The last thing this Texas sheriff wanted was to heed a frantic late-night call from the woman who'd destroyed his life.

Old wounds were ripped wide-open after Lucas Creed discovered that his former deputy had moved on - and was pregnant to boot. But after rescuing Kylie Monroe from hired guns and taking her under his protection, she repaid him by dropping a bombshell on his world-weary shoulders....

Kylie knew that her misstep in the line of duty had cost Lucas everything. Now, as his secret surrogate, she planned to give the gruff lawman the ultimate gift to heal his heart - although it would break her own. When they teamed up to expose the corrupt man behind the threats, would their glacial rift melt beneath an inferno of desire?