City dweller John McCall never expected to be out in the High Sierras of 1868 on a wild-goose chase to find the Chiltons' supposedly lost grandson. But now that he's out here, things have gotten even more complicated, mostly due to wildcat Penny Scott. She's not like any woman he's ever met--comfortable in the woods, with a horse, and with a gun. When Penny and John are taken against their will by a shadowy figure looking for evidence they don't have, both realize they've stumbled into something dangerous and complicated. With their friends and family desperately searching for them, Penny and John must make a daring escape. When they emerge back into the real world, they are confronted with a kidnapper who just won't stop. They must bring a powerful, ruthless man to justice, even as this city man and country woman fight a very inconvenient attraction to each other. They're as Different as Could Be. But They'll Need to Trust Each Other to Survive the Wilderness . . . and the Dangers Chasing Them. City dweller John McCall never expected to be out in the High Sierras of 1868 on a wild-goose chase to find the Chiltons' supposedly lost grandson. But now that he's out here, things have gotten even more complicated, mostly due to wildcat Penny Scott. She's not like any woman he's ever met--comfortable in the woods, with a horse, and with a gun. When Penny and John are taken against their will by a shadowy figure looking for evidence they don't have, both realize they've stumbled into something dangerous. With their friends and family desperately searching for them, Penny and John must make a daring escape. When they emerge back into the real world, they discover their kidnapper just won't stop. This city man and country woman must bring a powerful, ruthless man to justice, all while fighting a very inconvenient attraction to each other. "This pleasing third installment of Connealy's High Sierra Sweethearts series features a romance between unlikely companions. . . . As the danger and violence ramp up, so does their affection. While faith plays a minor role in this clean western romance, fans of the series will enjoy Connealy's rough-riding romance." -- Publishers Weekly Mary Connealy writes "romantic comedies with cowboys" and is celebrated for her fun, zany, action-packed style. She has sold more than 1.5 million books and is the author of many sweeping Western romance series. Mary lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her very own romantic cowboy hero. Learn more at MaryConnealy.com. The Unexpected Champion High Sierra Sweethearts Book Three By Mary Connealy Baker Publishing Group Copyright © 2019 Mary Connealy All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7642-1931-3 CHAPTER 1 June 1868 Dismal, Nevada — never had a town been named so right. The sheriff's office and barbershop were in the same building because the sheriff and the barber were the same man. Penny Scott suspected the man made more money at his barbering. "Trace has been in there a long time." Penny looked through a window, a small one built with an eye toward saving money on glass. She watched Trace Riley tell their story to the sheriff while the sheriff lathered up a man's face. Trace was her brother's wife's sister's husband, but honestly they all lived fairly close. Going strictly by geography, she was claiming Trace as a brother. "I don't know who's getting a shave." John McCall watched through the dirty window and ran his hand over his face as if wondering about going next in the barber's chair. He was a tidy man, a city slicker in a black suit and a flat-topped black Stetson. Dark blond hair and blue eyes. "But it isn't right for the sheriff to question a witness in front of someone." "You know the law?" Penny thought of all she didn't know about this man. It was high time he answered some questions. She'd met him over Raddo's dead body. Penny hadn't shot the outlaw, but she'd been running toward Raddo Landauer with her gun drawn, and she'd witnessed the whole thing. She felt the weight of being willing to kill a man. Raddo had shot Cam and Penny's brother. Now he had three bullet holes in him. Her brother Cam had pulled one trigger. Cam's wife, Gwen, had also shot him. Raddo was threatening to kill her and the two children. And John McCall had supplied the third gunshot when he'd seen Raddo ready to shoot Gwen. The first time Penny had laid eyes on McCall, he'd been standing there with a smoking gun. Trace had come along after the gun smoke had cleared, and he'd ridden to town with them because he knew the sheriff. He was the only one of the three of them who'd come to Dismal since the sheriff had arrived. And Trace believed Raddo had killed his pa years ago. Trace had brought in two men last fall to Carson City, one dead and both partners of Raddo. If Raddo had been alive, Trace would've taken him there, because Dismal's sheriff might not be up to housing prisoners. Unless there was a jail cell tucked in the back room of