Hey Y'all I'm Katie the Author
Before there was Katie Mackey, there was Kaitlin Erin Mackey (author of Second Chances and Obsession) and Katie Mackenzie (who wrote The Recruiter, Claimed Souls, Never-Mind, and Little Miss Poison). Same girl—just a whole lot more lost back then. I wrote about heartbreak, dark love, and messy endings, because that’s where I was living.
But then I met Jesus—and He turned my whole story around. He took what was broken and made it beautiful. I pulled every old book off the shelves, laid it all down, and started fresh. Now I write closed-door romance with a little grit, a whole lot of heart, and the truth of God’s grace woven right in.
These days, I’m a military wife, mama to seven wild and wonderful kiddos, and a follower of Jesus just trying to live slow and faithful. I homeschool our crew, bake bread that doesn’t always rise, crochet when I can steal a quiet moment, and never pass up a good antique shop or a yard sale on a Saturday morning.
I believe love should be pure, stories should have hope, and life’s better with a little bit of flour on your apron and peace in your heart.
Stay With Me
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.
This story is a closed-door romance centered on love, resilience, and healing with a faith based ending. 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. There is some adult language fitting to certain characters naratives.