Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
“I know you have a crush on him.”
I scan the email. “Crush or not, it’s never happening. We work together.”
“Perfect. You can get busy in the barn and no one will blink an eye.”
“Real-life barns aren’t nearly as picturesque as Yellowstone makes them look.”
“Who cares? It’d be so hot. He could use, like, the reins from a horse to tie you up, and then he could bend you over a saddle—”
“Wheeler.”
“Sorry, sorry,” she says, laughing. “I’m just having too much fun living out my cowboy fantasies through you. The money is coming, Mollie. Thank you for that. I’m not saying it isn’t a huge deal, because it is. But we’re going to be fine. No, we’re going to be better than that. Bellamy Brooks is going to crush it. Which means you’re free to…have fun with reins and saddles.”
I roll my eyes again, even as my heart skips a beat. “I still have to finalize the stitching design on the Brittney boot. And I love the pebbled leather we chose for the Keira boot, but I’m not sure if I love love it. Then there’s all those invoices that are past due…”
“They’ll get paid on Thursday, when the money hits. We got this. I got this.”
“You shouldn’t have to deal with all this on your own. That’s not fair.”
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll have my own cowboy romance keeping me busy one day, and you can cover for me then. In the meantime, take me up on my offer to do the bulk of the work you’re talking about and go enjoy your time on your dad’s ranch. Sounds like the place is surprising you in all the best ways.”
My heart’s skipped several beats at this point. Lucky Ranch is surprising me. I am being kept busy and by a kind of romance too. Maybe I don’t only have a crush on Cash. Maybe I’m crushing on Hartsville, too, and Patsy and Happy and Ella and Maria.
I’m already head over heels in love with mornings on the ranch. And the sunsets, the stars—those are spectacular too.
“What I’m saying is, please run off with a cowboy,” Wheeler continues.
“Ha.”
Truth is, though, I’m more than a little tempted to do just that.
Which is why I feel a swoop of relief when, a couple of hours later, I hear the sound of tires on gravel. Glancing out the window, I see a big, shiny GMC pickup pull up to the house.
Funny, but even though Palmer’s car is a truck, it still looks out of place on the ranch. The shiny wheels maybe? Platinum grill?
Like I care. I asked Palmer to come for the weekend for one reason and one reason only.
Distraction. Nothing like some solid sex to clear cute cowboys from my head. Palmer is a good reminder that my stay on Lucky Ranch is temporary. My life is still in Dallas.
It will always be in Dallas. And Cash will always be in Hartsville.
Not like I’m looking for anything long-term anyway. But if I were—
I’d want to end up with someone like him.
Slamming my laptop shut, I dash to the bathroom. I yank off my glasses and put in my contacts, and then I’m at the front door to greet Palmer.
He looks better than ever as he smirks at me, pulling me in for a hug. “And you thought I wouldn’t come.”
“You always come.”
“Good one.” He squeezes me. “You’re welcome.”
I scoff. “You always say that.”
“I always mean it. What do you smell like?” He sniffs at my skin. “That’s new.”
“Eucalyptus. I take Epsom salt baths every night. Helps with the soreness.”
He grins. “You’re turning into a bona fide cowgirl, aren’t you? C’mon, then, Annie Oakley. Show me around your ranch. This place is sick.”
“You—wait, you actually want to see the ranch?” I furrow my brow. “I thought we’d, you know, just hang here.”
Palmer arches a brow. “We have plenty of time to hang. C’mon. I drove all the way out here, Mollie. I wanna do some country shit. See some horses, ride some four-wheelers. Go out and have beers at a dive bar.”
My stomach pitches when I think about the possibility of us running into Cash. Or any of the Rivers boys, really, because they’ll definitely tell their older brother about my visitor.
Why does the idea of Cash meeting Palmer—the idea of Cash knowing I invited the guy I hook up with to the ranch—make me feel queasy? Again, my intention in bringing Palmer here isn’t to make Cash jealous or anything. It’s to keep my feelings for that cowboy in check. I figure if I release some pent-up sexual energy, I’ll stop thinking about Cash’s Wrangler butt all the time.
I’ll stop wanting him so much.
I also don’t want to be a total dick to Palmer. He did just drive two hundred miles to see me. And so what if we run into Cash? His opinion of my friends—my hookups—doesn’t matter.