Janet Runningbear Adams and Harlan Adams' daughter, twenty-four-year-old Lizzy, is attending medical school in Miami, but her heart still belongs to neighboring rancher Hank Robbins. Hank, caring deeply for Lizzy, let her go five years earlier without declaring his intentions. He wanted a clear conscience, knowing that if he had demanded a commitment, he would have been hindering her as she pursued her education. Lizzy is still unaware of his noble sacrifice.

When Lizzy is home for the summer, her mission is to determine if there is a chance for her with Hank. Yes, there is, but the same impediments still exist. Hank won't be an absentee landlord, following Lizzy to the big city to practice medicine, and Lizzy, preferring trauma medicine, knows that the chance of practicing in Los Pios is remote.

The shield on the cover and the nurse holding the infant in the background are clear indications that Lizzy and Hank do discover that they still care for each other. A baby is in their future, but all this does is muddy the waters even more. When these two finally realize that they've got to compromise, there's not a big lightening flash. More like a sigh of relief...from me. The solution is so obvious that the convoluted path they take to arrive at the answer is really tedious.

Lizzy has been taught that she is capable and equal to anyone. This knowledge makes her, for the most part, stubborn. Lizzy's intractability became a major sore point with me. Her self-confidence translates itself into hardheadedness, being contrary and the inability to compromise. The bottom line for me was that after a while, Lizzy just seemed immature.

If you're a follower of the Adams series, I think you'll enjoy seeing the cast of characters again. Next month Justin Adams has his story in SSE 1216, Natural Born Lawman. Perhaps, I got into the series too late to fully appreciate it.

--Linda Mowery