Sacrifice For Murder In Jake Duncan's On The Trail

1877. Texas Ranger JAKE FONTAINE wants revenge for his brother’s murder. He trails the man responsible, outlaw GRIZZLY DUVALL, to Kansas. When Jake rides into an ambush, runaway Kat Collins saves his life. But he doesn’t count on escorting her to Missouri, or to promise her the reward for the man he’s sworn to kill. Duty won’t allow him to leave her alone on the trail so he figures he’ll drop her off at the nearest hotel.
His plan goes amiss when a case of mistaken identity lands him behind bars in St. Joseph. The tenacious Kat lies to secure his release and once again, he’s indebted to her.
Although Jake finds Duvall, the outlaw escapes aboard a steamboat. Hours later, its boilers explode, sinking the vessel. The bodies are unidentifiable,

The couple plans to seek an annulment, but an unforgettable night together changes everything. The trail-tough ranger doesn’t believe in love, yet when his passionate bride steals his horse and heads for St. Louis without him, he wants her back. After a futile search, Jake hires a Pinkerton agent to find her.
Two years later, the agent locates Kat in St. Louis, albeit now Jake lives on his grandfather’s ranch, and he’s pursuing a divorce. Convinced she is a distant memory, he enlists his grandfather LUCKY “CHANCE” DAVENPORT to travel to Missouri with the divorce papers. Chance meets Kat and forms his own devious

Destined to meet again, Jake and Kat’s paths cross in Texas. At the ranch, their emotions collide with sexual tension when they agree to separate rooms and a name-only marriage.
Jake breaks off his relationship with Angela. A woman scorned, she plots to make Kat think she is pregnant with Jake’s child. She also conspires with local saloon owner VICTOR RODRIGUEZ to acquire Kat’s ranch—by purchase or other means. In return, she’ll pass along any news linked to the railroad expansion coming to town.
At roundup, a rattlesnake slithers toward Jake, and a bawling calf drowns out Kat’s warning. She fires her .45, hitting Jake. He doesn’t see the snake and thinks she’s trying to kill him. Later, since she is the mother of his child, he tells the sheriff the bullet was a ricochet.
The real shooter, Duvall, followed Rodriguez’s orders. Rodriguez tells Angela how Jake’s wife tried to murder him. At once, Angela goes to him and recounts the story.
Jake recuperates and the doctor mentions the Winchester slug he removed from his shoulder. The pieces fall together. Kat fired a .45, and Angela knew Kat had called out to