Wide Open Country
(2026)(The second book in the Endless Sky Cowboys series)
A novel by Atreus Rosewood
A record that won’t scrub clean. A ranch that won’t bend. And a love that risks everything.
Connor
Thirty-five and fresh out after seven hard years in prison, I’m counting days and keeping my head down. Probation means curfews, clean tests, and no mistakes. McGrath Ranch is supposed to be a quiet stop on the way to a quieter life. All I have to do is mend fences, muck stalls, and then disappear when my probation is up. The owner is old-school to the bone: prayer at breakfast, rules carved in oak, and has zero tolerance for trouble. One slip, and he’ll have my PO on speed dial.
Then his son blows through the ranch like a summer storm. Ryder is twenty-two, all sunshine grins and dirty boots, and a wild streak a mile wide. He rides like he’s invincible, mouths off like consequences don’t apply, and looks at me like he can see past every scar I’ve earned. We start with barbs and end with heat—hands in hay, breath against skin, and my rope tying skills seem to be just what he likes. He calls me sir with a smile that makes it hard to breathe, and suddenly I’m not counting days anymore. I’m counting the ways this could ruin us both.
But the old man holds the keys—to the ranch, to my paycheck, to my future. One accusation and I’m back behind bars. Wanting Ryder is the riskiest thing I’ve ever done… and the only thing that feels like freedom.
Ryder
I’ve lived my whole life under my father’s shadow—brand the calves, say grace, don’t shame the family name. I get away with plenty, but not this. Not the way I want Connor. I love the quiet fury in his eyes, the callused hands that know exactly how to pin me down and still make me feel safe.
Nights in the barn turn electric—rough laughter, whispered rules, the delicious snap of control I hand over when he ties me up. He protects me without apology, and I’d bare my throat to him twice if he asked. But out here, love doesn’t just break rules—it threatens legacies. If my father finds out, Connor loses his freedom and I lose the only home I’ve ever known.
So we make promises in the dark and follow pretenses in the daylight, praying the storm we’ve called down doesn’t level everything we are.
Wide Open Country is a gritty, high-tension cowboy romance of grumpy x sunshine, age gap, and forbidden heat—rope play and rough edges, ‘touch him and die’ protectiveness, and a slow-burn blaze that turns into a wildfire. Perfect for readers who crave late night secrets, dangerous stakes, and a hard-won, breathless fall under a big Montana sky.
Genre: Romance
Connor
Thirty-five and fresh out after seven hard years in prison, I’m counting days and keeping my head down. Probation means curfews, clean tests, and no mistakes. McGrath Ranch is supposed to be a quiet stop on the way to a quieter life. All I have to do is mend fences, muck stalls, and then disappear when my probation is up. The owner is old-school to the bone: prayer at breakfast, rules carved in oak, and has zero tolerance for trouble. One slip, and he’ll have my PO on speed dial.
Then his son blows through the ranch like a summer storm. Ryder is twenty-two, all sunshine grins and dirty boots, and a wild streak a mile wide. He rides like he’s invincible, mouths off like consequences don’t apply, and looks at me like he can see past every scar I’ve earned. We start with barbs and end with heat—hands in hay, breath against skin, and my rope tying skills seem to be just what he likes. He calls me sir with a smile that makes it hard to breathe, and suddenly I’m not counting days anymore. I’m counting the ways this could ruin us both.
But the old man holds the keys—to the ranch, to my paycheck, to my future. One accusation and I’m back behind bars. Wanting Ryder is the riskiest thing I’ve ever done… and the only thing that feels like freedom.
Ryder
I’ve lived my whole life under my father’s shadow—brand the calves, say grace, don’t shame the family name. I get away with plenty, but not this. Not the way I want Connor. I love the quiet fury in his eyes, the callused hands that know exactly how to pin me down and still make me feel safe.
Nights in the barn turn electric—rough laughter, whispered rules, the delicious snap of control I hand over when he ties me up. He protects me without apology, and I’d bare my throat to him twice if he asked. But out here, love doesn’t just break rules—it threatens legacies. If my father finds out, Connor loses his freedom and I lose the only home I’ve ever known.
So we make promises in the dark and follow pretenses in the daylight, praying the storm we’ve called down doesn’t level everything we are.
Wide Open Country is a gritty, high-tension cowboy romance of grumpy x sunshine, age gap, and forbidden heat—rope play and rough edges, ‘touch him and die’ protectiveness, and a slow-burn blaze that turns into a wildfire. Perfect for readers who crave late night secrets, dangerous stakes, and a hard-won, breathless fall under a big Montana sky.
Genre: Romance