Starting Over at Sunset Ranch

At forty-eight and freshly divorced, Claire Westfield thought she knew what to expect: an empty nest, quiet loneliness, and definitely not returning to her family’s failing Montana guest ranch to save it from foreclosure. What she didn’t expect? Daniel Rivers—the quiet widowed ranch hand who proposes the most unconventional solution to their financial crisis: marry me. One year. Strictly business. Then we go our separate ways.

It’s just paperwork. Separate bedrooms. A marriage of convenience to satisfy the bank and save the legacy her father built. Except living together blurs every boundary they drew. Working side-by-side reignites feelings Claire thought died with her marriage. And Daniel—steady, protective, heartbreakingly gentle—makes her feel wanted for the first time in years. Their fake marriage starts feeling achingly real.

Then the threats begin. Someone’s sabotaging the ranch, destroying equipment, canceling reservations, leaving notes: Sell or lose everything. When Daniel’s dangerous past surfaces—a secret that forced him to flee and start over—Claire must decide if she can trust a man who’s been hiding the truth. But the saboteur isn’t finished. A barn fire erupts with Daniel trapped inside saving the horses, and Claire realizes protecting her heart means nothing compared to losing the man she loves.

Because some marriages start as business arrangements. The best ones become home. And at forty-eight, Claire Westfield is learning it’s never too late for second chances—or second weddings.

TROPES:

• Marriage of Convenience (Fake → Real)
• Later-in-Life Romance (48 & 52)
• Second Chance at Love
• Single Dad Hero
• Ranch/Cowboy Romance
• Forced Proximity
• Divorced Heroine Finding Herself
• Widower Hero Ready to Live Again
• Grief & Healing
• Found Family 
• Sabotage Mystery Subplot
• Protector Hero
• Identity Crisis & Fresh Start

HEAT LEVEL: Sweet/Wholesome (Fade to Black)