Book excerpt: Crux Grey had no desire to leave the remote mountain valley and the life he loved. However, when Abel Grey forced his son's hand by insisting his eldest son go to college, the teenager, in a gesture of rebellion, signed his name on a thin black line in the local recruitment office, committing to serve his country in the military. The angry young man boarded the first bus out of town, fleeing Grey's Ranch and the only life he'd ever known. Not even in the darkest, most foreign parts of the world could The Cowboy escape his desire to become a rancher. It wasn't until tragedy struck, two times over, that the duty-bound heir returned to Colorado and his family's ranch to assume his father's position as Grey's Ranch patriarch. The tragedies were his fault. Could Crux survive the nightmares that refused to go away as he battled unbearable guilt? Could the life The Cowboy once knew ever be the same? Remi couldn't escape the constraints of small-town life and the watchful eye of her pious father soon enough. She focused on her dream of becoming a nurse and her desire to explore other parts of the world. But when her life took an unexpected turn and she found out she was pregnant, Remington Jacobs was forced to make a choice. Unable to endure the whispers and judgmental comments directed her way, the young mother accepted orders from the Navy and fled to Germany with her baby. She vowed to make a good life for a child who didn't have a father. The stars aligned, calling Crux and Remi to return to the peaceful mountain valley where their childhood dreams were made, unbeknownst to one another. The young mother and nurse sought safety and stability for her son. The Cowboy was anchored by a dream to fulfill his destiny. Neither expected to be met with unexplained danger.