Outlaw's Brat — Lee Scofield

Mattie Adams didn't have the usual upbringing that most girls had on the American frontier. With her step-father running with the Dorsey gang, she was raised by her mother, and spent most of her time trapped in a hideout in the Rocky Mountains. Mattie and her mother attempt to escape from the hideout. To Mattie's horror, her mother never follows her out to Wayside Station, and Mattie thinks she may have been killed. After spending six years in St. Louis with her closest relative, the townspeople of Wayside Station urge her to return. She's contacted by Will McCarthy, a man who rescued her after the narrow escape. A leading rancher, Will tries to convince Mattie of her importance. But can Mattie deal with her feelings for him that he unknowingly stirred within her long ago? And will she be able to face her terrible past and help prevent more losses for a town that had ridiculed her for being an Outlaw's Brat?

Ruth Scofield is a RITA award finalist as well as a HOLT Medallion award winner. She and her husband live in western Missouri.