The Jewel — Beth Williamson

When life falls apart, love can make you whole again.

As the "beautiful" sister, Isabelle Chastain always struggled to be taken seriously. But as her family immigrates to Oregon Territory, she loses her sister Francesca to marriage, and her parents to dysentery. It's time to take control. With an empty wagon and a broken heart, she and her younger sister Charlotte turn for home to search for another sister, Josephine, left behind to recover from typhoid. The last thing Isabelle needs in her path is a naked, bleeding man left to die in the dirt. Dazzled by a friend's stories of California gold, college professor Mason Bennett left North Carolina to get his share. All his dreams of adventure and riches got him, however, was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. As Isabelle stitches him up, he discovers her wit is as sharp as her needle. But when vagabonds seize their wagon, they must band together to save themselves-or any hope for a happy future could disappear.

Warning: Saddle up for an Old West yarn, complete with a beautiful woman with more strength than ten men, a professor turned cowboy, a love that defies the odds, and adventure that will leave you gasping for more.