“I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Ruth blinks. “I thought you didn’t want me here.”
All Ruth Bennett has ever wanted is a place to call home.
Raised in a Dodge City brothel and left alone after her mother’s death, Ruth is desperate to protect the only family she has left—her six-year-old sister.So when she discovers an advertisement from a Kansas rancher seeking a wife, she takes a leap of faith and travels west, hoping for a fresh start.
Instead, she finds Henry Collins.
The brooding horse rancher never expected his mail-order bride to arrive with a child in tow. Worse, she makes him remember everything he’s spent years trying to forget.
“You should have chosen another man,” he tells her.
Ruth lifts her chin. “Too late now.”
As Ruth learns the rhythms of ranch life and slowly wins over the people of Cottonwood Falls, Henry finds himself drawn to the woman who sees goodness in everyone—even in him.
But the past isn’t done with Henry.
As threats close in and old wounds are reopened, Ruth and Henry must learn how to trust each other.
Because family isn’t always the one you’re born into.
Sometimes it’s the one you fight for.
