He would give his life to protect her. It will cost him more to love her.
In the spring of 1870, a settler’s revolt against the railroad explodes into violence, unleashing turmoil on the plains and in the lives of two wounded souls on opposite sides of the conflict.
Buck O’Connor, a proud but impoverished former soldier with a price on head, returns to Kansas to answer a kinsman’s plea for help. Out on prairie, he encounters a beautiful young widow stranded on the prairie who fears that her broken-down buggy is no accident. Buck offers his protection before he learns her identity.
Amy Langford has poured her fortune into the railroad to create a legacy for her father, who was murdered before his dreams came to fruition. Underhanded competitors and riotous settlers haven't stopped her, but a killer might. She offers the penniless stranger who comes to her aid a job as her bodyguard, not anticipating how powerful the attraction between them will grow or the havoc he will wreak on her heart and her future.
Buck's pledge to Amy makes runs counter to a promise he gave his cousin, but he is determined to keep his word to her to repay an old debt, as impossible as it seems. Indeed, he would sacrifice his life for the woman he affectionately calls Venus. Yet, honor demands more. He must offer her the only thing he has kept from her--the truth. A truth so terrible it will condemn him in her eyes and turn her love into loathing.
In this first book in the Steam! series, a former soldier with a dark past pledges to protect a young widow to honor a promise and repay an old debt…love will demand more. Award-winning author E.E. Burke brings to vivid life the passion and ambition of the railroad era in a historical romance series with enough steam to power a train.
Praise for the Steam! series:
“Her portrayal of strong, realistic, well-defined characters and meticulous research transports readers back to the American West.”
—Jill Marie Landis, New York Times bestselling author
“Gripping, realistic western writing at its best! E. E. Burke is an exceptional storyteller!”
—Rosanne Bittner, USA TODAY bestselling author
