Chapter 1

      Halle Ford allowed her gaze to soak in the hill country that surrounded her family ranch. She’d been fortunate to travel around the country and world, but her heart always remained in Shadow Creek, Texas. Bluewood Ranch appealed to her inner cowgirl more than her slick corporate CPA job in Austin ever had. She leaned on the fence and sipped her morning cup of coffee, relishing this private time, her version of meditation. The split cedar logs that circled the paddock were as familiar as her father’s hug had been. As long as she didn’t think about how much he’d spent on the fancy fencing before he’d died. An eastern spotted lizard was on the top of the fence, sunning himself in the late summer sunshine. “Hey, little guy.” He ignored her, stretching his neck and displaying his brilliant green skin covered with flamboyant spots to his advantage.

      Running her father’s ranch had always been a far-off dream, but Chancellor Ford’s sudden death in a horrific car crash six months ago had turned her dream into a nightmare. Besides facing the fact that Dad was gone forever, she’d had to come to terms with how he’d been killed. He’d been taken away by a hit-and-run driver, the same woman who’d terrorized Shadow Creek for decades