Connor MacLaurey has been recalled to his place as laird—and to marry the woman he’s been avoiding. Brianna has been outlawed for stealing back her family’s cattle. Will her bid for clemency from the hangman’s noose land her a reprieve? Or a noose of a different sort? Brianna Douglas has always shouldered more than her share of responsibilities. Widowed young, she has devoted her life to holding her family’s land for her young brother while their father drowns his sorrows in whisky. In an attempt to garner protection against reivers who have left her clan without food for the winter, she finds herself betrothed to the last man on earth she’d ever agree to wed. Connor MacLaurey’s travels to France ended abruptly with his father’s death. Recalled to take up leadership of his clan, he discovers his cousin has usurped his title, and his betrothed—a woman he barely knows and has no plans to wed—is hunted by the sheriff. Forced into marriage to clear Brianna’s name, distrust between them deepens. Will they be able to mend the rift between them? Or will pride destroy their chance at happiness?