Book excerpt: Running away from home to marry the man she thought was the love of her life should have been the happy ending Victoria Stanford expected it to be, but things rarely work out as one plans. When her husband suddenly dies and leaves her stranded in the middle of nowhere, alone and scared, she thinks she's saved when she sees three men headed her way. Relief turns to fear when she realizes they weren't the type of men a single woman should trust. When they chase up the side of a mountain and overtake her, she does the only thing she can. She screams and hopes they kill her quickly.Gideon Hart has spent the last six years roaming the mountain after tragedy changed his life forever. Since then, he's never encountered another living soul other than his brother-until now. The scream he hears echoing through the trees brings back memories he's been trying to forget. When he finds a woman being attacked, he does what he has to in order to ensure her safety. Getting her to town should be his only concern but the trek across the mountain with Victoria causes his world to shift and for feelings he's denied himself for too long to surface. He doesn't deserve to be loved. With a past like his, no one would love him once they found out what he'd done. Getting Victoria to Silver Falls is the only way to save them both but as the nights grow longer and winter settles in over the mountain, one soft kiss may change both their lives.