Cathryn Ashe is looking to make a quick trip back home to the ranch she's owned for years since her father's death before returning to her city life. When she was seventeen, she and Rule Jackson, the ranch manager, had a torrid entanglement after which she ran away. Now, eight years later, she returns, sure of herself and her newfound independence and ready to challenge him again. But Rule had raised the stakes, and if she lost now the penalty would be high: her heart, the heart that she finally knew had always been his for the taking.

Originally published:,Richmond: Silhouette Sensation, 1989.