The sudden death of the town marshal leaves Blue River, Texas, without a lawman…and twenty-five-year-old Dara Rose Nolan without a husband. As winter approaches and her meager seamstress income dwindles, she has three options. Yet she won t give up her two young daughters, refuses to join the fallen women of the Bitter Gulch Saloon and can t fathom condemning herself to another loveless marriage. Unfortunately she must decide—soon—because there s a new marshal in town, and she s living under his roof. With the heart of a cowboy, Clay McKettrick plans to start a ranch and finally settle down. He isn t interested in uprooting Dara Rose and her children, but he is interested in giving her protection, friendship—and passion. And when they say "I do" to a marriage of convenience, the temporary lawman s Christmas wish is to make Dara Rose his permanent wife…. Includes a never-before published novella from Linda Lael Miller.