First published 2012
Sawyer McKettrick refuses to settle into life on his family's Triple M ranch in Arizona. He travels to Blue River, Texas, seeking work as a town marshal. A fierce snowstorm leaves him wounded and stranded. He stumbles into the care of Piper St. James, a schoolteacher who finds this shirtless, bandaged stranger in her quarters behind the schoolhouse. Sawyer claims to be a McKettrick, but Piper sees only an outlaw. The storm traps them together. Piper tends to his injuries while battling her attraction to this dangerous drifter. His presence awakens her buried dreams of family and home. Sawyer must decide whether to continue his wandering ways or build something lasting with this proper woman who sees past his rough exterior. The holiday season brings both of them to a crossroads where two guarded hearts might finally find the courage to trust in love.
Genres: romance, christmas, historical-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, second-chance
Setting: Arizona, Blue River, Texas
Period: 19th-century
288 pages · Hardcover · HQN