Leanne Coulton needed help. Her brother was missing somewhere in Oregon’s Blue Mountains, and the last person to see him alive was a cynical, rugged tavern owner who seemed determined to make her life miserable.

The minute Nick Garrett set his eyes on Leanne, he smelled trouble. The kind of trouble he’d buried himself in the backwoods to escape. He felt obligated to help her, however, and sure enough trouble followed - in the shape of evil thugs, a ruthless villain, and most dangerous of all, a longing for Leanne that he was helpless to deny.