"WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A CHILD. YOU NEED TO COME HOME SO WE CAN GET MARRIED." So wrote Hannah Gustavson to her childhood sweetheart, the father of her baby. But with no response, she was forced to marry another man ... her lover's brother. Tall, handsome and honorable, Judd Seavers could make any woman's heart race. Hannah was no exception, and she was awed by the ex-soldier who gave her his name. A forbidden love as grand as the Rockies crested between them. But a shadow loomed. Would the baby's father come home? And if he did, would Judd return his borrowed bride?

Dashing but cynical Quint Seavers lives for danger. A past betrayal has made him wary of love, and he has no idea that independent, practical Annie Gustavson holds a secret longtime passion for him. Nor does he realize that the only reason Annie has traveled to San Francisco is to win his love—or walk away forever. When disaster strikes the city, Annie's courage and determination match his own—and suddenly Quint knows that she is exactly what has been missing from his life all along….

Ruby Denby Rumford endured her monstrous husband's abuse until death—by self-defense—did them part. Now she and her daughters seek a new beginning in Dutchman's Creek, Colorado, but will her dark past stay buried? With an obligation to uphold the laws of prohibition and an undercover persona in place, U.S. Deputy Marshal Ethan Beaudry comes to town ready to end a shady bootlegging ring. He doesn't expect to find beautiful, mysterious Ruby involved—or be forced to choose between duty to the law and this forbidden passion.