He was an outcast. Ex-Union colonel Andrew Stone had had his fill of"Southern hospitality." The War had been over for years, but the localtownsfolk still held a mighty grudge. His marriage to the respectable MissCarlisle would make life a lot easier for his young daughter. And love wouldnever complicate this union--no matter how bewitching Margaret's eyes beganto look. Margaret Carlisle was "on the shelf," as the good people of Huxley,Texas, would say. She had spent the better part of her twenty-two yearslooking after her siblings--and was forced to live off the charity of hercarping aunt. But all that changed when the Yankee walked into her life....