
Part of Series
From New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author JOAN JOHNSTON, read Mike’s story, continued from Sullivan’s Promise, Bitter Creek Book 12. In the five years since Mike Sullivan had his face ripped off by a grizzly—leaving scars that make him look monstrous—he’s become a lone wolf, working on his family’s Montana ranch by day and retreating to a log cabin at night. Returning from a nighttime run to town for supplies, he discovers a woman and her four-year-old daughter huddled in a truck stalled on the side of the road. With a growing blizzard dropping temperatures to thirty below, he has no choice except to rescue them. But the closest place for safety from the storm is his isolated cabin in the woods. Joanna Henderson has been driving with her daughter, Daisy, for days, fleeing an abusive relationship in Texas. She’s grateful when a tall, bearded stranger, only his blue eyes showing between his pulled-down Stetson and a scarf that covers the lower half of his face, stops to help. But she worries that going with him may be more perilous than staying right where she is. Joanna becomes truly frightened when she finally sees the stranger’s ruined face and realizes that, once again, she’s at the mercy of a dangerous man she doesn’t trust. Between a woman’s need and a man’s loneliness the buds of friendship flower into true love.
Author

Joan Johnston (born Little Rock, Arkansas) is a best-selling American author of over forty contemporary and historical romance novels. Johnston was the third of seven children born to an Air Force sergeant and his music-teacher wife. She received a B.A. in theatre arts from Jacksonville University in 1970, then earning an M.A. in theatre from the University of Illinois, Urbana in 1971. She received a law degree (with honors) at the University of Texas at Austin in 1980. For the next five years, Johnston worked as an attorney, serving with the Hunton & Williams firm in Richmond, Virginia, and with Squire, Sanders, & Dempsey in Miami. She has also worked as a newspaper editor and drama critic in San Antonio, Texas, and as a college professor at Southwest Texas Junior College, Barry University, and the University of Miami. Johnston is a member of the Authors Guild, Novelists, Inc., Romance Writers of America, and Florida Romance Writers. She has two children and one grandchild, and divides her time between two homes, in Colorado and Florida. Awards * Paperbook Book Club of America's Book Rak Award (twice) * Romantic Times' Best Western Historical Series Award (twice) * Romantic Times' Best New Western Writer * Romantic Times' Best Historical Series Award (twice) * The Maggie (twice) * Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist for The Disobedient Bride