the club’s protective wing, her strength a balm to his wounds.

But chaos calls him back to West Texas, thrusting him into the heart of his haunted past. There, Brenda—now a widowed single mother and sharp business manager of his inherited cattle empire—stands as a beacon of what could have been. Unaware of the hold she still has on his heart, she’s more captivating than ever. As their paths entwine, Reuben faces an impossible choice: shed the hardened skin of Duck and forsake his MC family to reclaim Reuben, or weave their teenage passion into his outlaw life without losing either?

“Everyone has three lives: a public life, a private life, and a secret life.” – Gabriel Garcia Marquez