When her father abandoned his family and her mother died of grief, Cassie had to grow up fast. Their Texas ranch still had a mortgage, so she took a job with a freighting company and left her two younger siblings with a friend. She learned to tolerate the desert heat, manage a team of mules and ignore whispers behind feminine hands. She conquered her fear of the wild country and animals. With the aid of a bull whip, she staved off any overzealous male admirers. The one thing she couldn't conquer was her distrust of men. Then a band of renegade Apache chased a handsome Frenchman into her life and heart. He won her guarded trust when he saved her life. She was ready to say yes to his proposal of marriage...until she caught him with another woman. Could she shut him out of her life? Should she?