With the death of her no-account husband, Polly is the sole owner of a farm steading on the planet Celstar. She is determined to hold the steading and make a life for herself and two Synth children in her care. Her nearest neighbor, widower Fallon Verdad, is the big landowner in the territory and also her local Councilman. Like most of the other settlers, Fallon is a Shimmer, a horse shifter, while Polly is human—well, mostly human. Their attraction to each other is electric and hard to deny. An affair would lead to scandal in this conservative community. Scandal is the last thing Polly needs.

Sci-fi space western romance, futuristic, colony planet, horse shifter hero, short story.