Post–Civil War Texas is the setting for this spellbinding story of a desperado out for vengeance and the woman determined to save his life Bequeathed a five-hundred-acre cattle ranch in Cimarron Valley, Mary Jo Williams takes her young son and strikes out for Colorado territory. The plucky widow has seen her share of sorrow, so when she finds a gravely wounded stranger, she's determined to nurse him back to health, unaware that Wade Foster never intended to make it out alive. A hunted outlaw with a price on his head, Wade spent years tracking down the murderers who massacred his family. Now a brutal shootout has made vengeance his at last. Prepared to confront his fate, he once again cheats death. He never expected his future to rest with an auburn-haired beauty and her boy. Sworn to protect mother and son, Wade has to stay one step ahead of the law— and a gang of ruthless killers. But as the net closes in, he knows the only way to keep them safe is to leave and never look back . . . unless he can find a way to put his past to rest.