Isabella had warned her it’d be harder to breathe in the higher elevations, though where was the warning about what her body would do when ensconced in a man’s arms? Especially a colossally intimidating man like Winfield."

Exceptionally shy and abnormally tall, twenty-two-year-old Jesse Livingston decides a mail-order bride offer from a rancher in the Colorado Territory is a far preferable way of finding acceptance than in the hustle and bustle of New York City’s marriage mart. 

Twenty-eight-year-old Winfield Penrose has only one goal in life: survive the harsh conditions that necessarily accompany ranching in the mountainous regions of Colorado despite all that life and Mother Nature have thrown his way. 

When Jesse arrives on Winfield’s doorstep in the fall of 1873 and discovers he wanted a ranch hand, not a bride, she pledges to fulfill the ranch hand position even though she’s entirely inept at it. By proving her capability at the role Winfield asked for, will she also secure the role Winfield discovers he truly needs—her as his wife? 

Manuscript in progress. Estimated completion: Spring 2026

Releasing September 7, 2027, with Scrivenings Press!