Rough and Tender
1807, Indiana

A fierce battle of wills ensues when rugged frontiersman Eben St. Claire is paid to escort the independent-minded Raven Delacour eastward across the American frontier.

When adventurer Eben St. Claire's horse is lamed in an accident, he is forced to seek refuge for the night in the isolated trading post where Henri Delacour lay dying. In a simple act of kindness, Eben helps the old man, who has fallen, back to his bed and brings him water. Henri repays the kindness by luring Eben into striking a bargain that he will soon have cause to regret. . . a devil's deal that will destroy his plans and alter the course of his life, even while it fattens his coffers.

Henri has offered to pay Eben a thousand dollars in gold to escort his sweet and dutiful daughter to the East and see her settled, and since Eben is already headed in that direction, it surely can't be that bad. Yet, once the bargain is sealed, Eben discovers that Raven Delacour is a fully grown backwoods hellcat ready to try the limits of his patience and Eben is in a quandary. His promise to a dying man can't be taken lightly… yet how does he keep his hands off the Frenchman's beautiful daughter long enough to see her reintroduced to civilization?