Introduction

Looking for a woman of good character and pleasant disposition willing to learn the ranching business in Arizona territory. Must be SINGLE and prepared to remain so now and forever more. Will be given ownership of ranch. -Eleanor Walker

Disgraced dime novelist Kate Tenney fled the city that banned her latest book for a fresh start at a cattle ranch in the Arizona Territory. She hopes ranching turns out to be as romantic as she portrayed it in her novels.

But what awaits her is a much harder life. There is no room for mistakes on a working cattle ranch in 1895, and Kate is ill-prepared for her new life. She quickly learns that dawn comes early . . . every day. But she is tenacious.

Having been abandoned by a string of men, Kate has no intention of ever marrying. But she didn't expect to meet Luke Adams either. Luke awakens feelings inside Kate she doesn't recognize, and his steady presence is a constant distraction. She has only written about love in the past, never known it herself. But her feelings for Luke stand in the way of all she has to gain if she is chosen as the heir.

Perhaps God brought Kate to the barrenness of the desert to give new life to her jaded heart.

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Discussion Questions

In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling
waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded
him as the apple of his eye. —Deuteronomy 32:10(niv)
1. In the Bible God used the desert to test Moses. In what ways
did the desert test Kate? Describe your personal desert.
2. Change is as constant today as it was back in the 1800s.
Every change brings new challenges. Uncle Sam gave up
his blacksmith shop when the Montgomery Ward mailorder
catalog made much of his work obsolete. Eleanor
Walker braced herself for the changes that would affect her
cattle business. What changes, good or bad, are you facing
in your personal life? At work? In your hometown?
3. Do you face your problems head-on like the windmill faces
the wind as described in Longfellow’s poem? Or do you
tend to ignore or turn your back on problems?
4. Did you find yourself personally relating to any of the characters?
If so, who and why?
5. Ruckus’s faith had a positive effect on Kate. Name someone whose faith you admire. How did this affect your faith
and/or relationship to God?
6. Kate thinks she can free herself from the past by avoiding
love. For that reason the Last Chance Ranch seems like the
perfect solution. How does holding on to the past keep her
from realizing God’s plan for her? Do you ever find yourself
holding on to unpleasant memories or hurts? What is
keeping you from letting go?
7. On the surface Kate and Luke seem like an unlikely couple.
Kate is a college-educated woman and Luke is a fine craftsman
with little schooling. Name someone in your life who
is a complete opposite. What blessings does this person
bring to your life?
8. Aunt Bessie said that God gave love a language of its own
and it’s a language known by every heart. What does the
phrase “language of love” mean to you?
9. Ruckus accused Kate of chasing the wind. It was his way
of saying she was going after the wrong things in life. The
same could be said for Cactus Joe and Miss Walker. Have
you ever chased the wind? If so, who or what made you
realize you were going down the wrong path?
10. One of Kate’s survival tools is her habit of pretending
everything that happens to her is a scene from a book. List
the different ways that Luke, Aunt Bessie, Ruckus, and
Eleanor Walker cope with their problems. Which character
best depicts your coping style?
11. Kate’s lack of faith in men caused her to reject love. Aunt
Bessie’s lack of faith in her husband almost broke up her marriage.
What areas of your life could use more faith? Do you
lack faith in yourself? Your loved ones? The future? God?
12. Kate was treated as an outcast by her neighbors and schoolmates.
How much influence do you think this had on her
wanting the ranch?
13. Kate viewed the world through the grief of a child rather
than the grace of a woman. What childhood memories
color your world? Are the memories mostly good or bad?
14. Kate longed for permanence in her life and was afraid to
trust. For this reason she resisted taking a chance on love.
Do you think it’s possible to trust anyone without first putting
your trust in God? Why or why not?
15. Why do you think it was necessary for Kate to visit her
mother’s grave before going back to Arizona? Was there
ever a time that you had to confront the past before you
could embrace the future?

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»	Visit author Margaret Brownley's web site
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»	Download chapters 1-3

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