Change of Pace — Sharon Brondos

ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES

She was the daughter of a Georgia senator, under doctor's orders to take a break from the hectic pace of Washington's political whirl. When Police Chief Sam Cassidy first saw the long-legged blond sitting in his office, he didn't think she'd last a day working for him. The rural town of Lodge Pole, Wyoming was no place for a city woman, let alone a society brat.

Deirdre Wilcox could read the doubt in Sam's dark green eyes. Compared to the smooth-faced men she had known back east, Sam Cassidy was rugged and rough around the edges, like a western cowboy. Deirdre's competitive spirit egged her on. She was the right person for the job -- whether it be office manager, town diplomat, or chief bottle-washer.

She ran his calamitous stationhouse with precise efficiency, while he showed her how to take time and enjoy each moment. Deirdre was proud to work for the man the locals called the guardian angel, protector of the kind people in this northern haven. If only his protective arms could embrace her, too...