Book excerpt: Zack Baker is down to his last chance and the only person who can help him is Samantha Kenady, owner of the L/C Ranch. He's hoping to use his good looks and charm to convince her to let him finish the zoological study he needs to complete his Ph.D. He needs to get the permission of Ms. Kenady because her land is one of the few places where the foxes he's studying live. He'll do whatever it takes to finish his thesis. Things get off to a rocky start when he has a run-in with a cowboy—except it's not a cowboy. It's a cowgirl—Sam. Scarred by an attack that happened when she was a teenager, Sam finds a measure of redemption in taking in cast-offs and strays. She may not be able to erase her own past, but she can help others start over. Sam runs her ranch with an iron hand. Her rules are nonnegotiable, and rule #1 is no men. But some rules can be bent—and others can be broken. Does Sam dare risk it all on a wannabe cowboy, or will their attraction cause everything she's worked so hard to protect to go up in smoke?