Sterling Matthews is done with the danger and uncertainty that came with being a bounty hunter. It's just as well, since he's suddenly found himself responsible for his most recent quarry's ten-year-old son. Sterling can't suss out why he volunteered for the job, but something wouldn't let him allow young Noah to be shipped off to the nearest orphanage. Taking on an assumed name to protect both himself and the boy from anyone still bearing a grudge, Sterling settles in out-of-the-way Crest Stone, Colorado. All he needs now is steady work—and a mother for Noah. Rose Bissett's life fell apart when her childhood sweetheart left town. With her family in tatters and her wayward husband presumed dead, she makes her way to Milly Crenshaw and agrees to become a mail-order bride to a hunter in Colorado who has a young son in need of a mother. But when she arrives, she discovers her intended is none other than Sterling Matthews, the man who broke her heart six years prior. Sterling never thought he'd see Rose again, much less have her turn up at the depot as his mail-order bride. When she takes to Noah right away, he remembers everything he loved about her—even as she's resistant to his attempts to earn his way back into her good graces. As they spend more time together, Rose finds those old feelings become harder to push away. But it isn't long before Sterling's past threatens the life they're beginning to build. Will their rekindled love be enough to survive the wrath of a man bent on revenge?