The Lieutenant's Woman (Men of Annapolis #2)

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the men of the United States Navy must put aside divided loyalties as the Naval Academy returns to Annapolis—and one officer must lay to rest the ghosts of his past before he can embrace the passion the future holds.

Lieutenant Trace Reardon is a man torn. Determined to prove his worth at the academy, he is thwarted at every turn by a rival instructor. And life at home is little better; with the faithless mother of his four rambunctious children gone, Trace needs a wife. But before he can even think of courting, he must hire a governess—a task that should be easy. But pretty, spirited Susannah Partridge will prove him wrong.

Susannah has no way of knowing that her fresh charm is a balm to the spirit of this war-hardened officer, and that her sunny nature has tempted Trace to open his wary heart once more. Yet Susannah has secrets of her own—secrets that might make her handsome employer wonder whether he can trust her. Then, when Susannah's life is threatened, she realizes that Trace will stop at nothing to protect her—and to make her his own.