Lori Wade hides from anything that she doesn't want to face, including the mystery-shrouded death of her mother when Lori was five. Living in denial generates its own set of problems. She absorbs her grandpa's romanticized vision of the Old West and decides that life would be more tranquil there than in Topeka. She travels as far as Western Kansas, still looking for the "real west." Lori isn't looking for love, but she finds it, and life becomes anything but tranquil. Handsome rancher Mase Bailey always gets what he wants, and, when Lori finds out that he wants her, she blocks his every attempt to win her. His most successful effort involves teaching her to ride horseback. She falls in love with the horses, the ranch, and the Sunday barbecues, everything but the man. But Mase is a resourceful person who never runs out of ideas.