She survived her own hanging. Left to die by her outlaw brother and his gang, Jessy Belle Perkins gets a second chance at life..and runs. She doesn't count on being rescued by handsome Cleeland Redd, a former cavalry scout who is nothing like the rank, filthy outlaws she's accustomed to. But can she trust him with the truth about who she is? When Redd leaves her at a rundown convent, she realizes that if her outlaw brother returns for the pearls hidden in the hem of her dress, the man she loves and the nuns who have given her shelter will be in grave danger. He stole her heart. Still mourning his late wife, Cleeland Redd guards his heart against the suspicious but lovely woman he finds lost and unable to speak. When he learns her secret, he decides a fake marriage will be just the thing to draw Jessy Belle's brother into a trap. But if he puts her brother behind bars, he might lose Jessy Belle for good—and forever destroy the hope of their pretend marriage turning into the real thing.