Impassioned Stranger

Travis Conley has had to cope with the fallout of his older brother's dangerous bounty hunter profession. Unlike Rafe, Travis has no interest in deliberately seeking out danger and excitement. Travis has roots running his own cattle spread, courting a steady gal, his personal future all mapped out. Life at Crockhead Rest is nice and orderly and Travis likes it that way.But one afternoon that well-ordered existence is turned upside down. Two women seemed determined to march him to the altar…one a total stranger! He knows when he catches his first glimpse of the exotic female standing at his front gates beside a mound of luggage and a yowling crate, he's suddenly in big trouble.Lucia Montessano hasn't come looking for turmoil. She just seems to find it, maybe because she doesn't understand English very well, let alone the peculiar customs and sayings on the frontier. When she learns she's come to the wrong ranch replying to an ad for a mail-order bride, she doesn't dissolve into hopeless tears. She starts rethinking her options.For Lucia's on a sacred mission. She hasn't come west with everything she owns in trunks and crates on a mere whim. Perhaps the answer to her prayers is the flint-eyed young cattle boss with a weakness for sweets and a decent cup of coffee. He needs a new cook; she needs a husband and Travis Conley might be the perfect candidate…even if he doesn't realize it yet.