The Calloway Ranch
His love for her was as deeply rooted as the old oak trees on his ranch; it weathered storms and droughts, but it still held strong.
1. COWBOY CASUAL by Holly Renee
SYNOPSIS
Blaire Monroe is the only woman I’ve ever loved, and the only one I’ve let break my heart. It’s been ten years since she ran from this town, chasing a life that didn’t include the cowboy next door who blurred the line between best friend and something more.
Now she’s back. Fresh off a busted engagement and hiding out on her grandmother’s crumbling strawberry farm like the past never happened. Like she doesn’t still linger in every part of me I’ve spent years trying to erase.
But Blaire isn’t the kind of girl you forget. She’s wildfire: reckless, untamed, and impossible to hold without getting scorched.
We collide the second we’re in the same room. Too much heat. Too much history. Not nearly enough distance. The tension crackles, the pull is impossible, and before long, we’re right back where we swore we’d never be—pressed against the wall, her hands in my hair, my mouth on hers like I’ve been starving for a decade.
I tell myself I can handle it. But the truth is, this cowboy was never meant for casual. Not with her. And sure as hell not again.
2. SMALL TOWN SMOKESHOW by Holly Renee
SYNOPSIS
Hunter Calloway is a small town smokeshow and the kind of man my father warned me about. He’s got a reputation a mile wide, a smile that could burn through any girl’s good sense, and did I mention he’s also the man my sister once loved and left behind? He strolls through town like he owns it, tips his hat with a promise in his eyes, and slides those calloused hands across my bakery counter like they haven’t been haunting my dreams for years. He’’ six feet of pure temptation wrapped in worn Wranglers, and every time I’m near him, it’s like striking a match during a drought… Dangerous, inevitable, and exactly what I shouldn’t want.
I try to convince myself I don’t notice the way his gaze lingers, or the way he says my name as if he’s tasting it. But all my good intentions crumble to dust when we find ourselves alone under a sky full of stars with nothing but whiskey and want between us. And it changes everything.
We promise each other we’re just having fun, yet his fingertips brush across my skin when no one’s watching, and we pretend we don’t ache for each other in a room full of people who would never understand. Every kiss stays in the dark, every desire whispered like a secret, and every touch brands me with guilt.
I know better than to fall for a cowboy like him. I know better than to want my sister’s past. But when his eyes find mine, I forget every reason I’ve ever had to say no. Every touch feels like a risk and every secret like a countdown. I’m lying to everyone, falling harder for a man who never promised me anything, and wondering how much longer I can pretend I don’t care whether I’m just another notch on his well-worn belt. Because I’m in love with Hunter Calloway regardless of the cost.
