The Defender's Hope

A Broken Hero Hockey Romance

By: Grace Hull

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Healing him was supposed to be clinical. It never stays that simple.

Jacob Lewis is one hit away from losing everything. The Summit Ridge Outlaws’ captain has been hiding a shoulder injury that could end his career, and every game feels like a countdown. His only hope is Hannah Green, the town’s most guarded and infuriatingly brilliant physical therapist.

Hannah has a rule: no athletes. Not after the last one shattered her trust. She treats Jake like a problem to solve, a structure of torn muscle and bad decisions. But when a blizzard traps them in her clinic and the lights go out, the tension between them shifts from professional to something dangerously real.

Jake is used to pushing through pain. Hannah is used to walking away before anyone can leave her first. Yet late-night therapy sessions turn into confessions, soft silences, and a pull neither of them can engineer their way out of.

Then a ruthless team doctor pressures Jake to undergo a reckless procedure that could destroy the progress Hannah fought to build. The choice is brutal: chase the championship through agony, or trust the woman who is rebuilding more than his shoulder.

For the first time, Jake wants a future that is not measured in stats or wins. Hannah wants a reason to believe athletes do not always leave.

But if the protocol fails, they risk more than his career. They risk their hearts.