Years ago love blossomed on a ranch in Montana and then college and life pushed Renee and Hank to go their separate ways. Twenty years later they’re both back where they fell in love but reality is like a spring frost and is a long-distance relationship their only option for their second chance?

Renee Mitchell has returned to the small Montana town of River Junction to take over her family’s orchard. With big dreams for the future, she plants a large parcel of land with new apple trees. No sooner is the job done, when a herd of cattle from the neighboring ranch breaks through a fence line and creates mulch from the tiny saplings. With a streak of stubbornness as wide as the Colorado River, Renee’s determined to be a success. Even when her first love shows up with the offer to pay for replacement trees and lend muscle to replant.

Hank Shepard left River Junction at eighteen and, except for losing his chance with Renee Mitchell, he’s lived life with zero regrets. He takes a short-term leave of absence from his law practice, returning to his family ranch to help his dad get back on his feet. The last thing he expects while he’s there is to reconnect with the woman he let get away. But wayward Shephard Ranch cattle bring him full circle back to Renee.

Hank is determined to make amends for the destruction to her orchard and for how they left things almost twenty years ago. It doesn’t take long for Renee and Hank to rediscover their long dormant feeling are like the orchard after the long winter, ready to flourish.

When it’s time for Hank to return to his law practice, will they be able to make a long-distance relationship work? Or, is the difference between city life and big sky country too much to overcome?

Lucinda Race