Silver Mist

DiBenedetto's ( Wildflower ) static historical romance takes place in 1889 in a sleepy Florida backwater turned boom town. Dara Owens's well-ordered life in Rainly is disrupted by the arrival of prospectors for phosphate deposits and by the attentions of Eden ``Silver'' McQuade, who sets her maiden heart aflutter. A handsome hero with a shadowy past, the provocative Eden displays his good heart by rescuing Dara's younger brother from a vicious fight and setting her father's broken leg. Dara hides behind her starchiest behavior and long engagement to Clay Wescott, a local farmer. But neither corset nor bustle can protect her: she succumbs to an embrace with Eden, and her older brother discovers them and threatens to reveal the betrayal to her fiance. Dara breaks her engagement; in turn, Clay swears he'll kill Eden if Dara even glances at him. Eden, however, is man enough to face down Clay, as well as to vanquish some old enemies who drift into town, notably an unscrupulous ex-partner who cheated him and threatened to frame him for murder. (Dec.)