She's loved him for as long as she can remember. But can she trust her heart to a man haunted by constant danger?

Shiloh, Oregon, April 1887

Victoria Snyder, adopted when she was only days old, pastes on a smile for her mama's wedding day, but inside she's all atremble. Lawman Rocky Jordan is back home. And this time he's got a bullet hole in his shoulder and enough audacity to come calling. Since tragedy seems to strike those she cares for with uncanny frequency, she wants nothing to do with a man who could be killed in the line of duty like her father.

But when an orphan-train arrives at the Salem depot, Victoria is irresistibly drawn toward the three remaining “unlovable” children…and stunned by a proposal that will change all of their lives forever.

Can she risk her heart, and her future happiness, on someone she might lose at a moment's notice?

Two stubborn hearts. A most unusual proposal. Persevering love. Step into a day when outlaws ran free, the land was wild, and guns blazed at the drop of a hat.