A handsome rancher-tycoon and his shy, sheltered stepsister fall in love in Palmer's latest romantic melodrama (after Fearless) that's long on humid heat but hampered by cornpone theatrics. Gracie and Jason Pendleton share no bloodlines, but they've been close ever since Gracie came to live with her now-deceased mother, Beverly, who married Jason's cruel (and also now dead) father, Myron. Jason is a good ol' boy who prefers his Rocking Spur ranch to the family mansion old-fashioned Gracie tends to. Gracie, meanwhile, harbors a dark secret that has made her frightened of romance even though she's desired Jason for years. The feeling's mutual, and, eventually, their hearts collide despite the interference of Kittie Sartain, a bitchy redhead supermodel who tries to lasso Jason. Palmer, a romance veteran, knows how to concoct a savory chicken-fried love plot, but sometimes the gravy's laid on a little too thick. (June)