Beautiful Reckoning
(2026)(A book in the Cowboys of Wild River, Montana series)
A novel by Nicola Hayes
I inherit a failing Montana ranch, sleep with the cowboy trying to stop me from selling it, and somehow become the villain in my own love story.
Coming back to Blackthorn Ranch was never supposed to be permanent. I came to sign the paperwork, sell my inheritance, and get the hell back to New York before this town reminded me why I left.
Then I come face-to-face with Jake Mercer.
He's the quiet, infuriatingly loyal foreman who's spent fifteen years fighting for a ranch I can't wait to leave behind. He should hate me. Instead, he looks at me like I'm something worth fighting for—and kisses me like walking away was never an option.
One reckless night in his barn is supposed to get him out of my system.
Instead, he gets under my skin. He won't bow to my money, my threats, or the walls I've spent years building. The harder I push, the deeper he plants his boots, refusing to let me run from the one place—or the one man—I might actually belong.
Now the sale is days away, my family barely speaks to me, and I'm falling for the only man who'll never forgive me if I destroy the home he's spent his life protecting.
Because if I walk away from Blackthorn Ranch...
I won't just lose Jake.
I'll lose the only version of myself worth coming home to.
Genre: Romance
Coming back to Blackthorn Ranch was never supposed to be permanent. I came to sign the paperwork, sell my inheritance, and get the hell back to New York before this town reminded me why I left.
Then I come face-to-face with Jake Mercer.
He's the quiet, infuriatingly loyal foreman who's spent fifteen years fighting for a ranch I can't wait to leave behind. He should hate me. Instead, he looks at me like I'm something worth fighting for—and kisses me like walking away was never an option.
One reckless night in his barn is supposed to get him out of my system.
Instead, he gets under my skin. He won't bow to my money, my threats, or the walls I've spent years building. The harder I push, the deeper he plants his boots, refusing to let me run from the one place—or the one man—I might actually belong.
Now the sale is days away, my family barely speaks to me, and I'm falling for the only man who'll never forgive me if I destroy the home he's spent his life protecting.
Because if I walk away from Blackthorn Ranch...
I won't just lose Jake.
I'll lose the only version of myself worth coming home to.
Genre: Romance