Claimed by the Wylde Mountain Cowboy

Ty Harlan has leased the same property for years, and he cannot lose it if his ranch is going to keep running.

Before an old-fashioned landowner chooses a buyer, Ty has to look like a man putting down roots, so he offers a woman who needs somewhere safe a simple deal: she will play his devoted girlfriend, with rules, boundaries, an end date, and no feelings.

That plan might have stayed practical if he were not an older, painfully quiet cowboy whose house has been silent for years, until another mug sits beside his, her boots line up by the door, and her things start taking over his space.

She came to the ranch to put her life back together, not to notice the shrinking distance between their bedrooms or how easily the place begins to feel like home.

Then the past she ran from comes looking for her, and Ty does not ask questions; he steps between them, because the man who was only supposed to be her fake boyfriend has decided she is his to keep.