To escape an abusive husband, Pauline Ray takes her two young children and all the money she’s secretly stashed over the years, and travels as far as the funds allow.  She ends up in the small Virginia town where she encounters the eccentric Blue sisters, who take the family into their care.  The sisters come up with the idea to pass Pauline off as the daughter of deceased friend.  That way, she inherits a cottage and a new identity, that of Anne Elise Greenway.

In the small town of Norton, Virginia, gossip spreads like wildfire, and the story is that old man Greenways’s daughter has returned, a widow whose husband left her penniless.  When the local ranch hand and mysterious loner, Jeremy Sheffield, learns this, having seen and become intrigue by her, he approaches with the idea of helping.  She explains that she can’t afford to hire him; he explains there is more than one way to pay a man.

It’s supposed to be a surface relationship, help in exchange for sexual relations, but attraction fuels an unexpected affection, which complicates matters. Jeremy and Anne Elise have both suffered from gnawing loneliness most of their lives, and the intimacy between them changes everything.

Unfortunately, Pauline has not been forgotten; her husband, Ethan Ray, hires the Pinkerton Agency to find his wife and children.  When a detective finally locates her, Ethan comes to collect his family.  As usual, when Ethan is angry, he is violent.  Jeremy arrives on the scene in time to save Anne Elise, but only by damning himself.  The ghosts from his past resurface and he’s forced to accept that he’s meant to be alone.  Only by drawing on all her newfound strength, will Anne Elise convince him of his worth and her love.

Excerpt:

Anne Elise went back into the kitchen to find Jeremy Sheffield had washed and dried the dishes. “You didn’t have to—”

“I didn’t mind. That was the best supper I’ve had in a long time.”

Anne Elise felt some warmth creep into her face.

“Do you want me to start a fire?” he asked, rising from his seat.

The rain had brought on a definite chill. “That would be nice.” He went to it and she walked to the stove and put on the kettle, feeling supremely self-conscious.

“Looks like you need more firewood,” he said when he’d finished laying the fire. “I’ll see to that, too.” He struck a match and lit the kindling.

The idea of an ongoing relationship with him sent a thrill through her. Jeremy Sheffield was not only remarkably handsome, he moved with a confidence that only men who worked at physical labor possessed. She glanced at the door to make sure Rebecca hadn’t crept back. “Sometime—”

He looked over at her.

“We’ll need to get specific,” she finished. “About expectations.” She knew her face was reddening, because she felt the heat radiating from it. “I want to be fair.”

He stood and brushed his hands off in the wood bin before he replied. “I’m not that particular,” he said slowly. “It’ll be fine.”

She lowered her head. “I do have one condition,” she said hesitantly.

“What’s that?”

“No one can ever know. You can’t tell—”

“I wouldn’t. Ever. You have my word.”

She nodded.

“We could, ah—” he began.

Her stomach tightened.

“Agree to be friends,” he continued. “Might make it easier.”

She blinked in surprise. “Friends?” He smiled, and something about the way the lines formed at his eyes made her heart lurch. “I never had a man as a friend, but...I’d like that.”