The Rancher's Guarded Heart

A Clean Small-Town Ranch Romance

By: Jefferson Cross

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

A woman with nowhere safe to go.
A rancher who’s already lost too much.
And an unexpected pregnancy that changes everything.

Harper Sterling arrives in Pine Ridge, Wyoming with a plan: assess the ranch she’s unexpectedly inherited, sell it quietly, and disappear before the past she’s running from catches up.

She isn’t looking for a new life.
She isn’t looking for anyone.

She isn’t expecting Cole Coleman.

A Marine Corps veteran rebuilding his uncle’s ranch—and his life after loss—Cole keeps his world small, steady, and under control.

He has no room for complications.
He has even less room for a Manhattan executive who challenges everything he’s built.

But when Harper discovers she’s pregnant and alone—and the corporate predators circling Pine Ridge set their sights on her inheritance—Cole makes the only offer that makes sense:

A marriage of protection.
Temporary. Practical. Nothing more.

Except Pine Ridge has a way of turning the practical into something permanent.

As Harper finds belonging in a community she never planned to join—and Cole discovers that the woman he meant to protect may be the only person who can reach the grief he’s never faced—what began as a contract starts to feel like the truest thing either of them has ever chosen.

Then the past arrives
with lawyers, leverage, and a corporate campaign designed to take everything they’ve built.

And Cole must decide:

Protect the life he’s rebuilt—
or risk everything for the woman who’s already become part of it.

In Pine Ridge, family isn’t always found.

Sometimes it’s chosen.

The Rancher’s Guarded Heart is a clean contemporary romance featuring:

• A protective military veteran hero rebuilding after loss
• A resilient heroine starting over in unexpected territory
• A marriage of convenience with real emotional stakes
• An unexpected pregnancy that forces impossible choices
• Found family, small-town solidarity, and Wyoming heart
• Clean romance with fade-to-black intimacy

Perfect for readers who love:
Protective hero romance · Military veterans rebuilding their lives · Small-town ranch settings · Marriage of convenience · Unexpected pregnancy stories · Found family and emotional healing · Clean contemporary romance

Welcome back to Pine Ridge—where stubborn hearts finally learn to trust.