She was a young woman of courage, desert-born, alone, afoot and lost in the stifling heat of the South Texas desert, her throat aching with drought. Alaire Austin staggered on to reach a water-hole she knew existed. Where it existed was a calculated guess, and along with it, she would find Texas Ranger David Law. He was a strong man, masterful and ruthless. She had no idea that this chance meeting at the only water-hole in fifty square miles of parched desert would be the beginning of her life