Bounty Bride

Many historical romance novels stick so closely to formula that the most one can hope for is a fresh twist to an old familiar plot. Bradshaw delivers that and more in her latest tale. Shortly after the end of the Civil War, Rachel Dorset takes her son, Peter, and flees her abusive husband and Savannah home for the Arizona Territory. When her husband offers a handsome reward for Peter's return, bounty hunter J.C. Tyler sets off, hoping to collect the reward, pay off his ranch and settle down. Between fighting off other bounty hunters, Apache raids and the harsh elements of the early West, J.C. discovers a new meaning to life, and Rachel comes to realize that not all men are heartless creeps. The sympathetic redemption of Rachel's husband, Cabell, and the poignant romance between Cabell and Rachel's best friend, Nell, is the piece de resistance that sets this story apart from the rest. (Dec.)