Wade and Royce are two very different men with a similar way of dealing with their naughty women: a good switch and a steady hand.

Liz will do anything to get away from her evil guardian, even disguise herself as a boy and head west. When Caroline, a stranger on the train next to her, sees through her disguise and begs her to take her place as a mail-order bride, Liz doesn't hesitate long before saying yes. It had to be easier than working on a ranch, and as a married woman with a new name, she'll be out of her evil guardian's clutches forever.

Wade Malone has been looking forward to his new bride for months, but when “Caroline” finally arrives, things don't exactly add up. For one, she was supposed to be twenty-four years old, and the woman who came off the train doesn't look a day over sixteen. He has a strong aversion to liars, particularly in a wife. But he's also a man who keeps his promises and whoever the woman is at his side, he's made a commitment to have and to hold. That doesn't mean he won’t blister her fanny if it will keep her safe. Even with his firm hand, Liz starts to fall for the no-nonsense rancher and his children. How will she ever keep him from finding out the complete truth about the switch? And if he does find out, will she have to leave the ranch she's come to love?

Caroline can't follow through with the mail order marriage she had agreed to. Anxious to get home, she has more reason to hurry when she receives a wire relaying a family emergency. Traveling with the Union Pacific across the mid-west is a long, hot trip and Caroline's temper flares at the man who takes responsibility for the railroad’s many disappointments. Her temper isn't the only thing flaring, her bottom also feels the heat when Royce Ashby had had enough of her bad humor. A man's patience can only take him so far and it is quite obvious to him that Caroline is in need of a keeper.

Two old favorites, rewritten as one, with a special, bonus chapter.

Publisher's Note: This sweet, action-packed historical romance contains a theme of power exchange.

Patty Devlin