Twenty-five-year-old Rose McMurray may be beautiful, smart, and capable of running her family's ranch at Whispering Mountain, but she's backed away from marriage three times without giving anyone a reason. Everyone thinks she's a coward, afraid of falling in love. She's never done a single wild or reckless thing in her life . . . until now.

Duncan McMurray, like Rose, was adopted into the family. As a Texas Ranger, he swears he'll never settle down and marry. He's been Rose's guardian angel since they were kids, but how he has put her in harm's way. He'll have to protect her from an outlaw gang determined to kill her, though he doesn't want Rose to know about the menace surrounding her. He's convinced that she would crumble under the stress -- but it's Duncan who may fall apart by the nearness of Rose.