"Whoa, steady " Westlyn Brooke Hartwick pulled the reigns. Summer evening sunlight fell on her barren shoulders that were draped in silken chestnut hair. Her heart danced and her stomach churned. "Almost there, boy." She breathed the words, almost afraid to say them too loud in case it would alter them coming to pass. She hadn't seen Jesse in 2 years. Not since he left for Missouri to set a homestead there. She could still remember the way he would brush his rough hand across her face, his other hand encircling her waist and drawing her close, their bodies pressing...

"West...