Protected by the Rancher

By Vesta Romero

Can this rancher rope the woman in peril that he rescued?

 

Amber:

A year ago, having escaped my past and now living in this quaint town far, far away. Now, he's found me, and my new life is shattered. Finding myself in a dangerous situation, all seemed to be lost until my rancher came to the rescue. Now safely ensconced and guarded by him, I am finally starting to relax. Then, Axel, my bad-to-the-bone ex turns up again like a bad penny.

 

Fletch:

Happy to remain a bachelor, I am content with running my ranch. Then l meet Amber, a beautiful woman with a secret past. Rescuing and protecting her was a no-brainer, and not just because l crave her curvy body. 

 

Can he save her in time once more?

 

If you love the age gap and woman in peril tropes, then you'll love Amber and Fletch in Protected by the Rancher. There's NO cheating and NO cliffhangers. Sweet, sexy HEA guaranteed. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vesta Romero
• Release date: Nov 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215409695

Vesta Romero

Vesta Romero writes short and sweet romance books featuring curvy women and men who love them. She believes in HEA so everyone gets their happy ending. Always.

Book preview

Amber

Ayear of living in what had become a safe haven, my time in Arelis Springs had come to an abrupt end. He has found me. He being Axel, the abusive ex that l ran away from a few states away and whom l thought l’d never see again.

Our relationship had started out well enough, me being high school when l met him and fell hard, the stupid mistake of teenage hormones and bad judgement. He was tall, handsome, and rode a motorcycle, the classic bad boy that made my heart flutter every time he came into the coffee shop where l worked part time all through high school.

Everyone had warned me off him, that he was no good, would break my heart and regret would be coming my way for hooking up with him. These were just some of the things people told me, none of which registered in my mind. It was all jealous talk and our love was unique. The fact that he chose me to be his girlfriend out of all the others made me feel extra special.

In the beginning, he had been charming, took me out to the movies, and for diners out. Many times, we would just ride on his bike, me leaning in and hanging on for dear life as he took the mountain curves of Montana like a pro, counter-steering expertly. A wonderful and carefree time and l believed that it would be like that forever.

Elated at being asked to move in with him a year after high school, it was done without a second thought. Living under my uncle’s roof had become tiresome and stifling. He was too strict and hated me going out with Axel and our fights were constant. He had taken me in after my parents died, one shortly after the other. My dad of alcoholism, his liver had eventually gave out after years of abuse. To be honest, feigning sadness was very hard for me. He had been a terrible husband and dad and l wasn’t too sad at his demise.

Originally thinking that my mother would be happy to be rid of him too, it was confusing to me that she took it so hard. She had mourned him for as long as she could, definitely more than he deserved in my mind. More than likely, it was a broken heart that eventually killed her even though the doctor and her death certificate claimed it was the lung cancer. Having never smoked a day in her life, it was a shitty thing to happen as her only crime was being married to an alcoholic who smoked like a chimney.

After her death, my uncle reluctantly took me in since he was my only living relative. At the tender age of nine and already wary of the world, it had been a hard adjustment for both of us and we tried to make the best of a bad situation.The older l got, the more controlling he became. That was another reason for wanting to shack up with Axel, the need to get out from under his thumb. His last ultimatum had been to stop seeing Axel if l wanted to continue living under his roof, therefore there was no hesitation on my part when Axel asked me to move in. At first, it had been fun playing the housewife who had enjoyed looking after the little apartment that he rented in town and took pleasure at cooking for him while he went out with his buddies. What Axel did for a living was a mystery to me and he never volunteered any information. I didn’t ask and he didn’t tell.

Our honeymoon phase lasted exactly five months to the day of my moving in. Little things at first, complaining about my cooking, something that had always made me proud, then it was my way of dressing, often mentioning that only a whore would dress like l did. Not one piece of clothing had been bought by me since we got together because money was tight, and he never certainly bought me any. Slowly it progressed to taunting me about my weight and how ashamed he was to be seen with me.

He had always loved my curves but said he had come to hate them. Slowly, he had chipped away at my self-confidence until l had none left. The carefree dates were suddenly gone and he only exclusively went out with his biking buddies. Yelling soon became his only way to communicate with me. There were no more friends to confide in. They had been long gone, chased away by Axel and his rudeness. My isolation was should crushing. The teenage love had blinded me so much that l had failed to realise just how toxic it was and how right my friends had been, but there was no going back. I started to plot my escape, wanting to leave him and this town far behind, fuelled by my hope of gathering my self-esteem, turning back to that strong, energetic girl that l had once been.

My first attempt at running away had Axel catching up with me within an hour. Our town wasn’t very big, and one of his friends saw me waiting for the bus with my small bag and alerted him as good foot soldiers do. He roared up on his motorcycle just minutes before the bus was supposed to depart and yanked me from the line, angry and yelling that l belonged to him. Nobody would want me anyway he added for good measure, the smell of alcohol strong on his breath as he glared at me before slapping me hard, right in front of the people, and no-one said or did anything to stop him. They were very well aware of how horrible a person he could be. Ever since that incident, he had taken to locking the door whenever he left the house, for my own good he would always say.

It was another two years before l was able to get away from his clutches. Every time he would give me money