Heartless Cowboy: A Single Dad Cowboy Romance (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798244294118)

He's the "Beast of Blackwater." Broken. Scarred. And forbidden.

I was hired to watch his silent son. I wasn't supposed to fall for the man holding the shotgun.

Conrad Presley is everything they warned me about. He's six-foot-four of brooding Wyoming rancher, with a jagged burn scar running up his neck and a temper that could strip paint. He lives in a fortress of ice and silence, guarding his mute son like a wolf guarding a pup. He fired the last five nannies. He wants to fire me, too.

But I can't leave. I have debts that are drowning me, and the double bonus he promised is the only lifeline I have left.

I thought the hardest part of the job would be the isolation. I was wrong. The hardest part is ignoring the way Conrad looks at me when he thinks I'm not watching. It's the way his rough, calloused hands tremble when he touches me. It's the way he protects me from the shadows circling his ranch.

Because Iron Heart Ranch isn't just lonely-it's under siege. Fences are being cut. Livestock is being poisoned. And the "accident" that killed his wife three years ago might not have been an accident at all.

When a blizzard traps us together in the main house, the walls between us come crashing down. I see the man beneath the scars. I feel the fire he's been holding back for three years.

He calls himself heartless. He says he destroys everything he touches.

But as the enemy closes in and the ranch goes up in flames, I realize the truth: Conrad Presley isn't the villain of this story. He's the hero waiting to be saved.

And I'm the only one standing between him and the bullet.

Heartless Cowboy is a high-stakes, slow-burn Western Romance with a grumpy single dad, a feisty heroine, and a Beauty and the Beast twist. If you like protective heroes, forced proximity, and edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense, you'll love Alisson Bento's heart-pounding new novel.

TROPES & THEMES

• Grumpy x Sunshine (He's a scarred recluse; she's the light in the dark)
• Single Dad (Protective father with a silent/traumatized child)
• Boss / Nanny (Workplace romance with high stakes)
• Forced Proximity (Snowed in together during a blizzard)
• Beauty and the Beast Retelling (Scarred hero, "cursed" ranch)
• Hurt / Comfort (Healing from past trauma together)
• Romantic Suspense (Sabotage, mystery, and a fight for survival)
• Slow Burn to High Heat (Emotional tension that explodes)