In the first of a sweeping Western romance series written by a Rita Award-winning author, a woman tries to make her way into the rodeo world--and lassos the affections of a handsome cowboy. Romances as enduring as the American West! Cowboys and rodeos. Hard-riding men and women to match them. Award-winning author Tory Cates brings magic to a wild land and a wide-open sky that will never loosen their hold on our hearts. Shallie Larkin has chosen to make her way in the roughand- tumble world of the rodeo, where women are seen as trophies to be won and discarded, not as serious competition. But just as Shallie can see the hidden beauty in the stark landscape of New Mexico, she is determined to find the inner strength to fight for her dream of being a rodeo contractor. Shallie has little reason to trust pro rider Hunt McIver, and the man himself remains a mystery to her. But while he makes it all too clear that he trusts neither her nor her motives, his attraction is equally obvious. There is no other path open, however. She needs his help--and she craves his arms around her. Both will have to learn to trust before they can warm the western nights and build a dream beneath a sky as wide and beautiful as love itself. . . .