Aboard an orphan train bound for Kansas, a little red-headed girl meets a street-tough fifteen-year-old boy. Only with Noah does Ruth feel safe. When they are separated at the end of the trip, she vows to wait for him every year on Christmas Eve at the Kelly Creek train station.Ten years later, Ruth is still waiting. Adopted by the town founder, Ruth is a Kelly now, and her father wants her to marry Sheriff Leon Harker to protect his legacy.When Noah stumbles out of the alley, wounded, Ruth nurses him secretly back to health in an abandoned cabin.Noah has never forgotten Ruth or how her childish adoration made him feel. Over the holiday season, love blossoms from their affection. Ruth's father is impressed with Noah's strength and command and offers him his empire. But Noah has spent the last ten years living a far different life from Ruth's.Can their love survive the revelations of Noah's outlaw past?