Enduring Promise, an engaging novel by Susanna Lane, takes place in Nebraska, 1878.

Bryce Enders has had a varied, hard life. He served in the Civil War, panned for gold, was a train guard, and long ago, worked cattle. Now he’s in search of his younger brother whom he hasn’t seen in years, since Bryce went off to war.

In Ogallala, he asks about his brother Cort and learns that Cort has a ranch, the Double E, within a two-day riding distance. The ride is fraught with near disaster, but when the brothers finally reunite they’re almost strangers, though there is a strong family resemblance. The 20,000-acre ranch is thriving and Bryce is welcomed to sign on, work the ranch with his brother.

While tracking down cattle, Bryce comes across a neighboring run-down ranch house. He sees that all of the buildings are in disrepair. Hannah, the attractive owner, explains that a storm wrecked the house and barn. Then, more recently, Cort’s cattle broke her fence and scattered her livestock and chickens. Bryce and the other hands repair the damage. In digging a little further, Bryce learns that Hannah’s abusive husband is seldom around. He has a bad reputation and is gone for long periods of time.

As Bryce helps to restore order on Hannah’s ranch, they can’t deny their attraction to one another. However, Hannah takes her wedding vows seriously and resists acknowledging her strong feelings toward Bryce. Even though Bryce restrains himself, he is determined to free Hannah from vows that apparently mean nothing to her husband. Bryce’s determination to free Hannah could back-fire, putting himself and her in terrible danger.

Enduring Promise, the second of the “Promise” series, is a fast-paced novel packed with action and strong characters. The author effectively captures the attitudes of the time period with gripping scenes and well-defined characters. It is a worthy sequel to Imperfect Promise, the first book of the series.