Desert Paintbox — Jane McBride Choate

Veterinarian Rachel Small Deer dreams of bringing her skill and knowledge to help the people of the reservation where she had grown up. Denver painter Nick Cassavettes has to come to Los Cincos, New Mexico, to reclaim the art he has lost through the guilt he feels over the death of his younger brother.

Rachel and Nick have nothing in common. She wants to preserve Los Cincos and resents the artists and tourists who would turn the town into a mass of bistros and boutiques, but she needs an assistant and Nick needs a guide to the town. They strike an uneasy bargain and discover new sides to each other. Rachel slowly comes to realize that she and Nick belong together. Can she convince him to accept the present without letting the past come between them?