Courtney Moss feels rather put out for having to leave Denver and come back to her hometown of Virginia City, Montana, to clean out the home of her grandmother who’s recently passed away. After all, her mother and grandmother never really wanted her, treated her more like a nuisance than a loved one. Nevertheless, Courtney does her duty. While cleaning in her grandmother’s attic with her best friend, she finds a beautiful antique ball gown, presumably worn by her grandmother to the town’s yearly Victorian Ball. The town still holds a yearly Victorian Ball, and her friend entices Courtney into trying the dress on. Despite her misgivings, Courtney agrees, though the moment she slips the dress on, she starts feeling strange.

Courtney agrees to wear the dress to the town’s yearly recreation of the Victorian Ball, though she is much more interested in getting herself ready to make a presentation of sketches in New York with the hope of landing a job at a publishing house as a cover artist. As the night wears on, Courtney grows increasingly uncomfortable. Not feeling well, she steps outside for a breath of air. Outside, she sees a strange light coming from a nearby shed. Knowing, sensing and scolding herself not to peek, she nevertheless does – and finds herself trapped inside.

Virginia City in 1864 is not a nice place to be if you don’t have to be there -- a fact that Heath Sullivan knows. Having been sent to Virginia City to recover an item for his employer, Heath is attacked, robbed and left for dead one dark night. He wakes up to a powerful headache – and the sound of a woman crying. Despite his own misery and disgust, Heath helps rescue the lovely young woman trapped in a nearby shed – and comes face to face with Courtney Moss, a woman the likes of which he’s never seen before.

Transported back in time, a terrified Courtney must content with a lack of amenities, guns, miners and killers, all the while trying to find a way back to where she belongs. Despite her dislike of the male half of the species in general, she finds herself strangely attracted to Heath, even though he behaves like a barbaric chauvinist. And Heath, well, he’s never been subjected to such an outspoken, pampered, difficult and downright ornery woman in all his life.

Can these two help each other? Will they get tired of fighting and join forces? Will they quit fighting their undeniable attraction to one another long enough to realize that they were made to be together? The reader is taken along on this delightful ride through uncharted territory as those questions and more are revealed to Courtney and Heath. But will either of them come to that realization before it’s too late? For their friends, for Heath, and most especially, for Courtney and her ability to return to "where she belongs."

Sherry Lewis has created a fantastic mix of characters in Only Time Will Tell, from crusty miners to belligerent cowboys to killers and everyone in between. She even throws a personable dog into the mix for good measure, prompting the best from many of our "macho" heroes. This is a delightful tale of uncertainly, love and loyalty. Witty dialogue is the frosting on this one, and extremely likable characters, and the plot's not far behind. While the reader may know how things are going to work out, it’s fun to go along for the ride. A few surprises do lie in store, ones that will have you grinning all the while. This one comes highly recommended from this reviewer.