Jessica Ledbetter had worked too hard on her family's Colorado ranch, the Lazy L, to roll over and play dead when Jim Bradford showed up as the new manager. The former power broker from New York City was darkly handsome in his custom suit and tie, but downright devastating in tight jeans and a Stetson.

Once back in the saddle after a decade in the city, native Texan Jim took the reins and steered the operation, roped in the guests and even tamed Jess's uncooperative brothers. But the Lazy L was Jess's legacy. She couldn't let it fall into the hands of an outsider. No matter what those hands did to her