Train from Marietta

In Garlock's latest sweet, satisfying Depression-era romance, rugged westerner Tate Castle meets fragilely beautiful Katherine Tyler, a New Orleans native, in a west Texas romp. Kate, who has earned a nursing degree in New York, is California-bound from the Big Easy, on her way to work for an uncle at a San Francisco hospital. Her father's business partner has other plans for her, in order to shake down her rich father. Kate is kidnapped as she steps off the westbound train in Texas for a breather and is held by two desperate outlaws and the mastermind's nephew. Tate, a horse rancher with a handicapped daughter, is hired by Kate's father to find her; her rescuer arrives at a major captivity crisis point. First believing she's too much of a city girl for him, Tate has to change his tune when Kate proves much tougher than she looks during their escape through the wilderness to the nearest town. Among other complications, his strong-willed daughter, who gets tangled up in their flight, doesn't seem likely to have the same change of heart, but all's well that ends well, even in dustiest Texas. (Mar. 22)