The Virgin of Copperhead Ridge

Nessa Wilder kept herself for one man. Trigger Hale rode out of Copperhead Ridge at seventeen and came back six years later with a patch on his back and a ring in his pocket. She gave him everything she had — her body, her savings, her name on a marriage license application. Then the photo arrived. Trigger in a motel bed with the old lady he swore was history. Nessa burned every letter and left Copperhead Ridge before the sun came up. Eighteen months later she runs transportation contracts for the truckers' union, engaged to a decent man, and she hasn't looked at a motorcycle since. Then Trigger walks into her office with the Copperhead president, looking for a truce she has the power to refuse. He says the photo was a setup. He says Selma is a liar. He says he'll take a felony charge to keep her name off the club's paperwork. Nessa has a ring on her finger and a man who never betrayed her waiting at home. The trouble is the only man who ever rode for her is standing in front of her, and he's telling the truth.