She doesn't need his help. He doesn't need another delay. But God has other plans... Eliza Brooks's worst nightmare has come true-her father is missing. Now she'll do anything to find him, even if it means taking a chance on who she must trust. But once aboard the steamship bound for San Diego-her father's last known whereabouts-she finds herself in far more danger than she imagined. Daniel Clarke is a man of his word. Though he never imagined he'd be in California for four years, at least he's finally earned the money he needs to get married. Now he just has to get back to his fiancée in Massachusetts...the sooner the better. Especially since she's stopped replying to his letters. When he boards a ship bound for San Diego, the first leg of his journey home, the last person Daniel expects to meet is his boss's niece. What could Eliza be thinking, traveling with no escort? With the lecherous captain determined to ruin her, Daniel has no choice but to offer his protection. From shipwreck to cavalry outpost to the Southern California mountain wilderness, Daniel's entanglement with Eliza forces them-and their hearts-to face a future neither of them ever dreamed.