Deep in the heart of Texas, five generations of Kirklands built the sprawling Double K Ranch, battling fire and frost, outlaws and disease. It's said the dirt flows through their veins as sure as Silverleaf Rapids flows through Ransom Canyon. But the canyon also had a way of becoming part of just about anyone who landed there ...19-year-old Staten Kirkland was studying at Texas Tech when he got the news that the grandfather who raised him, J.R. Kirkland, was fighting for his life. Now Staten would have to leave college behind, not to mention the girl he loved. And he'd have to grow up overnight. More than that, he'd have to become a boss--the boss--running thousands of acres of ranch. He'd always hated change. But change was barreling toward him ...Rootless and stuck in the dull routine that was her life, college professor Charlotte Lane escaped into fiction. But now she was restless for a change--in the form of being the new high school teacher at the small town bordering Ransom Canyon. Still, at this point in her life, what if she couldn't change--or even remember how? Maybe she'd find others to show her the way ...The youngest of six, Peggy Warner came last in every way, not even worth sending to college. Now 27, she's never left home and lives in service to her aging parents and her married siblings' growing families. But she still has dreams--and under the big sky over-looking Ransom Canyon they may come true ...Set against the breathtaking, rugged backdrop of West Texas, this is the thrilling origin story of the nationally bestselling Ransom Canyon saga from New York Times bestseller Jodi Thomas--filled with love, challenges, and a timeless passion for the land and its people.