Widowed rancher Hayden Weston knows what it means to be responsible for his siblings, his eight-year-old son, and the running of the huge family cattle ranch. Some even call him a stern and grumpy taskmaster, and they’re not exactly wrong. So when Hayden discovers his son reading a storybook instead of doing chores, he calls on Luke’s teacher to talk about priorities.

School teacher Laura Anderson is new to Marietta, Montana, and has never—until now—been reprimanded for encouraging a child to read. It doesn’t help that sweet Luke’s father is the handsome cowboy with the amber eyes that she met in Grey’s Saloon, or that she’s wildly attracted to him.

Sparks keep flying as their paths keep crossing, but Hayden is determined not to give in to his incomprehensible need to have, hold, and protect Laura from any type of harm. He’s the one who’ll hurt her if he lets her stray too close. He’s not ready to admit his feelings or commit to sharing his life with her.

Even if love comes tumbling in.

Titles in The Westons of Montana series include: A Family with the Cowboy ~ Reckless with the Cowboy ~ What the Cowboy Wants ~ The Rancher’s Christmas Bride ~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  A Family with the Cowboy
Series:  The Westons of Montana #1
Author:  Elsa Winckler
Published:  February 18, 2025
My Rating:  4.5

A Family with the Cowboy begins The Westons of Montana series with Laura and Hayden, a couple who get off to a very rocky beginning of accusations and misunderstandings before settling into their forever future.  It’s going to take some lowering of walls, the ability to trust again, mutual love for one young boy, and a willingness to take a few risks for the right reasons.

We’re back in Marietta, Montana, once again, as one extremely grumpy cowboy who seems to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and one cautious school teacher who has been hurt before sparks both tempers and attraction with each other.  Once we understand what Hayden is dealing with, the death of his brother, the need to put the family ranch first, the death of his wife, and the overpowering guilt that lives deep in his soul, he loses some of that grumpy, mean boy vibe and starts to show a more vulnerable, softer side to Laura.

At the center of this love story is young Luke.   An eight-year-old who has recently lost his mother and doesn’t really understand the changes in his father.  His love of reading, of getting lost in other worlds, is encouraged by the new teacher he loves, but is frowned upon by his dad, who believes that Luke needs to understand the real world, the responsibility of learning the ranch and doing his daily chores… not off somewhere reading.

I loved watching the emotions between these three people unfold.  Luke is already in love and wants Laura in his life; it’s just taking his teacher and his dad a bit longer to catch up.  If you love a well-written romance, one where the emotions will tug at your heart long after the final page, with characters who leap off the page in their passion and believability, then you’re going to love A Family with the Cowboy by Elsa Winckler.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or the author’s team via Booksprout, and I sincerely thank them for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review, giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Do you love anything (any story) that’s even slightly connected to Marietta, Montana?  Yeah, me too.  Be sure to visit our Marietta, Montana pages (this link to where this series is located – there are three pages :)) to catch up on the series that you might have missed over time.  It’s quite an amazing and diverse community, with happily ever after endings guaranteed.

This title is available at Amazon (affiliate link)