Showing results by author "Maya McKenna" in All Categories

He told me to leave the mountain. I didn't listen. The ranger warned me that a storm was coming. I needed one more shot, and then I'd go. But the blizzard hit fast, and now I'm trapped in his remote station with a man who's equal parts frustrated and fascinating. Wes Hartley doesn't waste words. He just looks at me with those sad eyes and says, "You could have died out there." I know. I know I was reckless. But when he wraps a blanket around my shoulders and pulls me against his chest "for warmth," I stop feeling sorry and start feeling something else entirely. Four days. One ranger station...

Four rugged men. One untamed mountain town. And four women who never meant to fall for the wild. From lost hikers and desperate single moms to long-held crushes and curious outsiders, four women arrive in Wild River thinking they can pass through untouched. They’re wrong. Because the mountain men who live here don’t do casual, and once they decide a woman belongs with them, they don’t let go. These are the kind of heroes who keep watch through the night, step in without being asked, and protect what’s theirs. Gruff, possessive, and deeply grounded, they fall hard and love harder. ...

Four snowy nights. Four rugged men. One mountain town where Christmas heat burns brighter than the firelight. From storm-stranded strangers and snowed-in rescues to small-town traditions and unexpected second chances, four women arrive in Aspen Grove just as the holidays are about to change everything forever. These are the kind of heroes who shovel your driveway before dawn, pull you close when the cold sets in, and make forever feel inevitable—gruff on the outside, fiercely loyal underneath, and all-in when it counts. And when forced proximity, crackling chemistry, and Christmas magic ...

She came for peace and quiet. He gave her heat she never saw coming. Romance author Angeline Winters needs one thing this December—silence. A snow-covered cabin at Morrison Ranch should be the perfect place to finish her overdue novel and escape the noise of her failed relationship. But when a blizzard hits and she nearly freezes trying to find the cabin, her rescuer isn’t a fantasy cowboy—he’s the real thing. Wyatt Morrison doesn’t have time for stranded city girls or Christmas miracles. He’s got cattle to feed, a ranch to run, and an eight-year-old daughter who just asked ...

His daughter stole my heart first. Then her daddy came to claim it. I took the job as ranch cook to escape my past. I wasn't expecting a gruff, silent foreman with sad eyes — or his seven-year-old daughter who keeps sneaking into my kitchen to help bake cookies. Mason Cleary doesn't talk much. But he watches me like I'm something precious. And when my ex shows up demanding I come back, Mason steps between us, all six-foot-five of him, and says two words: "She's mine." I came here to start over. I didn't expect to find a family waiting for me. Tropes: Single Dad • Grumpy Sunshine • ...

Cassie Monroe didn’t come to Wild River looking for love—she came for survival. Between college classes and raising her little boy, the last thing she needs is a distraction. But distraction finds her in the form of Boone Carter: the quiet giant who works with an axe like it’s an extension of his body. Boone swore he’d never love again. But when Cassie shows up at his mill, too stubborn to ask for help, he can’t look away. And when her abusive ex shows up in town, Boone makes one thing clear: Cassie belongs to him now. She came here to work. He’ll show her what it means to be ...

I'm being hunted. But the most dangerous predator just claimed me as his. Investigative journalist Piper Thornton went undercover to expose an illegal hunting ring—and walked straight into a trap. Now she's running through the mountains with killers on her trail, and the man tracking her through his rifle scope isn't who she thinks. Boone Savage stopped guiding trophy hunters years ago, sickened by the cruelty. Now he hunts the hunters—tracking poachers across his private reserve, documenting their crimes. When he realizes the blonde running through his forest is prey, not predator, ...

When a haunted hayride introduces her to the wrong kind of danger, she doesn’t expect it to feel exactly right… Romance author Maren Cole came to Cedar Falls, Montana for research—not romance. One hayride with the town’s notorious Headless Horseman is supposed to give her the “authentic mountain man” material her editor demands. Instead, it gives her Hank: a broad-shouldered mechanic with a voice made for sin, a stare that pins her in place, and a possessive streak that makes her question everything she thought she wanted. Hank never chases women. Until Maren. From the second ...

When a reclusive woodcarver agrees to make her a pumpkin, she doesn’t expect him to carve his way into her life… Kindergarten teacher Ivy Dawson just wants something special for her classroom—one perfect jack-o’-lantern to make her kids believe in magic. But the only man who can create it is the town’s most antisocial recluse: Eli Granger, a gruff, broad-shouldered woodworker who lives deep in the mountains and doesn’t take visitors. Eli has spent years avoiding people—and years secretly carving Ivy’s face into wood. When she shows up at his door, sunshine-bright and full of...

She’s baking for the town. He’s burning for her. When Ivy Carter moves to Aspen Grove to save her grandmother’s bakery, the last thing she expects is to set the kitchen—and her life—on fire. One rescue later, she’s in the arms of Fire Captain Cruz Delgado, a gruff, heartbreakingly handsome widower who smells like smoke and safety. Cruz lives for his crew and his work. Feelings are dangerous, and love burns worse than any blaze. But when Ivy starts baking for the firehouse and helping with their charity calendar shoot, the walls he’s built start to melt. She’s shy, sweet, and...

When digital nomad Grace's converted van breaks down on a remote mountain road, she doesn't expect to be rescued by six feet of rugged wilderness guardian who lives in a fire lookout tower. Dean Hawthorne is everything she's been running from—rooted, steady, and absolutely certain about what he wants. He's also 35 to her 29, with forest-green eyes and calloused hands that make her forget why she swore never to stay in one place. "You don't make me want to choose between my mountain and my heart," he tells her when she tries to leave. "You make me want to share everything with you." Grace ...

She’s stranded with a broken heart. He’s the man who knows how to fix both. When Faith Novak’s car dies on the snowy road to Aspen Grove, it feels like the final insult. Her Christmas wedding is off, her ex ran off with her cousin, and all she has left is a gown in the backseat and tears freezing on her cheeks. Then Diesel Kane shows up—a tattooed, grease-stained mechanic with a bad-boy grin and a soft spot he’d die before admitting. With every hotel booked for the holidays, he offers her his apartment above the garage “just for the night.” But one night turns into laughter, ...

When successful marketing executive Hannah returns to Thunder Creek to settle her grandmother's estate, she doesn't expect to be pulled over by six feet of commanding authority in a sheriff's uniform. Marcus Stone is everything she remembers and more—confident, protective, and absolutely certain about what he wants. He's also 36 to her 28, with steel-gray eyes and a voice that makes her pulse race every time he calls her sweetheart. "You're not going anywhere until you're ready," he declares when her complicated past threatens to send her running back to Seattle. "And when you are ready, ...

Four protective mountain men. Four heroines on the run, rebuilding, or rediscovering themselves. One small town where love is as fierce as the Colorado wilderness. In Pine Ridge, danger and desire collide in unexpected ways. From a midnight collapse outside a hospital, to a storm-stranded night in an unfinished cabin, to a sheriff’s second chance with the girl who got away, to a wilderness guide’s rescue in the backcountry, these rugged men will stop at nothing to protect the women who steal their hearts. Each standalone romance delivers instalove intensity, age gap sparks, second ...

Evie Porter didn’t mean to trespass on Silas Reed’s land—she was just trying to find a missing teen. But when she stumbles into his cabin at dusk, she finds more than a recluse woodsman. She finds a man who looks at her like prey. Silas doesn’t like people in his forest. But Evie is different—she’s soft, stubborn, and sunshine in human form. And when danger follows her into the woods, Silas has no choice but to take her into his protection. She thinks he’s a wild man. But by morning, she’ll realize he’s her man.

Four rugged mountain men. Four curvy heroines who steal their hearts. One small town where love is as wild and untamed as the land itself. In Thunder Creek, danger and desire walk hand in hand. Whether it’s a midnight rescue on a deserted road, a tense standoff in the backcountry, a run-in with the local sheriff, or an unexpected night in a fire lookout tower, these protective alpha men will risk everything to keep their women safe. Each standalone romance is packed with instalove heat, age gap allure, and heroes who know exactly what they want—and won’t rest until they make it theirs...

When wildlife photographer Marlowe witnesses illegal poaching in Montana's backcountry, she doesn't expect to be rescued by six feet of brooding, protective park ranger. Cole Morrison is 36 to her 26, with gentle hands and an intensity that makes her breath catch every time he growls "mine." "You're under my protection now," he declares when armed poachers force them to shelter together at his remote station. "I don't lose anyone in my territory, especially not you." Marlowe came to Thunder Creek for portfolio shots. She never expected to find her future with a mountain man who sees her ...

When Autumn Bailey blows back into Pine Ridge, she’s nothing like the polished beauty queen Sheriff Wade Murphy remembers from high school. She’s tear-streaked, wrinkled-dressed, and speeding down the mountain like she’s running from more than a traffic ticket. Wade’s spent years keeping order in their small Colorado town, but seeing his first love broken and lost lights up every protective instinct he has. Offering her a spare room at his cabin should be temporary—a safe place to catch her breath while she fixes up her late grandmother’s crumbling Victorian. But the more ...

When I collapse in a hospital parking lot at 2AM with nothing but $347 and a prepaid phone, I don’t expect to be carried inside by six feet of broad-shouldered, warm-eyed medical authority. Dr. Garrett Porter is everything I’ve learned not to trust—strong, steady, and insistent that I stay under his care. He’s also a grieving widower with hands that heal and eyes that see too much. I should be terrified. Instead, I find myself wanting to believe him when he says, “You’re safe now.” I came to Pine Ridge running from the man who stole three years of my life. I didn’t plan to ...

When my van goes up in flames, I don't expect to be rescued by six feet of protective mountain man perfection. Knox Rivera is everything I'm not - rooted, stable, completely comfortable in his small-town world. He's also fifteen years older than me, with broad shoulders that fill doorways and hazel eyes that see straight through my carefully constructed walls. "You're staying with me," he growls when I have nowhere else to go. "I'm not letting anything happen to you." He should intimidate me. Instead, he makes me feel safer than I ever have in my life. I came to Pine Ridge to rebuild my ...