Trey Latimer lived just a stone's throw away from Frances "Frankie" Tracker, his old buddy's kid sister. Trey had returned to the Dakotas to rebuild his life after a shattered career and a broken marriage—and just possibly to see if there were any sparks left between him and Frankie. But as the bad moon rose one hot August night, someone tried to murder Frankie's brother. And it could very well have been someone from Trey's family. Could he betray his own flesh and blood, even for the strong and sensuous woman he loved more than life itself?

SOUTH DAKOTA'S BLACK HILLS, WHERE FIRES RAGED—AND WHERE ONE WOMAN HAD A FIRE FIGHTER BURNING UP Race Latimer: One of the Forest Service's elite smoke jumpers. Part owner of the Plugged Nickel casino. Half Chippewa Indian. Full-time hell-raiser. Hannah Quinn: Head of self-help program for downtrodden women. Churchgoer. Pint-size blonde with a heart too big for the secret she had to keep. Race Latimer had always drifted from town to town, fire to fire—woman to woman. But suddenly a goody-two-shoes preacher's daughter had him hotter than he'd ever been. Yet the last thing any fire fighter needed was to get burned off duty .... AMERICAN HEROES: Men who give all they've got for their country, their work—the women they love.