A New Beginning Disillusioned by the tragedies of her childhood, Maggie Gleason never wants to marry. So when she hires a matchmaker, it's to find a teaching job, not a husband. Scenic Shasta Falls, California turns out to be the perfect match for an independent woman determined to flee Chicago and start a whole new life. The boarding house where she lives even has a magnificent library...if she can get past the mysterious recluse in the room next door. An Unexpected Love Bounty hunter Alex Coburn pays a premium for his privacy and finds the persistent new lodger a most unwelcome intruder. Gradually though, he begins to savor Maggie's company, as they spend intimate evenings together reading by the fire—and falling in love. But when anonymous, menacing notes threaten the woman he has come to treasure, Alex must face the ghosts of both Maggie's past and his own...or risk losing her forever.