Running from a marriage that lasted one night, Dr. Moriah McKeown discovers the land she has settled on is coveted by determined and lawless men. Yet the proud young woman who once vowed never to abandon her home has second thoughts when her adopted children are threatened. Her only recourse is to enlist the aid of a dark, dangerous gun for hire.
Haunted by the past and a betrayal he will never forgive, Ian Civanovich uses his fast gun and his reckless courage to forget the faithlessness of a woman in his past. He will trust no female--nor will he rest until the threat hovering over Moriah McKeown is put to rest.
AN EXCERPT
Buffalo Creek,
South Dakota
1895
Hot, dry air scorched the prairie grass. Sweat slid along his spine. Danger
clung to every whisper; seemed to swirl and grow with each passing second. Ivan Civanovich watched the woman below. With deadly purpose,
he studied the lady who had hired him--the woman who had bought his gun and perhaps death.
"Reckless courage," Ivan mused.
"Si Senor,
she does have what you call a great courage, but I don’t know about the reckless part. She is always so very careful," Pedro said.
"I’m a dangerous man, Pedro."
"This is why she hired you."
"The lady has no business hiring men like me. She’s a woman. She is supposed
to nurture lives."
"She needs you to keep the bad men from taking the land away--our home," Pedro said.
Ivan pushed the tip of his hat
back from his brows. From his vantage point, he considered the woman while she hung the freshly laundered white sheets on the line.
A strange shudder swept through him, his muscles tensing with the sudden feeling he knew this woman, had known her forever. The sensations
were too strong, the feelings too acute, and it troubled him because knowing her was impossible.
Her hair, a wild mop of red curls,
battled with the stiff, hot wind rising off the prairie. The breeze and her hair flowed in undulating currents between the lines,
threatening to tangle themselves in the wire. She bent over at the waist, giving him a perfect view of her backside while she toyed
with something on the ground. Seconds later she picked up the object of her curiosity, turned it over in her hands then tossed it
aside.
He didn’t like to think about what could happen to her in the next few weeks. She’d advertised for a gun for a hire. She didn’t
know what she bargained for, and he’d bet his inheritance she didn’t have any idea what kind of trouble she’d purchased.
When she
looked up the hill, his grin widened. She couldn’t see him, but her shoulders tensed and she sucked air. Her hand touched her forehead,
shielding her eyes from the blinding sunlight. She scanned the horizon, turning a complete circle before she stopped.
"Good," he said,
"she is cautious."