Single Dad Protector: Small-Town Romance

by Rose Luv

Elise Bennett has learned how to be lonely.
Long hours at her permanent job help her pay the medical loan she took out to care for her father before he passed away. Every paycheck matters. Every dollar counts.
So when the grandmother who barely spoke to her for years suffers an accident and asks for help saving the family bookstore, Elise returns to the small coastal town of Emerald Cove—intending to stay only long enough to help sell it.
Then she meets Jonathan Walker.
Quiet, dependable, and fiercely devoted to his young son, Jonathan has no intention of risking his heart again. Helping Elise repair the struggling bookstore is supposed to be temporary.
Instead, somewhere between rain-soaked afternoons, paint samples, and watching his shy little boy begin to smile around her, Jonathan finds himself wanting something he thought he’d buried years
A family again.
But Elise has made one thing painfully clear—
She isn’t staying.
And for Elise, falling for a kind cowboy and his sweet son could cost her the financial security she fought too hard to rebuild.
Will Elise walk away before Jonathan and Caleb become the family she never dared hope for… or risk everything for a chance at love?

847 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 28, 2026

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Single Dad Protector is a rebuilding of Elise’s life, by a small town that really didn’t know her.  She came to Emerald Cove at the request of her Grandma that she has not seen or heard from since she was very young.  Her father had a falling out with his mother and refused to have anything else to do with her.  Now Grandma has fallen and hurt her ankle and can’t continue to work at their family business Bennett Books.  Now she has called Elise to ask her to come help her till her foot heals and get the bookstore restored so they can sell it.  The handyman she had hired was the choice of all the single women in town but he was not interested.  He was a widower raising a young son.  His work reputation was above reproach in the town.  Elise has taken some time off work in the city to come help her Grandma but she begins to try to figure out ways to keep the store open for her Grandma.  She is working at the store to try to set up ideas to make the bookstore a success again.  While all this is going on she finds out how small towns work.  How friends help each other out of friendship instead of everything being done for money.  Can Elise rebuild her soul to where she can believe not everybody is after what you have and maybe find something she has been missing all alone?

[Mary Ann Speel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice story with the h being a single woman who feels responsible for doing everything along. She assumes the responsibility of paying her father’s medical debt even though she doesn’t really have the money needed. Then a phone call from her paternal grandmother, who she hasn’t had contact with for decades calls asking for help because she has fallen and injured her leg. The h takes leave from her very necessary job and goes to her grandmother with expenses she really can’t afford. The family bookstore needs to be repaired before it can be sold and she pitches in even though she lacks knowledge of how to do things. The H is the man she hired to do the repairs. He really sees her and wants to help her with more than the repairs. She realizes that the bookstore needs more than repairs to survive and she comes up with a plan to use the bookstore as a means to helping the children in town. She is successful and the h and H get their HEA. Recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a simple story about people who really care for each other, the h, H, his family and some of the people from the town. Enjoy!

[Ruth R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elise works at Evergreen Marketing company , she works so late every day, she had no one waiting for her .
She had bills to pay and a loan she made for her father’s treatment.
One day after hours at work she received a call from her grandmother who she didn’t see from when she was a kid,she was curious about her but her father tells her to not talk about her , because in the past they had an argument.
She asked her to go to her because she wanted help to sell the book shop .
Jonathan a single dad, he owns a ranch but he wanted a tutor for his son, his brother’s wanted
him for to find a woman but he didn’t want, he tried many times but didn’t work.
He received a call from Elise , she told him who she is and she’s coming to Emerald Cove to help her grandma to sell the store but she needed him to fixed some things on it, they agree to meet in a couple days and when he hang up he was smiling.

An amazing and lovely book that I enjoyed reading.

[Sheila M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweetness, kindness, respect, helping others, family, community. The book embodies all of these. Elise was in town to help her grandmother fix up the bookstore, which was an important part of the community. My favorite lines were about when Elise was struggling with accepting help from others without paying them. She didn’t want to accept charity. “That’s not charity…Charity is helping someone because they need it…This isn’t that. You’ve already helped us.” Repairing the bookstore was a labor of love not only for Elise, but for all of the folks who volunteered. It benefited many people. An enjoyable book that is worth a read.

[Jane Culbertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am just getting to know this amazing author. This book is a great read and I highly recommend it. Elise and Jonathan are two great characters and very special in so many ways. A clean romance with a small town setting. A Community of people willing to help each other and willing to create a place of belonging for the adults and young. A HEA ending.

[Barbara Tobey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet small town romance. It was wonderful to see the personal growth of not only the main character but of the children as well. A delightful variety of characters. Thanks to the author for providing a copy. My review is voluntary.

[Tami Willard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can be read as a standalone but is part of an interconnected series with overlapping characters
Opposites attract
Estranged family
Found family

[Renee Helton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Story

I received a copy of this book. My opinions are entirely my own. Sweet Story and Wonderful Characters.
Looking forward to reading more books in the series.