Defending the Rancher's Daughter by Carla Cassidy released on Jun 28, 2005 is available now for purchase.

Bodyguard Clay West wasn't happy about his latest assignment: protecting a movie star. But seven-year-old Gracie Bryant needed his help and he intended to keep the adorable kid safe. Her mother, Libby, was another story. The drop-dead stunner made him ache, but he hid his attraction, especially since Libby seemed like a typical stage mother misusing her child to attain fame and fortune. And yet, as Clay witnessed a mother's vulnerability and discovered the heart beneath Libby's smooth facade, this born-and-bred cowboy rethought his mission. This could be more than a life-and-death assignment for Clay. This could be his destiny.

After a tough stint in New York City, Joshua West returned to Cotter Creek for peace and quiet and a job in the family bodyguard business. Only, his sleepy hometown wouldn't let him snooze. Not with a string of suspicious deaths...and an alluring redhead who wouldn't take no for an answer. Hell-bent on exposing a sinister plot, journalist Savannah Clarion fired up his adrenaline. Not only did she rouse his inner sleuth, but she steered him in passionate directions he couldn't control—nor did he want to. Could he stand a little excitement...and a lifetime partnership?

Trained to protect, Meredith West had always been self-sufficient.That is, until she discovered she had a stalker. Suddenly, the tough, trained bodyguard was a damsel in distress—and too embarrassedto ask for help. Lucky for her, she didn't have to. Under the guise of needing a vacation, disturbingly handsomeinvestigator Chase McCall arrived in Cotter Creek, Oklahoma. The purpose of his trip was complex—and a conflict of interest givenhis sizzling reaction to Meredith. Not only did she need his protection, but she was also a potential link to solving his top-secret case—andthe potential key to his happiness.

She'd been stranded by a snowstorm with nowhere to turn. But when all seemed lost, mom-on-the-run Janette Black saw the sign for Wild West Protective Services—and found Dalton West. The loner of the West clan had no time for love and family. But protecting was in Dalton's blood—and he knew when a woman carried secrets. He would take Janette and her baby into his home to wait out the storm, and bar the door from any danger. And when Janette's demons tracked her down, Dalton would take on hell itself to keep her safe from harm.

Fiercely independent, determined, driven and...betrayed. Grace Covington vowed never again to lay eyes on the arrogant, hotshot defense attorney who'd broken her heart. But everything changed when her stepfather was murdered, her sister found holding the bloody knife. Charlie Black was the only one who could help. Accepting the case would shatter the simple life Charlie established after taking charge of the family ranch in Cotter Creek, but he couldn't deny Grace's pleas. Discovering who was bent on destroying the Covington clan might be the only way to prove he was a changed man capable of protecting her—body and soul.