For my readers. Thank you for loving this series. You’re the reason it exists.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER ONE

“I ain’t afraid to love a man. But I ain’t afraid to shoot him, either.”

—Annie Oakley

“GABE DALTON, YOU shouldn’t be handling a horse like that.”

Jamie Dodge was firing on all cylinders right now, her adrenaline hopped up from the punishing ride she’d just taken with one of the mares, out on a trail behind the Dalton ranch. She’d pushed the horse and the horse had pushed back, more fire in her system than anyone had suspected.

It made Jamie happy to feel the old girl exhibit so much spirit. A great many of the horses that had recently come to the ranch were—according to Gabe—old and burned out, or abused.

Gabe Dalton had been in the process of turning his family’s ranch into something of a sanctuary for horses that had come to the end of their usefulness, either in the rodeo or with their previous owners. He’d hired Jamie to lend her expertise to the endeavor, and today was her very first day on the job.

A rodeo cowboy, Gabe had told her it had been so long since he’d handled horses out of the arena, he’d wanted someone who had experience working with older animals.

Jamie had been doing just that on her brother’s ranch for the past year and a half. Finding horses who were slow and gentle, and good for the beginners they often took out on rides at Get Out of Dodge, the guest ranch she worked with her family.

But when Gabe had offered her a chance to flex her muscles and work with him, to gain a little independence and make way more money than her brother was paying her, she’d jumped at the chance.

Gabe Dalton was a legend, who theoretically made women swoon across county and state lines. She had been told—by a breathless woman in the feed store who was clearly a rodeo fan—that Jamie working under Gabe made her an object of pure envy.

Jamie had fought to keep from rolling her eyes.

Gabe was perfectly symmetrical. And muscular. If you were into that kind of thing. And she was...well, she had other things on her mind.

Today had been perfection in many ways. She’d been feeling increasingly lost on the Get Out of Dodge ranch. Not because the work wasn’t great. It was. She loved leading trail rides for the guests at the ranch.

It was...the surrounding part of it. Everyone had paired off.

It was like springtime in an old cartoon. Her brothers were all married or engaged, her best friends were in relationships...