When a high-end, off-the-grid, Wild West-themed ghost town needs a country singer for an elite international client, Burning Scrub has two months to turn a reluctant country star into a cowboy with a hit record.

Winner of a national vocal competition, Beau Jones hates country music and the recording contract hanging over his head. But his family needs the prize money. His agent books him into a remote Montana ranch for two months to polish his brand, teach him how to cowboy up, and record a country record, whether Beau agrees or not. When Beau wakes up in a frontier jail, watched by a beautiful jailer, he resolves to be the worst cowboy this town has ever seen.

Internal medicine doctor Belle Forsythe is tasked with keeping Beau out of trouble. She has no interest in celebrities or country music. She has a five-year contract, which will pay off her medical school debt. Until then, she’s determined to keep her twenty-first-century doctoring skills current and research nineteenth-century medical practices.

Belle’s resolved to her fate until Beau. He’s an advertisement for trouble, and she can’t wait.

Titles in the Roped in Time series include:  The Cowboy Contract ~

This story may contain language, violence, and/or sexual situations intended for an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  The Cowboy Contract
Series:  Roped in Time #1
Author:  Paula Altenburg
Published:  March 3, 2026
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4 stars

Winning a nationally broadcast talent show was supposed to be Beau’s way into the business and help his family with the reward of the top prize money.  He may have won the contest, but he hates Country Music and only agrees to the contractual record deal as a way to work his way back to his love of Rock.  Only things don’t quite go according to plan, and Beau’s life is about to undergo even more changes.  Thus begins the Roped in Time series with Beau and Belle in The Cowboy Contract.

On his way to the ranch where he’s supposed to be learning how to “cowboy up”, Beau is shanghaied into something shady from the start.  With unclear memories, he’s going to play along until he gets this figured out.  What he didn’t plan on was the attraction to his “handler”, Belle, who is told to keep an eye on Beau.  Belle is a doctor who is indebted to this small town for handling her medical school costs.  She may not like the assignment to watch over a wannabe cowboy singer, but she made a deal.  What she didn’t expect was to actually like this guy and begin to question what was happening in her small town.  What started out for both of them as an obligation will quickly become an attraction that just might be worth the risks for a lifetime commitment.

I had fun with The Cowboy Contract.  I loved the idea of an old ghost town, and often gave the side-eye to some of the local residents.  Beau and Belle’s slowly growing attraction kept me engaged in the romance, and there were certainly some quirky townsfolk to enjoy (and some to loathe).  Their story is well-written, emotional, and engaging.  I’m already looking forward to seeing where this series takes us next.  If this sounds like your kind of Modern Western Romance (with a twist), then you’d love The Cowboy Contract by Paula Altenburg.

*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.*

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