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Paris McKenna had her father's treasure map concealed in her saddlebag and her beauty hidden beneath a nun's habit. Lawless Arizona territory was no place for a young woman alone, and desperate men would kill for the lost riches she'd come to find. What she needed was a guide who could stand up to any outlaw. What she got was dangerously attractive bounty hunter Nate Brannigan.
Nate didn't have a job when the pretty nun stepped into the cantina with her proposal. Despite the fact that he had some unholy thoughts about "Sister Frances" he took the job to guide her into the Sonoran Desert on her quest to find the lost Mission of Santa Isabel, which he was positive didn't exist. That is until he discovered who she really was . . . and until he discovered that the treasure was cursed and sought after by every varmint west of Texas. But he couldn't stop her, shoot her, or resist her as they discovered a different kind of treasure in the wild, untamed territory of their hearts.
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Behind the Story
Some of the best discoveries are those you stumble onto quite by accident. Such was the story of the lost Mission of Santa Isabel and the eerie legend that lives on in the American Southwest. It is a region rife with mysteries, ghosts, witches, lost gold mines, and all manner of things that can give you a chill even in the heat of the desert. The legend has been passed down for generations and is a common tale around campfires. Many stories are told of people who have mysteriously died while searching for the mission and the treasure purported to be hidden within its adobe walls. While the legend has placed the mission in many locations from California to Arizona to New Mexico, its favorite location seems to be in the Sonoran desert, and it is always hidden deep in a mountain canyon.
Many missions were built in New Spain by the Jesuits in the 16th century. Around 1687, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino lived in the region known as PimerÃa Alta (present-day Sonoran Desert), founding over twenty missions. But in the mid-eighteenth century, the king of Spain became worried about the power the Jesuits wielded in New Spain, and he sent out an order to expel them from the country. They would be replaced by Franciscan priests, considered to be more manageable.
The Jesuits had accumulated incredible amounts of treasure: golden candlesticks, vessels, altars, jewels, and bags of gold and silver coins. They were afraid they’d have to hand it over to the king, so some of Jesuits along the western coast of Mexico, gathered fifty loyal Yaqui Indians to help them remove the treasure from dozens of churches and move it inland to its destination–the remote Mission of Santa Isabel. They believed it would be a temporary hiding place and that they would eventually be able to return to reclaim it. When the task was completed, they played on the superstitious nature of the Indians by placing a curse on the treasure to keep them quiet and keep them from taking it for themselves. It is said that El Maldeción de Isabel–Isabel’s curse–still strikes terror in the hearts of the Yaqui Indians.
As far as the legend goes, there are indeed some who have stumbled onto the lost mission, but they have never lived long enough to pocket her treasure, or to tell the tale twice.
Reviews
"A plot bursting with action and adventure combines with Sandifer's wonderful characterizations into a splendid read. Desire's Treasure deserves a cherished place on your bookshelf." Affaire de Coeur
"A sensual, rousing adventure. Sandifer knows exactly what it takes to tantalize and please readers." Romantic Times
"This novel as it all--a witty, wild battle of the sexes, buried treasure, curses, and sexual tension that singes the pages. Definitely one to be enjoyed again and again." Rendezvous
"Desire's Treasure is the best western I've read this year! Funny, suspenseful and sensual, this book has it all!" Rawhide & Lace
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