I loved The Rancher’s Secret Son. This is very much a second chance at love story as Montana Rancher Eli Merrick comes to grips with the news that he has a sixteen year-old son courtesy of a one night stand with the girl of his dreams when he was seventeen. Blind Freddy could see that Eli and Piper belong together but it takes these two a while to work things out. Throw in their son Tristen, who’s never spent time on a ranch and resents his father for making him work and there are plenty of opportunities for sparks to fly.
This story was appealing from the first page. I loved the way this little family worked things out. Truly entertaining reading!

Piper and Eli will make you bang your head against the wall. Their chemistry is hot, but neither one will tell the other how they feel and it causes miscommunication.
The writing is good and will suck you into Piper and Eli's emotions. Told in multiple POV's and can be read as a standalone.
I really liked this second chance romance even though the characters actions drove me crazy.

Eli has not seen Piper for years. Sixteen years ago they hooked up when his brother Lucas broke up with her. Eli always had a thing for her, but he stepped back when his brother started dating her. He is surprised to see Piper, but the bigger surprise is the teenage boy standing next to her- he looks just like Eli. Piper knows it was wrong of her not to tell Eli he had a son. He has lost so much time with him, but she was trying to preserve his relationship with Lucas. After all these years the pull of attraction is still there and strong as ever. When the move to Montana to allow for Eli to get to know his son things start to change. How can they be around each other and not act on it? Just maybe the feeling in mutual and they have a chance at happiness.

In this book Piper Beauregard has kept a secret from her friends as to how the father of her 16 year old son is. This all comes to a head though when she moves back to a place where she grew up for a while to open up a new business. When the Merrick brothers come to help move one of the other ones they notice a boy outside the home and at first thinking it was Lucas being the father who was dating Piper at the time it turns out Eli is the father. Lucas who had been dating her broke up with her the night of the prom and Eli driving on the road found her walking. One thing led to another because he had always liked her and there you have it. Now 16 years later he is pissed which I get but he begins to order the boy around and tells her he is taken him to another town. I don’t know about you but at 16 I had problems doing what my own father wanted let alone some man I had never seen before, so it would have been a cold day before I went and what mother is going to say okay. Feeling guilty she agrees and goes with them, but Eli for the first part of the book acts like a jerk. He then starts to come around when Piper starts to stand up for herself when Eli thinks she still likes Lucas, hello he dumped her you jerk, and if you really liked her so much why didn’t you find out where her family moved to and go find her? Now 16 years later you want act all butt hurt while she was raising a child. Not a bad story just had issues here and there.

A 16 year old secret brings Piper and Eli back into each other's company. Good contemporary western romance. Always enjoy the books set in Marietta, Montana.
Ebook from net galley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

All Merrick brothers were trying to help his sister Maddy (Book Chase) to pack up their childhood home and move to Montana. What he didn’t know was he had a 16 years old son he never knew about. When he finds out he had a son with Piper, he demands Piper to move with him to Montana or else he would fight for custody.
Piper never thought Eli would fight for her son, so she decided to move with them to Montana. She felt guilty for not giving Eli a chance to know his son so she thought this would be good opportunity for both to get to know each other.
Eli is not a sensitive nor charming person. (at least for me) When they moved to Montana, he wanted to raise his son to be tough so he really worked him hard at the ranch. Piper and Eli had strong attraction but they decided it would be best to stay part while they were raising their son.
There is more story to secret son. There are Little complicating story between Piper and Eli. Eli was in love with Piper before she went out with his older brother Lucas. He had to watch her from afar. When she was dumped by Lucas on the night of prom, she seek the comfort from Eli and he became her first.,
Eli and Piper are attracted to each other but they have talk to Lucas about their high school years. (Both felt they have to go over what happen in high school after all these years and they can’t really talk to each other?) (This part seems way too drag way too long)
Now will they become a real family or just living across from each other.

I did like Tristan had his own voice in book. (Best part of it) Eli, Piper and Lucas’s drama just seem too much but I liked all her other brothers. I just hope there is a book for Wyatt and his funky landlord Amelia.
I would give 3 1/2 ⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and Tule Publishing for ARC in exchange for honest review.

This is the first book I have read in this series and while It can easily be read on its own I think it would be even better if I had read the first book first. This is a really good secret child/second chance romance and it has plenty of drama and a really good plot. I liked the characters but it did take me awhile to warm to Eli he is not an easy man to like. I enjoyed it and will be checking out the first book

A great read itwas funny and i really enjoyed it cant wait to read moreit keeps your attention and i really cant wait to read about the rest of the brothers

This story is a mixed bag for me. I think that maybe it would be better to read the first story before starting this one. I had no problems with the story or the writing itself. I just had a hard time feeling the connection between Eli and Piper. He was an overbearing jerk to Piper thru most of the book. Piper was a good mother, but she kind of wimped out with Eli by apologizing again and again. And as I said before, I think reading the first story might have answered a few questions I had. Not a bad story, but I did not care much for Eli.

I received a review copy thru NetGalley

A fun story with a complex situation. Finding out his one night stand resulted in a baby boy (who is now 16), Eli takes him and Piper back to Montana to the newest ranch. A new house, and co-owned by Eli and his brothers and sister and her husband, there are plenty of potential for more romance books to come. For the most part, when I see the story is set in Marietta I have rarely found a book I didn't enjoy. This one is no exception. Highly recommend this book and found it hard to put down.

The Rancher’s Secret Son (The Montana Merricks Book 2) by Barbara Dunlop. This is Rancher Eli Merrick and Piper Beauregard’s story.

I really enjoyed Eli and Piper’s story. There are so many hurdles that Eli and Piper need to overcome to find true love. Can Eli forgive Piper for not telling him he has a son who is now sixteen? Is there still chemistry between them?

Eli’s character may come off harsh but the man has missed so much of his son’s life. Plus Eli has always had feelings for Piper. But does Piper feel the same? I enjoyed Eli and Piper’s son’s (Tristen) character too.

FYI, contains mature content. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Eli discovers he has a son, he's sixteen now and he will stop at nothing to be part of his son's life now. Piper can understand why Eli might be mad but how can he overstep her as a parent. First and foremost her son comes first and if she has to bump heads with Eli she will. Can they come together and work towards co-parenting for there son or will the past be in the forefront of there minds and be to much to overcome?

I really enjoyed this book I could not put it down. I loved reading more about Marrietta Montana and the Merrick brothers. Love stories are not always glitter and rainbows and that was the case with this love story. All the pain, anger and heartache were there just as much as the chemistry jumps off the pages. I loved how not only the author told Eli and Piper's story but she also shared the struggle's and story of Tristen. This book does have adult language and scenes in it. I loved how this book was a quick and easy read and you really can't put it down. You won't be disappointed.

After 16 years Eli finds out that a one night stand with his teenage crush has created a son. After finding out he makes that Piper moves with their son on his family ranch. Although they fell strong chemistry between them they are fighting it and it gets stronger every day. What can I say about the story it was emotionally, but I didn't get Piper and her reasons not to be with Eli after they cleared the past. Eli was also confusing especially his jealousy toward his brother. The story has a lot of family drama and growing up teenagers problems and a lot of grown-up love problems.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

The Rancher´s Secret Son is a great story that was fun and captivating at the same time. It´s well written and has a good story-line.
It´s a about a father that steps up when it´s needed and turns a bad situation around to a good one.
It´s also about finding your one true love and believing in love. Great romance read.

2.75 The Rancher's Secret Son is the second book in the Montana Merricks, Book 1 Chase is also part of the American Extreme Bull Riders Tour series. I don’t mind this author but this one was only an ok read for me, but don't let that deter you it is only one opinion. Will I read more by this author, A big YES but this one just wasn’t one of her best.

This is a romance that is hot, steamy and sexy. Barbara Dunlop did an excellent job of developing all the different characters in this novel. The Merrick family is one you won't soon forget. Every one of the brothers including the brother-in-law, gets better than the last one. Each with his own interest and personalities, a lawyer, pilot, bull rider and rancher. What more could you want? Barbara paints a beautiful and interesting picture of Marietta, Montana. It sounds like a perfect place to raise a teenage son. It is a contemporary romance with plenty of heat.
I received a copy of this book from Tule Publishers through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the second book in the series. I recommend reading the first book in the series to fully appreciate the storyline and the characters. I love the Marietta, Montana setting. This is a great second chance at love story, but a big secret may destroy any chance at a future. I’ve read several books by Barbara Dunlop and enjoy her stories.

This is book two in The Montana Merricks series. This is Eli's story.

A one night stand with his brother Lucas's girlfriend, one who had just had her heart broken by Lucas and has resulted in a son Eli had no idea he had, until Piper had no choice but to return to Deadwood, South Dakota.

Now Eli is dead set on getting to know Tristan and his first aim is to make sure Piper is going to be a permanent part of his life, a life he is going to build with both Piper and Tristan in it.

A thoroughly enjoyable Western romance, fast paced and includes family drama and lots of cowboy love.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tule Publishing for the opportunity to read and review. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

I enjoyed this second chance romance. It was a quick read and I liked that Tristian, their son, had some screen time dealing with his issues. Both characters were decently developed, though they lacked a little bit of the story of what happened in the 16 years they were apart, as well as they why Piper left town those many years ago. I appreciated that the story mostly focused on the what was happening instead of the lots of in head constant ramblings that seem to dominate some books. Overall, an enjoyable story. * I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

We knew from the first book in this series (Maddy Merrick Barrett's and Chase Garrett's story) that Piper had a history with the Merrick family but the hints were pointing to her ex-boyfriend Lucas. Turns out that Eli had feelings for her way back to high school that he couldn't act on because she was dating Lucas. The night Lucas breaks up with her, she runs into Eli, loses her virginity to him and leaves town. Back in town, she is not alone, her son - who is clearly a Merrick - is with her. Lucas is confused because they never slept together and then the past is revealed. Eli is furious that Piper kept his son from him and hustles Piper and Tristen back to the new ranch the Merricks and Chase Garrett have bought. Eli is not an easy man by any means but there is a true heart under his tough exterior. Misunderstandings abound on their way to HEA. There are great secondary storylines of Maddy's and Piper's friendship, Eli and his brothers (incl. lots of drama!), Tristen's love life and more. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.