A Home for the Ranger: An Uplifting Inspirational Romance

by Audrey Wick

Can two little girls in need
convince him to stay?

For park ranger Shane Hutton, his job as head of Cottonwood Creek State Park has always just been a stepping stone toward his cowboy dreams. And when kind-hearted volunteer Allison Van Horn’s request for help with two foster children in need stirs up painful memories from his past, Shane’s first instinct to leave grows stronger. But the more time he spends with Allison and the adorable twins in her care, the more his heart begins to heal. When a head ranger position opens up in west Texas, he must the opportunity he’s always wanted…or the family he’s always needed.

From Love Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published November 25, 2025

About the author

Audrey Wick is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author and full-time English professor at Blinn College in Texas. She is published with Harlequin (HarperCollins) and through college textbook content with Cengage, including co-authorship of Steps to Writing Well with Additional Readings (12th edition). Her work has appeared in Writer's Digest, Woman's World, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and various literary journals. Audrey believes the secret to happiness includes lifelong learning and good stories. But travel and coffee help. She has journeyed to over twenty countries—and sipped coffee in every one. Readers can connect with her at audreywick.com and on X and Instagram @WickWrites.

Reviews

[Carrie Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It usually takes me approximately zero-point-one seconds for a book to grab my attention when it’s set in Texas with the word ‘ranger’ in the title. There’s something so swoony about Texas Rangers, be it historical romance or contemporary. But A Home for the Ranger by Audrey Wick proves there’s another sort of swoony ranger in Texas – a park ranger! Shane Hutton is kind, steady, and conflicted (more on that in a minute), and watching him with Olivia & Isla – a pair of adorable twin girls in foster care – is truly heart fluttering. He’s intrigued by avid trail jogger (and CASA volunteer) Allison right away, and she by him, but there isn’t a fireworks show of instant sparks either. Which totally fits the laid-back pace of this story and leads to a sweet friendship between them while we wait for that initial attraction to deepen into something more permanent.

Ah… permanency. An important theme in A Home for the Ranger (or, rather the conflict between temporary and permanent is). Shane is only in Cottonwood Creek until he gets his dream park ranger job in West Texas. Olivia and Isla are only at their foster home until key decisions are made for their custody. And Allison’s heart is becoming more and more wrapped up in all three of these characters… something which will make it even harder to say goodbye when the time comes to do so. I enjoyed the depth that wrestling with this theme brought to the story, as well as the layers to Shane’s past that are unearthed as he spends more time with Allison and the girls. It makes the relationship between the four of them all the sweeter and the conclusion of their story all the more satisfying for readers to discover. (By the way, Allison is such an easy-to-like character – her personality and big heart had me rooting for her happily-ever-after in more ways than one.)

Bottom Line: A Home for the Ranger by Audrey Wick is a slow-burn, gentle romance that draws readers into the honest tug-of-war between our dreams and the ones God has for us instead. The ones that end up being way better than what we’d imagined for ourselves… if we can just quit clinging to how we thought life would look. Shane’s temporary assignment (and his pursuit of another position), Olivia and Isla’s uncertain placement, and Allison’s growing attachment to all three of them create a tangle of emotions for the character AND readers, too, a tangle that feels beautifully genuine and relatable. This sweet ‘found family’ story allows Shane and Allison’s romance to develop naturally and – at the same time – has us all falling head over heels for those precocious little twins. I couldn’t help but root for these four characters to collectively find a place where their hearts can finally rest.

(I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I purchased for my collection.)

first reviewed at Reading Is My SuperPower

[Romance4thebeach · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there’s one thing Audrey Wick always gets right, it’s Texas. From the rolling hills and endless skies to the creak of cicadas at dusk, the landscape in A Home for the Ranger practically breathes on the page. It’s not just a backdrop, but rather a living, shifting character all its own. Wick paints Cottonwood Creek State Park with such affection that it made me want to lace up my hiking boots and take a weekend getaway just to soak in that same wild beauty. There’s something meditative about the way she writes nature. It mirrors the emotional journey of the characters: quiet, healing, and grounded. That said, while the Texas scenery swept me away, the pacing of the story itself felt a bit more subdued. The plot unfolds with a kind of slow, Sunday-afternoon rhythm, which certainly fits the gentle small-town vibe but sometimes left me wishing for just a little more spark. Still, if you’re looking for a book that feels like a warm breeze through tall grass rather than a storm of high drama, this one fits that bill perfectly.

[Beth Wiseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For romance fans, A HOME FOR THE RANGER checks all the right boxes—a strong protagonist, a conflicted hero, and two kindhearted souls in search of love. Cozy up with this sweet story set in west Texas and see what life has in store for Allison and Shane. Highly recommended.