The Rancher - Cynthia Woolf

When veterinarian Lyris Jennings accepts a position at Whispering Winds Ranch, she's looking for a fresh start—a place where she can focus on healing animals and leave her painful past behind. What she doesn't expect is an irresistible connection with her new boss, billionaire horse breeder Ray Kincaid. Brooding yet fiercely protective, Ray is finally ready to open his heart again after the tragic loss of his wife. But Lyris, who has spent years guarding her own, isn't sure she's ready to take that leap.

As she earns the trust of both Ray and his spirited teenage daughter, Maddy, Lyris starts to believe she's found where she truly belongs. But just as her walls begin to crumble, Ray's manipulative ex-fiancée, Marissa Holloway, storms back into his life. Armed with lies and deception, Marissa is determined to reclaim what she believes is hers—no matter the cost.

With betrayal threatening everything they've built, Lyris and Ray must fight for the love neither of them expected. But can they overcome the shadows of the past, or will Whispering Winds Ranch become yet another broken dream?