Pampered heiress Laura Hamilton is thrilled to escape her overprotective father and board a westbound train in search of landscapes to paint. She's even more excited to meet Sam Duncan, the darkly handsome gunslinger who claims to be yet another bodyguard hired by Daddy.
Ah hum...
She doesn't know Sam has plans to use her to find a missing prison buddy. As Sam's desire for her explodes, so do his lies. Desperate to explain, Sam kidnaps Laura in the middle of the night.....
Ah hum...
She doesn't know Sam has plans to use her to find a missing prison buddy. As Sam's desire for her explodes, so do his lies. Desperate to explain, Sam kidnaps Laura in the middle of the night.....
This is the first book that I've read of Law's and I intend to read her other historicals. She does an excellent job depicting the setting and the romance between her characters is engaging and hot at times.
The pampered daughter of a wealthy tycoon, Laura Hamilton, chronically ill most of her life but now healthy has never been allowed to spread her wings .. until now. Embarking on a transcontinental railroad, she intends to enjoy her grand tour and new-found freedom. But her adventure only really begins when a dangerous man boards her train.
The ravages of war and imprisonment in Andersonville have hardened Sam Duncan. Now the only friend still alive from Andersonville has vanished behind the guarded gates of the Silver Spur Ranch. After trying to get into the Silver Spur once and being beaten within an inch of his life, forces Sam to try another tactic. Laura Hamilton plans to visit the Silver Spur, as her father is a close business associate and investor with the Silver Spur's owner. Claiming to be a body guard hired by her father, Changing his appearance, Sam plans to stick close enough to Laura to gain entrance to the ranch. However the situation becomes complicated. Sam falls for Laura, and they discover many terrible things happening at the ranch. Hints of forced abductive slavery in the ranch's silver mines. Is this what happened to Sam's friend? Can Sam trust Laura when her father may be a willing partner in what's going on?
The ravages of war and imprisonment in Andersonville have hardened Sam Duncan. Now the only friend still alive from Andersonville has vanished behind the guarded gates of the Silver Spur Ranch. After trying to get into the Silver Spur once and being beaten within an inch of his life, forces Sam to try another tactic. Laura Hamilton plans to visit the Silver Spur, as her father is a close business associate and investor with the Silver Spur's owner. Claiming to be a body guard hired by her father, Changing his appearance, Sam plans to stick close enough to Laura to gain entrance to the ranch. However the situation becomes complicated. Sam falls for Laura, and they discover many terrible things happening at the ranch. Hints of forced abductive slavery in the ranch's silver mines. Is this what happened to Sam's friend? Can Sam trust Laura when her father may be a willing partner in what's going on?
This is a great story about Sam Duncan, a hardened, ex-Civil War soldier and hired gun, who plans to use Laura Hamilton to find out what happened to his friend (his jail-mate from Anderson Prison). Laura is an artist who spent years ill in bed with rheumatic fever. Now, her parents have finally allowed her to travel over the West while pursuing her craft. She has three long-time attendants: A companion and two bodyguards.
Sam has already tried to discover the whereabouts of his friend, Griff Judah by himself and was almost killed for his efforts. The answer lies on the Silver Spurs Ranch, a spread of thousands of acres, a fence and hordes of killers protecting the property. Now disguised, he plans to act as Laura's assistant while she visits one of her father's business partners (the owner of the Silver Spurs Ranch).
Readers get to learn lots about the two main characters through the slow build-up. Sam is brave, a person who values his friends and deadly with a gun. Laura is very likable; she's a trustworthy helper to her friends and steadfast in a fight. Although they come from shockingly different backgrounds, they meet and recognize the special qualities of the other.
I felt that this book deserved a 5-star-rating until the end. This author can really build tension in a story. I simply couldn't put aside the book, once the pair arrived at the Silver Spurs Ranch. I could hardly stand the tension and the danger they faced.
After getting to know the characters at a leisurely pace, the story moved into high gear at the ranch. The final chapters were just too quick and too neat.
Sam has already tried to discover the whereabouts of his friend, Griff Judah by himself and was almost killed for his efforts. The answer lies on the Silver Spurs Ranch, a spread of thousands of acres, a fence and hordes of killers protecting the property. Now disguised, he plans to act as Laura's assistant while she visits one of her father's business partners (the owner of the Silver Spurs Ranch).
Readers get to learn lots about the two main characters through the slow build-up. Sam is brave, a person who values his friends and deadly with a gun. Laura is very likable; she's a trustworthy helper to her friends and steadfast in a fight. Although they come from shockingly different backgrounds, they meet and recognize the special qualities of the other.
I felt that this book deserved a 5-star-rating until the end. This author can really build tension in a story. I simply couldn't put aside the book, once the pair arrived at the Silver Spurs Ranch. I could hardly stand the tension and the danger they faced.
After getting to know the characters at a leisurely pace, the story moved into high gear at the ranch. The final chapters were just too quick and too neat.
Historical romance, western.
Sam Duncan was too young when he marched off to war and was brutally imprisoned. He's witnessed and experienced a lifetime of cruelty and he's lost too much to care about anything ever again. While he was captured, his entire family died, leaving him with the only person he cares about - his cellmate, Griff. As a result, his steely nerves have made Sam one of the most famous and feared hired guns in the west. Then Griff disappears inside the gates of Hamilton's fabulously profitable Silver Spur ranch. Sam figures that posing as a bodyguard of the Baron of Banking's daughter, who's come to visit, will be the simplest solution to finding his way in.Little did he expect that fighting a war would do so little to prepare him for an encounter with the very adventurous and alluring Laura.
