When high school heartthrob and star athlete Cole Jackson breaks Tatum’s heart, she makes a pact with herself to never be hurt again. She turns love into a game modeled after her family’s favorite pastime: baseball. Anyone brave enough to date her must step up to plate and get to each base by following her rules – or they’re out. Years later Cole, as handsome and charming as ever, makes an unexpected reappearance in her life with promises he’s a changed man. He’s got the story to prove it and says he’s willing to follow all of her rules just to have a second chance. Complicating matters is the strong and steady Airman, Justin Parker, with a heartbreak story of his own. His friendship challenges all she ever knew of loving and being loved. Will Tatum’s rules help her navigate two very different men, or will she strike out at her own game?**

Can everlasting love grow amidst never-ending despair? Best friends Justin and Haylee learn early on that the answer is yes. Their parents would rather spend time drinking and partying than raising children, so the two rely on each other for the care and emotional support they need. Over time, Justin and Haylee become lovers despite the age difference between them. Theirs is a forbidden romance that would destroy them both if discovered. The older of the two, Justin is more than a little rough around the edges. He does everything he can to protect Haylee from as much abuse as possible, but when tragedy strikes there is nothing he can to do keep her from being taken into the foster system. The system meant to save kids threatens to pull the two of them apart. Haylee begs Justin to run away with her, but the powers-that-be force him into an inescapable corner. Blaming Justin for the distance that separates them, Haylee shuts out everything and everyone from her...