The Sheriff — Nan Ryan

Kate Quinn arrives in Fortune, California, with little but a deed to a run-down Victorian mansion and a claim to an abandoned gold mine. But a beautiful woman on her own in a town of lonely, lusty miners also brings trouble.

Sheriff Travis McLoud has enough to handle in Fortune, where fast fists and faster guns keep the peace, without the stubbornly independent Miss Kate to look after. But when a dapper, sweet-talking stranger shows a suspicious interest in Kate, Travis feels it's his duty to protect her.

With her days spent searching for the glimmer of gold, Kate has no interest in the sheriff and his unnecessary warnings. But she can't prevent him from invading her dreams and showing her that a rough-around-the-edges lawman just might have more to offer than a well-heeled gentleman -- including a heart of gold.