Ridge Ranch Character Interview: Meet Isaac

Meet Isaac: An Interview with the Man Who Never Stopped Loving Her

As we close out the Ridge Ranch series with Loving Annie, we sat down with Isaac McGrath, former Navy corpsman, ranch hand, and the man who’s been quietly breaking our hearts since Finding Liv.

Q: Let’s start with the obvious—why did you leave Maple Creek all those years ago?

Isaac: Because staying would’ve broken me. I loved her. I still do. I tried to stay, tried to be a friend, but I couldn’t keep pretending it didn’t kill me to see her with him. He was my friend too and none of it made sense. 

I knew she wasn’t happy. He didn’t treat her the way she deserved, the way I would have. There was no way I could stay and watch him break her and for her to allow it to happen. That’s not the kind of pain you just live with. So I left. For her, and for me.

Q: Did you ever think you’d see her again?

Isaac: I didn’t. I figured that chapter in my life was closed. I tried to move on. And then I found her car wrecked in a snowstorm, everything shifted.

Q: How has your time at Ridge Ranch shaped the man you are now?

Isaac: In every way that matters. I called Conner a broken man and he offered me a place to stay and a job. The ranch gave me space to breathe again. After everything I saw and did in the military, and everything I left behind in Maple Creek, I needed that.

Out here, things are simpler. Honest. You show up, you work hard, you take care of your people. There’s healing in that kind of life. The animals don’t lie to you. The land doesn’t play games.

Ridge Ranch gave me more than a job. It gave me purpose. A second family. Without this place, I don’t know what type of man I’d be. Not one that deserves her that’s for sure.

Q: You’ve been the steady one for everyone else—who’s steady for you?

Isaac: That’s a tough one. For a long time, there was no one. I kept my head down, stayed busy, and convinced myself that was enough. Being needed felt safer than needing anyone.

But over time the ranch became that steady place. Conner, Ryan, the crew, they showed up. They didn’t push, but they didn’t let me disappear, either.

And now? It’s Annie. She always was, even when she didn’t know it. When she lets me in, really lets me in, there’s nothing steadier than that.

Q: What can readers expect from Loving Annie?

Isaac: Truth. Some of it’s messy. Some of it hurts. But it’s honest.

You’ll see what happens when two people who were never quite finished with each other get a second chance, even older, bruised, and carrying a lot more than they did the first time.

It’s about forgiveness. Letting go of guilt. Fighting for something real, even when it scares the hell out of you.

It’s not just a love story. It’s about finding your way home—sometimes to a place, sometimes to a person. And sometimes, if you’re lucky… both.