Stay With Me: A Closed-Door Military Romance
She was running from the past.
He was carrying the dead on his back.
Neither expected to find love in the wreckage.
Erin has lost everything. Her home. Her safety. Her peace. All that remains is the little boy she loves more than life itself and the walls she has built to keep the world out. After fleeing an abusive relationship, a domestic violence shelter is her last sanctuary, a fragile place where fear and hope exist side by side. Trust is a luxury she can no longer afford.
SGT James Cole carries his own battles. A Marine haunted by the ghosts of war, he survived when his brothers did not and the weight of that survival is crushing. Guilt clings to him like a second skin, leaving him hollow, angry, and unwilling to let anyone in. Redemption is not on his horizon. Love is not even on his radar.
But fate has a way of intervening.
When Erin and James meet in a quiet Ohio town, caution gives way to connection. Broken conversations spark understanding. Silent glances speak louder than words. Erin begins to see the man beneath the scars, the strength behind his silence. James begins to see the courage behind her fear, the unyielding determination that keeps her son safe. And Jamie, the little boy who has known too much sorrow, discovers a hero in the man who never wanted to be one.
As their worlds collide, they learn that love is not clean or simple. It is messy, it is terrifying, and it demands courage, but it is also the only thing powerful enough to heal the wounds that have shaped them both.
Two broken hearts. One small boy who believes in heroes. And the fragile hope that together they might finally find a way to survive and maybe, just maybe, to love again.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Stay With Me was first published on September 17, 2025—but the version you're seeing now is very different. The original contained explicit intimacy and ended in tragedy, but after Charlie Kirk’s assassination just days earlier, my heart was shaken. In that season of grief, God pressed on me in ways I couldn’t ignore. I laid down the darker stories I had been writing, opened my Bible again, and found myself being reshaped by His truth.
Through prayer, I realized I didn’t want to invite the world into the most sacred parts of my marriage or leave my characters in despair. God doesn’t leave us in darkness—He brings light, healing, and hope. Rewriting Stay With Me became deeply personal: Erin’s journey mirrors my own, and her healing helped me release pain I had carried for years.
This new version isn’t just a revision—it’s a testimony. A story of God’s goodness, of beauty from ashes, and of hope restored. My prayer is that as you read, you’ll be reminded of the One who can meet you in your brokenness and bring you into the light.
With love,
Katie Mackey
Content Note
This story is a closed-door romance centered on love, resilience, and healing. While the heart of the book is connection and hope, it also portrays difficult realities, including PTSD, domestic violence, homelessness, kidnapping, anxiety, and panic attacks. These themes are written with care to honor real struggles, but they may be triggering for some readers. Please take care of yourself as you read.
Reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"A brave, tender, and unforgettable story."
Stay With Me is the kind of novel that lingers in your heart long after you’ve closed the last page. Katie Mackey writes with unflinching honesty, blending raw emotion with an undercurrent of hope that feels both hard-earned and deeply satisfying. Erin’s journey of escaping domestic violence and finding the courage to trust again is rendered with authenticity and grace, while James’s struggle with PTSD brings a rare vulnerability to the page. Together, their story is not only one of love but also of redemption, faith, and resilience.
Though closed-door in intimacy, Mackey doesn’t shy away from the complexities of real life—the messy language, the hard questions, the bittersweet healing. Readers looking for a romance that is both passionate and profoundly human will find themselves moved, challenged, and uplifted.
A remarkable debut that proves faith-filled fiction can be both gritty and deeply beautiful. Katie Mackey is a voice to watch.
— Margaret Davidson, Senior Fiction Editor, Pacific Crest Literary Reviews
About The Author
Katie Mackey is a contemporary romance author who writes closed-door love stories that always end with a swoony, guaranteed happily-ever-after. While she doesn’t fit the industry label of a “Christian author,” readers will always find the values of faith, hope, love, and redemption woven into her stories. At the same time, Katie isn’t afraid to push the edges a little—expect some sass, sarcasm, and the occasional cuss word mixed in with all the heart.
When she’s not dreaming up new ways to make fictional couples fall in love, Katie is living her own love story as a proud military wife to her hunkasarus husband. Together, they wrangle seven chaos gremlins (her words, not theirs) and two furry tail waggers. By day she is a homeschooling, special needs warrior ninja mom fueled by hot chocolate and Jesus. Her twin boys rock their superpowers of autism and cerebral palsy and inspire her daily to keep chasing big dreams.
Katie’s happy place includes Target strolls, pumpkin spice everything, and anything green or pink. She is obsessed with rom-coms and sports romances, even though she could not tell you a linebacker from a pitcher to save her life. Add in cheesy 80s movies, her Kindle, and a cozy blanket, and you have her perfect Friday night.
Above all, Katie loves making people laugh and embracing her goofy side. If you're looking for a new book bestie who will give you stories full of heart, hope, and humor-plus a little oversharing about Dr. Pepper, kids, and fictional boyfriends-Katie is your girl.