Betrayal is a wound that rarely heals. A devastating accident that claims the life of her Olympic-bound mount lands Jessica Black and her new stallion at Cherokee Falls Equestrian Center, where she is teamed up with an arrogant, womanizing trainer. Skyler Reese is a former gold medalist, now blacklisted as a professional rider. The sparks that fly between the two women are anything but friendly at first, but the heat between them changes to passion as Skyler helps Jessica prepare for the upcoming competition. Still, a dark secret Jessica is hiding threatens both her bid to win a spot on the U.S. Equestrian Team and Skyler's triumphant return to the eventing circuit.

If you’re going to bet a long shot, you have to be prepared to lose. Equine veterinarian Tory Greyson has always played the safe bet. That is, until she runs into a very cute, opinionated, jobless journalist. The small town of Cherokee Falls is just a pit stop for Leah Montgomery while she figures out how to put her career back on track and deal with her grandmother’s slide into dementia. Tory is unable to resist when Leah talks her into putting money on a long shot at the track and then spending the winnings to buy a wild pony. Will Tory take a chance on Leah, too? Or will she stick with the safe bet and pursue Bridgette LeRoy, the calm, Zen-centered artist who arrives to teach at the local college?

Success for Marc Ryder means riding out eight seconds on the back of an angry rodeo bull. She’s exactly the type of wild and reckless person artist Bridgette LeRoy has avoided since the senseless death of her brother. But circumstances throw them together, and Bridgette is drawn into a tumultuous ride of attraction, passion, and denial. When she realizes it’s the only way to protect her battered heart, Bridgette’s desperate mission to stop Marc’s suicidal return to the rodeo becomes a race in which every second counts.