ANYWAY. Cowboys, ranchers. big deal. Same thing, different name, likely different pay grades in some places. Ranchers probably own most of their land, cowboys won’t always. (I almost made a bad joke about one night rodeos and the lack of distinction there, too, but managed to hold it back. Wait, no I didn’t.) There’s so much cultural mythology overlapping in these categories that the distinction is pretty meaningless.

None of that answers your ACTUAL question. Positions (were you trying to make a pun, BTW?) of power… I think you are right, but I think the Harlequin readers and writers are wrong in thinking that cowboys or ranchers have much power in the real world.

BTW, cowboy princes in medical school are called large animal vets close enough, anyway. And if I lose my mind then I will happily write you that book. If it’s got the same word count as the average Harlequin. Can it be a satire?