A schoolteacher who rescued three exceptionally talented students and a Bounty Hunter who thinks she kidnapped them makes for a topsy turvy tale.
Charlotte Atherton was given legal custody of Lily but Stone Hammond think Lily was abducted. When he verifies the truth, he joins forces with Lottie to protect Lily from her unscrupulous grandfather.
A favorite character was Lily who had a photographic memory and loved dime novels featuring Dead-Eye Dan, a man Stone knows who is immortalized in the fantastical tales.
With lots of danger, intrigue and humor, this story is not short on romance either.
A great old west story with a solid faith message.
*I purchased this ebook from Amazon. All opinions are my own.* ( )

Loved this book! Stone's pursuit of Charlotte is so sweet and I really appreciated how he did not give up on pursuing her and how she came to trust him. Lovely book. ( )

I really, really don't like the cover but I enjoyed the book. ( )

Karen Witemeyer must have a magical golden pen she's not telling anyone about. The prose throughout this sophisticated, romantic, Wild West adventure was a treasure trove sure to delight readers.

The characters: I fell in love with every single character, except the baddies, but I sure loved hating them! I'm still trying to figure out Karen's secret for creating such real-to-life, masculine heroes. My lands, but this one is swoon-worthy. *blush* His steady, determined pursuit of his love interest as well as his raw honesty and candidness make this leading man one to remember. He's the ultimate, rock hard Wild West hero, but where other novelists have tried to portray him, the effect has been a bit larger than life and too amazing to be real. Not so with Stone. No matter how many baddies he can take down with his impressive skill set, he still bleeds red and has a limit to his invulnerability, which softens the heroine's heart right up.

The plot: Alas, my copy of the book fell open to a pivotal scene and I glimpsed a spoiler early on, so I wasn't as surprised by some of the plot twists. But I'm sure others who guard their "first-read eyes" will find the plot to be a rousing page-turner.

The setting: Engrossed in the story, I only remembered the overall setting being somewhere in the "West." Probably Texas. Scenes were easily visualized and the important components of "close up" settings were effectively conveyed without encumbering the reader with too many details--a talent within itself.

The romance: Oh my. You'll just have to read it. The breaking down of walls comes very naturally but not without pain on both sides. These two hearts have waited a long time to find their match and the hesitance on either side makes the wooing so much sweeter, especially when Stone recognizes the heroine's weakness and makes it his heart's mission to fight through her pain and lead her to healing.

Karen's books are always a treat. If you've never tried any of her novels, you won't regret doing so. If you have, I don't have to tell you anything more, you'll already know this one is a worthy pursuit. :) ( )

Former bounty hunter, Stone Hammond is on his last job before he retires from retrieving lost persons and property as a career. But in attempting to track down Lily, the missing granddaughter of a wealthy railroad baron, Stone encounters schoolmarm Charlotte Atherton who turns his easy final job on its head. When Stone learns that Charlotte has not kidnapped Lily but is instead her legal guardian, he must figure out a way to preserve the safety of the woman he's slowly coming to love and the child she's adopted.

A decent Christian romance but not my favourite of Witemeyer's bibliography that I've read thus far. It could be that my reading of the novel was disjointed (I read the first 8 chapters over a month ago but then had to return the book to the library before finishing it) and that affected my enjoyment of book. A fine read but not a recommended entry point for those trying Witemeyer for the first time. ( )