He's as prickly as his name, but the new woman in town has caught his eye. Can Cactus shelve his temper and shed his cowboy hermit skin fast enough to make a relationship with Willa work?

Cactus Glover has been living in a cabin on the edge of Shiloh Ridge Ranch for ten years. He's suffered tremendous losses, and it's taken him a long time to heal his heart, body, and mind. Recently, he's seen his brothers and cousins find the women of their dreams, and he wants to try again too.

Willa Knowlton has come to Three Rivers with her brother after a car accident that left her body and pride injured. She has no drivers license, no car, and plenty of secrets about why. She and Cactus get off to a thorny start, but the more time she spends with the quiet, observant cowboy, the more she wants to know about him.

She's ready to take that step, but then she gets a call from her lawyer, and her ex-husband has been arrested and their son needs her. She'd lost custody of him, but she jumps at the chance to get him back. She leaves her choir responsibilities and Three Rivers to reunite with her ten-year-old, and all she can do is pray that when she returns, Cactus will be waiting.

When Willa returns to town with a child, Cactus is beyond surprised. The presence of the boy throws him straight back to his past trauma, and he'll have to work through some issues he thought he'd already conquered. Can Willa and Cactus navigate this new ground between them to build a family this Christmas?