Arriving from Arkansas

Josephine Lane has a secret.

When she arrived in Rattlesnake Ridge, Nevada, it was for one reason and one reason only: to become the cook for the local boarding house. That’s her story, and she’s sticking to it. At least, as far as the residents of this small mining town are concerned. Because she’s not interested in sharing the truth—that her late uncle was one of the first settlers in Rattlesnake Ridge before the great landslide ten years ago. And before his death, he shared a secret with Josie: just before the landslide, he’d discovered the richest lode of silver in the whole of Nevada. Richer even than the Comstock Lode. Josie intends to mine that lode herself, and she’s not sharing her secret with anyone else. The only trouble is, she’s not the only person in Rattlesnake Ridge hiding her past.

Jim Griffin also has a secret.

The unassuming foreman at the local lumber mill is actually an undercover lawman, Deputy U.S. Marshal James McCullough. The best tracker in the district of Massachusetts, he’s never let a case go unsolved… except one. A bank robbery in Boston that went terribly wrong and led to the murder of another deputy—Jim’s brother. Jim swore that he would catch up with the murderer and bring him to justice, and now his investigation has brought him to Rattlesnake Ridge. With the killer so close, Jim can’t let himself get distracted now—especially not by the pretty blonde cook at the town’s boarding house. Little does he know that her search for the mother lode and his search for his brother’s killer may bring them closer together than either could have realized.