Code of the West

Pepper Paige is tired of her life as a dance-hall girl, and tired of fearing Jordan Beckett, a violent patron who has turned his attentions on her. When a stagecoach wrecks and an injured woman dies in her room, Pepper assumes her identity and leaves town.

Tap Andrews is tired of fighting every gun-toting bounty hunter crossing his path. He's innocent, and he sets out to Denver to prove it. Pepper Paige would go with him, but she just can't return to Denver and face her past. That is, until Carter Dillard reappears in her life. Pepper must strike a deal that once again forces her to face a past she'd much rather forget.

In only two weeks, Tap Andrews will tip his hat and say "so long" to bachelorhood. Normally, that would be enough time to take care of business and finalize wedding plans. But considering his knack for finding trouble, it may take him longer. For instance, there's a gang of rustlers invading his ranch, a missed bank payment he didn't know about, a sniper taking potshots at him, and problems at the local dance hall. In fact, there's so much trouble that it's likely he'll miss his own wedding!

Married life for Tap and Pepper isn't turning out quite the way they planned. The ranch is gone and they've moved to Cheyenne where Tap finds himself a job as acting marshal in a town that has little regard for the law. And it's not a pretty sight!

All Tap and Pepper Andrews want to do is settle down, buy a small ranch, get a few head of cattle, and start raising a family. But nothing is ever that easy for the ex-convict and his former dance-hall girl trying to break from the past. It seems no matter where they go or what they do, the past is already there ahead of them.

Tap Andrews has left his past behind. He's no longer a Wyoming lawman backing down any mobs, nor a Brand Inspector dodging rustler's bullets. He has loaded up the wagon and is moving the very pregnant Pepper and their 11-year-old ward to a seemingly perfect new family life in Montana.