Ginny Aiken

"Drought has forced farmers around the small town of Bountiful in the Hope region of Oregon to mortgage their property. Then word comes of plans for a spur line to run through the area and join the railroad in nearby Milton. Folks with money see an opportunity to fill their coffers by buying farmland cheap then selling to the railroad for a profit. The Bank of Bountiful, owned by Eli Whitman, appears to be doing that, as well. Widowed two years earlier,...

"When socialite Emma Crowell stops the carriage on the way to Portland to 'exercise' her fussy poodle, she does not expect to become stranded in the woods in decidedly unsuitable attire. The pair of men who find her decide to take her back to their cave, where they've hidden sheep they rustled. When rancher Peter Lowery arrives, furious, to retrieve his property and discovers Emma, he does the Christian thing and brings her, her dog, and the thieves...