Care Package

8,000 miles. Two worlds. One secret sanctuary.

Ryan
I’m a ghost in the desert, tactical gear, silence, and enough distance from my past to keep me sane. At least, that’s who I was before he started sending boxes of triple chocolate cookies and letters that make me forget where I am. I’m not supposed to have feelings, let alone get distracted by a hockey player who asks dangerous questions and has a knack for making me blush from across the globe. My only defence? Sketching ducks in the margins of my replies. It’s my quiet way of letting him in. And God help me, it’s working.

Jackson
I’m an NHL Golden Boy, the guy with the million-dollar smile and the mask I never take off. I thought signing up for a military pen pal program would be a nice gesture, maybe a way to fill the emptiness when the arena lights go down. I didn’t expect to get obsessed. I’m the one in control, usually, but my guarded, mysterious soldier has me hooked. He’s thousands of miles away, yet he’s the only one who actually sees me. We’re trading secrets, turning sterile envelopes into a playground for raw honesty, sharp wit, and a tension that burns hot enough to melt the ice.

Together
He’s getting under my skin. We’re starving for a connection that isn’t for sale, and every letter makes the distance feel that much more impossible. But when the dust settles, and the soldier finally comes home, the only thing hotter than the desert is what happens when two men who’ve been falling in love on paper finally stop writing and start doing.