Strange bargain. Uncertain future. Ella Jamison's father is a horse thief and an abusive man, but he's still her father. Texas Ranger, Isaiah Hayes, is a stranger and Ella's new husband. That was the deal: her father's freedom for Ella's hand in marriage. If strange beginnings and long absences weren't enough opposition to overcome, they also have real enemies with violent tendencies. Can Ella trust her new husband with her heart and her life or will fear destroy her first?