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Colorado Cowboy
Suspenseful and sexy, here is one of New York Times bestselling contemporary western romance author Diana Palmer’s celebrated Colorado novellas.
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Colorado, this suspenseful and sexy novella from New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer tells the tale of a solitary cowboy whose peace is interrupted—and wild heart tamed—by an intriguing stranger who brings a new kind of danger to his door . . .
Fleeing her mother’s killer, Esther Marist ends up at a rugged stranger’s cabin. A wildlife rehabilitator with a menagerie that includes an elderly wolf, Matthews isn’t the type to turn any creature away . . .
As Esther heals, she realizes how much danger she’s brought to his door—and how far he’ll go to protect her.
“You just can't do better than a Diana Palmer story to make your heart lighter and smile brighter.” —Fresh Fiction
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Colorado, this suspenseful and sexy novella from New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer tells the tale of a solitary cowboy whose peace is interrupted—and wild heart tamed—by an intriguing stranger who brings a new kind of danger to his door . . .
Fleeing her mother’s killer, Esther Marist ends up at a rugged stranger’s cabin. A wildlife rehabilitator with a menagerie that includes an elderly wolf, Matthews isn’t the type to turn any creature away . . .
As Esther heals, she realizes how much danger she’s brought to his door—and how far he’ll go to protect her.
“You just can't do better than a Diana Palmer story to make your heart lighter and smile brighter.” —Fresh Fiction
162 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2023
109 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Diana Palmer
1,047 books3,097 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.
(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.
She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.
Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.
In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.
Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.
(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.
She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.
Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.
In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 31, 2025
I can’t wait to get into this at Bookclub. I haven’t been this angry with characters in a minute.
August 22, 2024
Another book centered in Benton, CO and it was as bad as the previous one (The Rancher's Wedding). Extremely sheltered women who are "unworldly" while in their early 20s find possessive men who go nuts for the innocents. The "drama" was again awful - she witnessed her mother's murder and runs instead of going to the cops & even when far away & safe, still doesn't contact the authorities to get the murdered arrested, etc. I would not recommend any of Diana Palmer's Benton, CO books.
May 23, 2023
Poorly written. The names got mixed up a few times and the way the main female character was written bothered me. The two main characters moved too fast with their "romance" for my taste and I did not particularly enjoy the book.
January 31, 2026
I love Diana Palmer books and when I start reading, I have a hard time putting them down. I'm busy most days now and don't read like I used to, but this morning, when it was freezing drizzle out and I didnt have to go outside, I looked through my Kindle and found this book.
Esther, (Who has the same name as I) had seen her mother murdered and ran for her life. She finds herself in the wilds of Colorado with a one-armed man and a wolf. It's almost love a first site, he's the first person who's actually been kind to her.
She's running from the man who killed her mother, but she doesn't know who she can trust. She gets a job, first one she's ever had and loves it. She and her rescuer, find out that they can get along well and fall in love. But she's worried that she hasn't been honest with him and when he finds out how well off she is, that things will all fall apart.
He finds her help to get things straightened out with her moms estate and they find her long lost grandfather, who is filthy rich.
She leaves her man in the woods for awhile, but if you like happy endings, you must read this book. There is suspense, drama, love and happily ever after in Diana's books.
And yes, sometimes I start a book and don't get it read right away.
Esther, (Who has the same name as I) had seen her mother murdered and ran for her life. She finds herself in the wilds of Colorado with a one-armed man and a wolf. It's almost love a first site, he's the first person who's actually been kind to her.
She's running from the man who killed her mother, but she doesn't know who she can trust. She gets a job, first one she's ever had and loves it. She and her rescuer, find out that they can get along well and fall in love. But she's worried that she hasn't been honest with him and when he finds out how well off she is, that things will all fall apart.
He finds her help to get things straightened out with her moms estate and they find her long lost grandfather, who is filthy rich.
She leaves her man in the woods for awhile, but if you like happy endings, you must read this book. There is suspense, drama, love and happily ever after in Diana's books.
And yes, sometimes I start a book and don't get it read right away.
January 8, 2024
This is the first story from Ms. Palmer that I’ve read in awhile. I’m pretty sure after reading this one I know the reason.
The story line was ok, but the characters were so simple and naive that I almost quit reading it numerous times.
In the beginning of the story, Esther is walking in the snow to escape her mother’s gigalo boyfriend. He pushed Esther’s mom down the stairs. Before she dies, she gives Esther her huge diamond ring and tells her to run. She’s picked up hitchhiking by a nice couple and dropped off at a cabin in a small town in Colorado. Butch is a war vet who lost his arm in battle. When he got home his fiancee left him. He is a lot older than Esther but acts very simple. He finds Esther passed out in his yard. This starts their friendship. He lets her stay with him. She is so naive it is ridiculous. She hides that she’s from money. In a matter of a couple days, he calls her his fiancée. In a month they get married. She gets pregnant the first time the had sex. She is really sweet and happy go lucky, but acts like a child not a 23 yr old. In the end, Butch is upset when he finds out she has money. He sends her away only to regret it. There is a happy ending.
The story line was ok, but the characters were so simple and naive that I almost quit reading it numerous times.
In the beginning of the story, Esther is walking in the snow to escape her mother’s gigalo boyfriend. He pushed Esther’s mom down the stairs. Before she dies, she gives Esther her huge diamond ring and tells her to run. She’s picked up hitchhiking by a nice couple and dropped off at a cabin in a small town in Colorado. Butch is a war vet who lost his arm in battle. When he got home his fiancee left him. He is a lot older than Esther but acts very simple. He finds Esther passed out in his yard. This starts their friendship. He lets her stay with him. She is so naive it is ridiculous. She hides that she’s from money. In a matter of a couple days, he calls her his fiancée. In a month they get married. She gets pregnant the first time the had sex. She is really sweet and happy go lucky, but acts like a child not a 23 yr old. In the end, Butch is upset when he finds out she has money. He sends her away only to regret it. There is a happy ending.
February 3, 2024
Sweet but not well written. The H has one arm, and yet we are constantly told that he wraps his 'arms' about the heroine. At one point we are told the h's mother bought the diamond ring in a jeweler's shop, and later we are told it's a family heirloom handed down by the grandfather. I also disliked how the h was the one who had to crawl back to the H, and then live in poverty for the sake of his pride.
July 29, 2023
Esther meets Mathew when she hitches a ride to Benton after seeing her mother murdered. Continuity is a real issue, she has no friends, she has friends who hide her from her mother. She wants him to think she is poor but mentions the various houses her mother owned.
May 1, 2023
I really enjoyed Esther and Butch's story. It started with such tragedy and ended in a very happy ever after.
May 22, 2023
Interesting read
May 29, 2023
Great
Another great book by Diana Palmer. I loved this book and all of the characters. I can’t wait to read next book. I would recommend this book and all Diana’s books.
Another great book by Diana Palmer. I loved this book and all of the characters. I can’t wait to read next book. I would recommend this book and all Diana’s books.
November 16, 2023
The story of the third Marist sister.
January 11, 2024
Quick read. Witty, a bit cheesy and cringe-worthy. I enjoyed the banter between Esther and Butch.
January 17, 2024
Short story, fast moving.
March 2, 2024
Colorado Cowboy by Diana Palmer – Esther is fleeing her mother’s killer when she finds refuge with a stranger and his wolf in a snowstorm! A sweet, retired military western! Happy Reading!
June 1, 2024
Listened to audiobook
July 10, 2024
It was a nice read. It could use more editing.
September 28, 2024
It's a short read so everything moves quickly. I found it to be a fairly easy romance with a nice dose of suspense to keep me interested.
October 5, 2024
DNF
Hero’s name is Butch. Hers is Ester. They sounded like my grandparents in their 80’s. I couldn’t!
Hero’s name is Butch. Hers is Ester. They sounded like my grandparents in their 80’s. I couldn’t!
December 11, 2024
A sweet story
I loved this story. The characters were sweet and were perfect for each other. You will love this book. I Promise.
I loved this story. The characters were sweet and were perfect for each other. You will love this book. I Promise.
April 6, 2025
just great
Diana Palmer never fails to make me cry and laugh and look forward to the next book of hers I get. Thank you Ms Palmer for so many great reads.
Diana Palmer never fails to make me cry and laugh and look forward to the next book of hers I get. Thank you Ms Palmer for so many great reads.
August 11, 2025
wow, they fell together FAST. engaged on, day....2? alrighty then.
December 14, 2025
I love diana Palmer books and have many of her books. Recently i have noticed that the style and the story are very different
Ex the rancher's law, Colorado cowboy, once there was a lawman
Ex the rancher's law, Colorado cowboy, once there was a lawman
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews