Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph in Iraq and credits it with saving his life. When he returns home, he walks across the country to find the woman in the picture. She's a small-town librarian with an abusive ex-husband who happens to be the son of the sheriff. One of Sparks' more suspenseful novels.
Skip if you dislike:
Moods: Military Protective Romantic Suspenseful
Tropes: Military Hero Photograph Walk Across Country Small Town
The setup sounds that way — Sparks addresses it directly in the narrative.
2012 film with Zac Efron.
One of Sparks' rare genuine HEAs.