Pastry chef, Cary Crockett, is on the run. Pursued by a loan shark bent on retrieving gambling debts owed him by her deadbeat ex-boyfriend, she finds the perfect hiding place at the remote Circle W Ranch. More at home with city life, cupcakes and croissants than beef, beans and bacon, she has to convince ranch owner Micah West she’s up to the job of feeding his hired hands. The overwhelming attraction she feels toward him was nowhere in the job description. Micah West has a big problem. The camp-cook on his central Oregon ranch has up and quit without notice, and his crew of hungry cowboys is about to mutiny. He agrees to hire Cary on a temporary basis, just until he finds the right man to fill the job. Maintaining a hands-off policy toward his sexy new cook becomes tougher than managing a herd of disgruntled wranglers.

To attain his dream of becoming a World Champion bull-rider, Kade Vaughn must ride the bad one they call Swamp Fox. But in two previous rides, the big bull's given Kade two disqualifications and a severe concussion. Now the cowboy's on a forced vacation at his friends' ranch, near the little town of East Hope, Oregon. It's all fine and dandy till the day he walks into the diner and comes face to face with a temptress in a Cleopatra wig. One who looks a lot like the girl he left behind, and who he'd give nearly anything to have back in his arms. To get through each day, Pansy Lark pretends to be other women through cosplay. Famous, strong women who took what they wanted from life, instead of the other way around. Once she was a champion barrel racer with a bright future, and a cowboy she loved. She lost it all, leaving her with the driving need to prove she's not that weak girl anymore. But when Kade walks back into her life, she must decide if real strength is in forgiveness. Can sweet cowboy kisses heal her wounded heart?

Byron Garrett has found peace as the foreman on the Circle W ranch. He's far from his controlling father, and the demands that Byron make him proud as a pro football player. Byron's first love is horses, and the cowboy doesn't need a woman to share his life. At least, not until a bubbly artist shows up, and does her best to get inside the corral he's built around his heart. Vivi is everything he wants, but nothing he needs … or is it time for him to open his heart? Vivi Beckett is searching for a place that feels like home. And after traversing the country, she's finally found it in the beautiful wilds of Oregon. She'll use the inheritance left her when she was orphaned to buy herself a place to live and create her art. But after meeting Byron, Vivi suspects her dream won't be enough to bring her happiness … not unless he's at her side. Can she convince him to trust again? When Vivi discovers that her inheritance is in jeopardy, her dreams are at risk. Unless Byron is willing to help her make them work in a different, and perhaps even better way, as a cowboy's sweetheart.