The Marshal's Quiet Ward

Cass Merritt was sewing the hem of a stranger's coat when the federal marshal pulled the stage and took her off it in front of everyone — as a witness to a case she had never heard of. Now she keeps two children in a fortified house no road reaches, with one rule above every other: she never crosses the orchard gate. Abel Reade is quiet, courteous, and lying to her about nearly everything. She starts listening. She starts counting. And when the riders come in the dark, she is the one holding the gate. For readers of Western captive romance, nanny romance, and enemies-to-lovers with a slow thaw. No cheating. No cliffhanger. Justice, and an orchard in spring.