River of tomorrow

An old secret trheatens to tear Mercy away from Danny, the foster brother that she loves. ONLY HER DEFIANT PRIDE KEPT HER FROM BEGGING FOR HIS LOVE... ONLY HER DEFIANT PRIDE KEPT HER FROM BEGGING FOR HIS LOVE... Behind her proper schoolmarm ways, sunny blond Mercy was the same sassy spitfire she had been as a child. An orphan raised by the Quill family with her foster brother Danny, she had always had a quick temper and often needed the loving protection of her big brother. Now she was a woman -- and running to Danny again. Two Kentucky bounders had ridden into town with a stunning secret about Mercy's past, one that could separate Mercy and Daniel forever. Surrounded by danger, she would recognize her desperate hunger to have Danny claim her, not as a sister, but as his wife. She knew he would stand by her against a town's cruel whispers and fight against an enemy who wanted her dead. But, if she dared to declare her love, would he respond with his dependable brotherly kindness--and break her heart? Behind her proper schoolmarm ways, sunny blond Mercy was the same sassy spitfire she had been as a child. An orphan raised by the Quill family with her foster brother Danny, she had always had a quick temper and often needed the loving protection of her big brother. Now she was a woman -- and running to Danny again. Two Kentucky bounders had ridden into town with a stunning secret about Mercy's past, one that could separate Mercy and Daniel forever. Surrounded by danger, she would recognize her desperate hunger to have Danny claim her, not as a sister, but as his wife. She knew he would stand by her against a town's cruel whispers and fight against an enemy who wanted her dead. But, if she dared to declare her love, would he respond with his dependable brotherly kindness--and break her heart?

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Romance, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.