Pearl just lost her whole family a month ago to a disastrous fire that took her father and siblings away to Heaven. Her mother and grandmother had always wanted rid of her, and so ship her off to marry a complete stranger in Western Nevada.!
Despised and rejected by her mother and remaining family, she was forced to go before she had even recovered from her burns. But after a hard ride by train and stagecoach to Sparks, Nevada, she finally meets her husband to be: a rude, brusque, arrogant stranger who worst of all turns out to have fought for the hated South! Former Bostonian Pearl despairs of having a happy life with this bloody-handed, ill-mannered stranger. But as she gets to know him, she discovers a story as tragic as her own. Alone save for his men and the family of his kind, loyal ranch foreman Pedro, Case has lived as a semi-pariah in Sparks, where the success of his ranch has earned him the suspicion of the Sheriff, a former Union soldier. Together, the two will come to understand each other, and finally fall in love. But as their lives start to come together, and a baby grows in Pearl's belly, they must face a final test. But will he make it back to his new wife alive? AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a stand-alone story with an HEA, so no cliff-hangers! Story contains mature themes and language, and is intended for 18+ readers only.