Wild Ride Rancher. Maureen Child
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from here and I couldn’t keep staring at it. The rain started and I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. He was all alone in there. Did he still care? Should I have cared? No. I should have left. But I didn’t.
This all started years ago, and what happened today was just a part of it all. So really, they set it all in motion way back when. Today was just another link in a long, ugly chain.
I did what I had to. Now, I wanted my stomach to stop spinning and my brain to stop racing. Nothing could change it, and I’m not sure I would change it even if I could. I came this far, there was no going back, and really...didn’t they have it coming after all I’d suffered?
Was it fair that only I was affected by those decisions made so long ago? Was it fair that I’d been forgotten and my pain buried? None of this was my fault.
None of it.
* * *
The cowboy was tall and broad shouldered, and had sun-streaked brown hair that lay just over his collar. His blue eyes were as clear as a Texas lake, and filled with the same mystery of what lay beneath the surface. He was staring at her with a steady fascination that kindled awareness and something more inside her.
He wore the Texas cowboy uniform of faded jeans, scuffed brown boots and a long-sleeved white shirt, rolled back to the elbows, displaying deeply tanned, strong forearms. He had a tight grip on his dust-colored Stetson, and just standing there, he seemed to take up all the room in her small office.
Breathing was harder than it should have been, and Chloe made a deliberate effort to drag air into her lungs. Instant attraction roared to life inside her, but Chloe dialed it down. He was probably there to arrange a party for his girlfriend. Or wife. Still, there was something about him that was almost overwhelming. She had been born and raised in Texas, so she was no stranger to the “western man.” But this one had such a compelling aura it was hard to be unaffected.
Silently, sternly, she told herself to dial it down.
“You’re Chloe, right?” His gaze swept her up and down before settling on her eyes. “I’m Liam Morrow. Sterling Perry sent me.”
Stunned, Chloe stared at him for only a moment longer. She’d been expecting some gruff, older guy, with a comfortable belly. She’d never considered that the foreman of a ranch the size of the Perry place could be so young and...hot.
“Oh, well, hi. Thanks for coming,” she said, recognizing that she was starting to burble. She took a breath. Okay, he wasn’t there to book a party, but that didn’t mean he was single. “You want some coffee? Water? That’s about it on the refreshment front, I’m afraid. But there’s a diner just down the street. We could go there and—”
He held up one hand and, as if she’d been trained, she closed her mouth and stopped talking. Well, that was irritating.
“I’m not here for snacks,” he said. “Sterling wants me to hear you out. So if you want to tell me your ideas, show me your plans, we can get through this meeting and I can get back to the ranch.”
Okay, hot didn’t excuse rude. “Wow,” she said. “Thank you for your complete attention.”
His beautiful blue eyes rolled. “Fine. Sorry. I’m here to listen, and that’s what I’m going to do. When we’re finished, I’ll let Sterling know if I think it’ll work on the ranch or not.”
“Okay.” Chloe could tell from his body language and his expression that he’d already made up his mind to say no. So it would be up to her to convince him. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time Chloe had had to fight for what she wanted.
She walked to her desk, one she’d taken from her old room at her parents’ house, and picked up a file folder. “Sterling actually told me that the decision would be yours because you know the ranch so well. I’m just hoping you’ll actually give me a chance and not dismiss the idea out of hand.”
He sighed, set his hat, crown down, on a tabletop, then folded his arms across his chest. He stood, feet braced apart as if ready for a fight and the move was so inherently sexy, she felt a fire kindle deep inside. Why she was reacting like this, Chloe had no idea. Maybe she just hadn’t been dating enough. Maybe this out of the blue wild attraction signaled that she should be getting out more and spending less time on her business.
But her burgeoning company was really all she was interested in these days. Chloe had worked really hard for a long time to break away from her parents’ expectations and plans for her life. She’d had other dreams that had dissolved under their scrutiny, but she was fighting for this one.
“I gave my word to hear you out. That’s why I’m here.”
The expression on his face told Chloe that he meant what he said, and that was good enough for her. He looked resigned, but she’d take it. If he was fair, then he would realize what a good idea she was proposing. And with his support, Sterling Perry would agree to give her the land she needed on his ranch to make this particular dream come true.
“That’s great.” She waved him to a chair, and he looked at it skeptically. It was a delicate, cane-backed chair with a small seat and narrow, hand-turned legs.
“Maybe I’ll stand,” he mused.
“The chairs are stronger than they look,” she assured him. Then, as if to prove it, she said, “When I was a kid, my friends and I used to stand on them to get out onto the roof so we could climb down the oak outside the house.”
Both eyebrows went up. Admiration? Disbelief? Who could tell?
“Yeah,” he said, shaking his head, “what were you, twelve? It’s not going to hold me, so I’ll stand.”
She shrugged, because really, what else could she do? Once her business started bringing in steady cash, she’d buy more furniture. Right now, that wasn’t high on her list of priorities. “Your choice. Now, what I wanted to talk to you about was—”
“A little girls’ camp set up on the Perry Ranch.”
Chloe stopped, tipped her head to one side and studied him briefly. “So Sterling told you about it.”
“Enough to know it’s a bad idea,” he said.
Chloe took a deep breath and bit back her first, instinctive response. She’d hoped that he would come into this with an open mind, but that hope was now crushed. Arguing with the man wouldn’t get her what she wanted. What she had to do was show him her plans and convince him that he was wrong. So she smiled, though it cost her.
“Not exactly prepared to give me a fair hearing, are you?”
He frowned. “I’m here. I’m listening. Convince me.”
His features were closed, his eyes shuttered, but he had a point. He was there, and she had this chance to show him what she could do. Chloe was used to having to fight for what she wanted, so today was no different. If she could stand up to her father and go against all of his many plans for her life, then she could certainly handle this.
“Okay, why don’t I show you my ideas, and then we can talk about it.”
He gave her a brief, almost regal, nod. “That’s why I’m here.”
But would he really listen? She’d have to take her chances and be damned convincing.
“Okay, that’s great.” She feigned bright confidence, then motioned for him to come around her desk. Once there, she opened up the file on her computer.
She got a quick thrill when she saw the title, the name of her soon-to-be-camp, Girls Can Do Anything. The man behind her snorted.
Chloe sent him a quick, hard look. Gorgeous or not, she didn’t like the attitude. “Do you disagree with my website design or the theme?”
If anything, his frown deepened. “I just think it’s crazy to