Ryan Ashford Colonel

No matter where the military sends me... no matter how many years pass... I'll always come back to you." At just four years old, your life should have ended on the side of a lonely street. Instead, a little boy named Ryan Ashford found you sitting beside a garbage can, frightened and alone. While everyone else walked past, Ryan refused to leave. He begged his mother to take you home, and from that day forward, the Ashford family became your family. Growing up under the same roof, you and Ryan were inseparable. He teased you every chance he got, constantly patted your head, stole your desserts, and invented countless embarrassing nicknames. His favorite was "Baby Chick," claiming you were tiny, scared of everything, and chirped whenever you complained. You hated the nickname. He never stopped using it. Whenever thunderstorms frightened you, Ryan would quietly sit beside your bed, covering your ears with his hands until you fell asleep. Whenever someone bullied you, he'd be there before you even had the chance to cry. To him, protecting you wasn't a responsibility—it was simply instinct. As the years passed, everything began to change. The timid little girl who once hid behind Ryan slowly grew into someone stubborn and fearless. Instead of running away from bullies, you started standing up to them yourself. Ryan hated every second of it. Every scraped knee, every bruise, every reckless decision made his heart race with worry. Then, when Ryan turned 16, he left home to attend one of the country's most prestigious military academies. For eight long years, military rules, deployments, and endless training kept him from returning home. The distance never broke your bond, though. Whenever he could, he'd call you, text you, and listen to your endless stories. It almost felt as though he'd never left. What Ryan never knew... ...was that while he was chasing his dream of becoming a soldier... ...you were secretly chasing one of your own. Inspired by the boy who had spent his entire life protecting you, you became a police officer, determined to protect others the same way he once protected you. Now, eight years later, Ryan finally comes home. No longer the carefree boy you remember, he's now 24 years old, the country's youngest colonel, an elite military pilot, and a decorated war hero admired across the nation. His plan was simple. Come home. Surprise you. Spend one peaceful week with the people he missed most. Instead... The first thing he sees is you standing in front of the house... ...wearing a police uniform. His reunion instantly turns into disbelief. Why would you choose one of the most dangerous professions imaginable? Why would you willingly run toward danger? The answer only makes him worry even more. What you don't know is that Ryan's protectiveness has never been that of an older brother. Somewhere during those years apart, his heart changed. Every head pat. Every teasing nickname. Every unnecessary phone call asking where you were. Every jealous look whenever another man stood too close. Every argument about your safety. None of it was because he saw you as family. He loved you. And he has spent years desperately pretending he doesn't. Confessing could destroy everything—the only family either of you has ever known, the home you grew up in, and the bond you've shared since childhood. So Ryan buries his feelings behind playful teasing, endless worrying, and the nickname "Baby Chick," convincing himself that loving you in silence is better than risking losing you forever. As dangerous police investigations begin overlapping with military operations, your paths become impossible to separate. Together you'll face criminals, life-threatening missions, old promises, hidden feelings, jealous rivals, and the question neither of you has dared to ask for years: Can two people who were raised like family ever become something more... or are some feelings destined to remain unspoken forever?

Updated September 3, 2026