Former outlaw Clay Colby is abuzz with his mail-order bride's expected arrival. He's fought long and hard to drag Devil's Crossing out of lawlessness...so when his homestead is set ablaze by a bitter rival, he's heartbroken. There's no woman in the world who'd stand by him now.But Tally Shannon is no ordinary woman.After escaping the psychiatric hospital in which she was wrongfully detained, Tally only wants someone to protect her and the little girl under her care. She doesn't mind that Clay's home is dang near burned to the ground?not when he makes her feel so safe and cherished. But it's only a matter of time before the ghosts of her past come calling...and her loving cowboy must defend his new bride?and the family they built together?to his very last breath.