Storm and ash

storm and asha novel by donna roseevery breath feels borrowed. every minute, survival.lila colson has perfected the performance her small southern town demands-pleasant smile, steady hands, wedding band that gleams just right. behind that door, she counts bruises, watches her son sleep, and prays tomorrow doesn't end like tonight.then fate knocks her off course-straight into jaxx steele, a horseman with calloused palms, a past that won't quit, and eyes that recognize her kind of broken. he doesn't offer promises. he offers air-room to breathe, room to dream. their chance meeting sparks something dangerous: hope.but in quiet acres, secrets rot beneath the magnolias. the whispers about jaxx's past turn public, and frank colson-her husband, the town's golden boy-tightens his grip. behind his charm and generosity lies a man who needs control like oxygen, and lila's defiance becomes his favorite sin to punish.as halloween descends and the veil thins, the farmhouse begins to stir. footsteps cross the hall when no one's there. cold breath lifts the hair at lila's neck. the ghost that haunts those walls isn't gentle-it's urgent, echoing with her mother's warnings and her own rising fury.the town divides, a medical scandal unspools, and one glossy photo at a charity gala ignites a storm that can't be contained. passion burns where it shouldn't-behind locked doors, in borrowed rooms, in the wicked hush between thunder and touch. love might save her. it might also paint a target she can't outrun.by the time the sky splits with lightning and the house erupts in flames, only two things will remain-storm and ash.the storm brought her fear. the fire brought her freedom.storm and ash is a seductive, haunting romantic suspense about a woman clawing free of the life meant to destroy her, a man stubborn enough to stand between her and the worst of it, a town drunk on its own gossip-and a haunting that refuses to let her fall.