After her husband died in another woman’s bed, Elizabeth “Lixie” Miller proceeded to live a quiet life in the small town of Lordsburg, New Mexico Territory.  No matter what Lixie does, she always finds herself surrounded by male friends and acquaintances, but she half enjoys the attention.  That is until a nosy writer comes along and wants to turn her life story into a dime novel.  Attempts to ditch this man fail repeatedly, but she can continue shooting him down without much hassle.  Lixie soon finds herself catching the wanted attention of a handsome lawyer, Jefferson Carter, who comes in and out of Lordsburg like a whirlwind.

Life is never as calm as Lixie wants it, however.  Soon a dangerous outlaw is in town, a young Apache girl is injured and adopted by Lixie, and but no one knows just where this girl came from or when her tribe may show up on the warpath.  Without a viable means of communication, can Lixie and the young girl figure out where the girl belongs?  Can Lixie forgo her mothering instincts and let the girl go when the time comes?

Being the second book in the “Belles of Lordsburg” series, I did feel that I was missing a large portion of what had happened in the past.  I think a few of the characters would have made better sense if I had read THE SENATOR’S OTHER DAUGHTER (2/01) first.