BEAU: COWBOY PROTECTOR is part of the Harts of the Rodeo series, each written by a different author.

In BEAU: COWBOY PROTECTOR we meet a rodeo-riding cowboy named Beau Hart who, at thirty-two, is determined to gain World Champion status before retiring from the arena. He's single and hasn't had much time for anything but the demands of ranching and riding. His family provides bucking bulls and horses to rodeos so he is kept on the road. When Beau is home, however, his favorite Sunday meal is taken in the local diner, run by a comfortably-figured lady named Sierra Byrne who cooks as well as she makes the diners feel at home.

Beau doesn't know that Sierra is hiding a tragic secret. She has inherited an eye condition which means that her sight is diminishing. Her night vision and peripheral vision are reduced and eventually she will go blind. Beau spots Sierra parked on the side of the road one evening in failing light and offers to help with her car. She tells him a tow truck is on the way. He drives on and unloads his stock, then drives back in the dark to ensure Sierra doesn't wait alone. He parks nearby and keeps an eye on her, but no tow truck shows up, so Beau dozes all night until, with morning light, Sierra gets under way. Beau is determined to get to the bottom of this matter although Sierra tells him it is none of his business.

Sierra finally allows Beau to date her but does not want to get into a serious relationship. She wants to do other things - like drag racing, and bungee jumping, before it is too late. Her aunt Jordan is dating Beau's father, but Jordan has a guide dog and is totally blind. Sierra is afraid of letting anyone too close, or of depending on the protective cowboy so she cannot manage for herself. Beau has his punishing rodeo schedule to maintain and the future of Midnight, the family's valuable bucking stallion, to consider, but Sierra keeps coming to the forefront of his mind.

Marin Thomas has given us a detailed and thoughtful look at this intimate situation, with the example of Jordan to show that going blind need not mean the end of living, and the character of Beau to show that acceptance of a loved one's illness does not mean pity.