Long Way Home — Janis Reams Hudson

DESIRE IN A TOWN WITHOUT PITY
After seven years in prison, Duncan Malone returns to Washita, Texas, determined to reclaim the land and the life he'd lost. No one will give him a job, except one woman desperate enough to hire him. Even in the only place where she's found acceptance, Franki Taylor is willing to risk loneliness and the community's resentment to save the home she's always wanted.
Yet that home is the farm where Duncan grew up--the place he'd counted on as sanctuary when everything else was gone. Convincing Franki to give it up is a lost cause--and convincing himself that stubborn, sexy Franki might see the man he wants to be is impossible. But independent Franki is learning that the gentle, soft-spoken man working her farm doesn't deserve Washita's suspicion and dislike. And suddenly, she's hoping for what she thought she'd never have. Together, Franki and Duncan are beginning to understand the only home worth keeping demands that they open their hearts to love...