Edmund Ballard leads the herd with unyielding command, his old wound a constant reminder that control is survival. Eloise Weston rides at his side, the contract verifier whose generous curves and sharp tongue test every boundary he has set.
Each error on the open trail earns her the trail boss's discipline. He guides her over the saddle inside their storm-lashed shelter, his palm poised above bare skin while rain hammers the canvas and neither pulls away.
The ranch and the October deadline hang in the balance, yet the deeper stake is whether this punishment will steady their partnership or shatter the self-control that keeps them both from ruin.
