The Ranch Hand Diaries: Second Act, First Rodeo

At fifty-five, Lance "Nels" Nelson had his glide path to retirement perfectly manicured: spreadsheets, timelines, and enough Sauvignon Blanc to soften the edges of daily corporate life. Then a sudden layoff yanks the rug out from under him, leaving Nels with a severance package, a cookbook vision, and a terrifying amount of time to wonder what comes next.

With help from his golden retriever husband, Buchanan "Buck" DeWitte, Nels attempts to rebrand himself from project manager to lifestyle domestic icon. Unfortunately, soufflés collapse, budgets tighten, and their once-comfortable Denver life starts looking less like a forever home and more like a very expensive holding pattern.

When Buck's own thirty-year finance career gets tangled in a Texas-sized corporate mess, the couple heads north for what is supposed to be a temporary reset: ninety days in a doublewide trailer on a dusty Northern Colorado tree farm owned by Nels' no-nonsense sister. The farm needs help. The event center needs events. The Mercantile needs someone with retail instincts, vintage Pyrex opinions, and the ability to turn chaos into an Instagram caption.

What begins as a practical family favor quickly becomes something much bigger. Between sunflower patches, barn dances, weather-obsessed farmers, shirtless tractor moments, budget coffee, surprise friendships, and one dangerously charming social media account, Nels and Buck discover that country life may not be the detour.

It may be the destination.

Funny, heartfelt, and proudly Gen X, Second Act, First Rodeo is an LGBTQ comedy about reinvention, chosen family, rural chaos, and the terrifying joy of realizing the life you planned might not be the life you want after all.

Second Act, First Rodeo, by Dave Nygaard, launches The Ranch Hand Diaries comedy series with a funny, heartfelt LGBTQ rom-com about midlife reinvention, chosen family, accidental internet fame, and finding joy when the life you planned falls apart.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: David Nygaard
Published: 09/04/2026
ISBN: 9798997445607
Pages: 492
Weight: 0.96lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.00w x 1.22d