The last thing half-breed Luke McCutcheon expects to find while searching for lost steers is a young woman about to give birth.  Despite her obvious pain, the gun she points at him says she does not trust him, and the whack of a frying pan to his head tells Luke her eight-year-old stepson feels the same way.  He convinces them he means no harm, and helps deliver a healthy baby.  Seeing she has no husband, horses or money, Luke takes them under his wing and they quickly enchant each man working the cattle drive.  Especially Luke.

Faith Brown has led a hard life, and letting someone as kind and genuine as Luke care for her and her children doesn’t come naturally.  Married to an abusive husband and living with his sadistic family, Faith did not shed any tears when he died in a fall from a hayloft.  His family claims she pushed him, and threatens to take her to the authorities.  The thought of leaving her children in their care while she serves time in jail, or worse yet, is hung, spurs her into action.  Running away seems like her only choice, and she knows traveling in the middle of a cattle drive makes it nearly impossible to be trailed.  She hates lying to Luke, but fear keeps her from telling the truth.  She concocts a doubtful story about why she is traveling so near to giving birth with only a child as company.

Despite growing feelings between Faith and Luke, she holds fast to her implausible tale.  When Ward, her brother-in-law, shows up and ingratiates himself by rescuing Luke’s brother from drowning, Faith despairs of salvation.  Ward claims he has come to take Faith and the children back home, when Faith believes all he really wants is the deed to what little land she owns.  Luke is wary of Ward, but has no proof he is a danger to the woman he has come to love.  At the end of the cattle drive, Faith and her children are welcomed with open arms by Luke’s family, and for the first time in her twenty-two years, she feels safe—except for Ward.  She offers him the deed to her property, which he refuses.  Again he threatens her and the children, and she feels she has no choice but to leave with him.

About to give up on Faith since she will not be open with him, Luke turns to his mother for advice.  She shares with him the story of his birth, impressing upon him that sometimes fear breeds necessary secrets.  Luke, however, chooses to pursue the truth, which could end up standing in the way of the life he was meant to share with Faith.

An excellent read.  The author paints vivid pictures—from the smells, sights and sounds of the cattle drive to the heartbreaking decisions Faith feels forced to make.  Well-developed supporting characters have their own distinct personalities throughout this story of love, trust and heartbreak.  The gentle romance that develops between the main characters was skillfully unfolded, and the reader can’t help but fall in love with Faith and Luke as they fall in love with one another