With her chestnut hair and striking green eyes, Charlotte should be the catch of Spring City, Colorado. But she wears her independence like an impenetrable suit of armor and cloaks her identity behind her famed writing nom de plume of Charles Sanborn. She's a 24-year-old confirmed spinster who won't risk heartbreak, until a handsome stranger awakens her yearning both for companionship and for indulgent pleasure. Boston lawyer Reed Malloy has a solemn mission—to deliver two orphaned children to their Colorado cousin. He's not prepared for Charlotte being utterly innocent and yet irresistibly beguiling, or for her brewing resentment and flat-out refusal to raise her kin. It will take some firsthand persuasion if he is to complete his legal duty and, perhaps, resolve more tantalizing issues. When Charlotte forsakes everything familiar—and two thousand miles of America's heartland no longer separate her from Reed—unforeseen influences conspire to keep them apart. The high society of the Boston Brahmins welcomes her . . . while concealed malice abounds. With the intrusion of sinister forces and scorned women—and with passions ablaze—Reed and Charlotte find themselves in a very Improper Situation.