A Teacher's Hope for the Brooding Lawman (Hearts Across the West #10)

Cressida Lockridge once dreamed of becoming a teacher, yet widowhood and her sister’s injury have left her bound to duty, sacrifice, and a life chosen by necessity.When she finds a stranger bleeding near the river, she knows bringing him home puts her reputation at risk.She doesn’t expect him to put her heart at risk too…

Ronan Thorne arrives in town hoping to hide behind an inherited ranch and the broken watch that is all he has left of the friend he failed to save.Once a lawman ruined by a mission gone terribly wrong, he means to keep his distance — yet the quiet strength of the woman who saved him makes him long for the future he believes he no longer deserves…

As Cressida and Ronan grow closer, the past he tried to outrun follows him into town, drawing the corrupt mayor and a ruthless criminal closer to the secret he carries without even knowing it.

When Cressida discovers Ronan may be tied to the accident that destroyed her sister’s life, can love survive the truth, or will the wounds between them prove deeper than either heart can heal?