LUKE'S RUNAWAY BRIDE

Cheyenne, a late 19th-century frontier town, serves as the backdrop for Bridges's galloping romantic suspense. Shortly after leaving a party celebrating her engagement to Daniel Kincaid, one of Denver's finest citizens, Jenny Eriksen and her companion, Olivia Gibson, are kidnapped by a "hotheaded cowboy" who claims he needs them to accompany him for just 36 hours. Still in their ball gowns, Jenny and Olivia endure a grueling boxcar ride to Cheyenne, where Jenny gradually learns the truth about her abductor, Luke McLintock, and her fiancé. Luke and Daniel grew up together, and now Luke is on a mission to force Daniel to acknowledge Adam, the son he fathered with a Mexican woman. Although the five-year-old is now an orphan, Daniel refuses to acknowledge his moral lapse and instead sends his henchman to eliminate Luke and re-abduct Jenny. Sternly closing her heart against her feelings for Luke, a perpetual loner, Jenny nevertheless embraces Adam. It's a natural step, albeit one filled with spirited conflicts, for Luke and Jenny to realize that they can provide a loving home for Adam. Bridges (The Doctor's Homecoming) is comfortable in her western setting, and her characters' humorous sparring make this boisterous mix of romance and skullduggery an engrossing read. (Sept.)