MAGGIE'S BEAU

On the run from a nightmarish life, Maggie had the power to stir feelings of forever in rancher Beau Jackson's soul.

When Beau discovered her hiding in his hayloft, bruised and exhausted from flight, she was fiercely shielding a wounded cat and a pregnant stray dog. From the first moment, he knew he loved this sweet-spirited gamin, but would she ever feel anything more for him than gratitude?

He welcomed the battered runaway into his home with clean clothes and patient lessons, yet winning her guarded heart would test his resolve.

Gentling yearlings in the corral and nursing a sick cow, Maggie began to blossom under his steady care, though memories of a brutal life still shadowed her days.

She must have died and gone to heaven, Maggie O'Neill swore, for Beau Jackson treated her with all the kindness and respect only a genuine lady deserved. But how was she to know if what she felt for him was love?

• Protective Hero: When danger shadows the ranch, Beau stands between Maggie and the violent past she fled, carving her a keepsake wooden cat and defending her with his life.
• Forced Proximity: Sharing close quarters under the Kansas ranch roof, quiet evenings by the cookstove and parlor guitar songs slowly break down the walls around Maggie's guarded heart.
• Found Family: Between a sharp-tongued housekeeper with warm tea, loyal bunkhouse hands, and a resilient mother dog nursing pups in the woodshed, an isolated runaway discovers where she belongs.
• Slow Burn: From stolen kisses on the buggy seat to whispered confessions in the dark, Beau gentles his skittish bride.
• Also by This Author: Eden, A Man for Glory and The Magic of Christmas.