Though it hadn't killed him, the gunshot wound to his chest was going to keep Sheriff Aaron McBain out of commission for a while. So he spent his days thinking about where he'd seen Susannah Carvel's face before.

By the time he'd recovered enough to recall that it had been on a WANTED poster, he couldn't believe that she was guilty of any crime, let alone murder!

Susannah claimed that she'd been framed, but he would need to buy some time to prove her innocence. Giving her his name was the only way Aaron could think of to keep her safe from harm and to silence the local tongues whose gossip might expose her. And he was beginning to realize that protecting Susannah had become the only thing in the world that truly mattered