Page 51 of Ranch Rules

“Sure.” The other girl’s voice was more somber than it had been the entire time they’d been together. “I’m still up for showing you how, you know, if we see each other later.”

“Yeah. If we see each other,” Natalie echoed. She turned to go, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“If it helps... Thomas is very businesslike. I’ve seen a lot of girls come and go. And I know it hasn’t been long, but he sure looks like a man in love to me.”

She turned and offered a smile. “Thanks for saying that.”

“Sure.”

When Lora moved her hand, she began to walk back toward the ranch, grateful that the other girl didn’t follow. She liked Lora, and she knew she had made a friend here. But was what Lora said true? Had she made something more than a friendship during the short time she’d been here? Or was it as she’d expected—she was a job, and nothing more? He sure fucked like a man in love, but... maybe he, like Lora, was something of an actor.

She had felt elated at Lora’s comment initially, but right on its heels was a huge smattering of doubt. Who fell in love in a matter of days? An idiot, that’s who.

And more than that, he’d taken a confident, successful woman and made her call him Daddy. Natalie clenched her fists at her sides. She’d been such a fool. A lonely, lovesick fool. And clearly he didn’t feel the same way, or he would have said so. Lora wanted to believe that it was true because it had happened for her, but she was just one of the lucky ones.

Now that her eyes had been opened, Natalie knew she couldn’t stay. Not for three more days—not for another minute. She had to get out of here, fast, before Thomas came back and made her believe she was something she wasn’t. That he cared for her beyond the employee/customer relationship. He was providing a service, that was all. And not one she even wanted.

Her heart was pounding in her ears. She’d been a fool. A stupid, ridiculous fool. And she should know better! Of all people, she was a cynical, experienced woman. She couldn’t believe she’d allowed some sweet-talking cowboy to get under her skin, to make her think that they had anything other than a business relationship.

Of course, even as the thoughts ran through her mind, Natalie secretly hoped she would find Thomas waiting in the room, ready to put all her fears to rest. She was holding her breath as she opened the door. When she saw the empty room, her heart sank all the way down to her stomach.

He wasn’t here. Of course he wasn’t. She had no idea where he was, or when he would get back, and she wasn’t going to go looking for him.

Blinking back a sudden onslaught of tears, Natalie entered the room, closed the door behind her, and began to pack her stuff.

* * *

Almost from the momentthat she’d pulled out of the driveway at Discipline Ranch, things had started to go wrong. It had begun to rain, a slow drizzle that turned into steady streams that left her windshield wipers working triple time. Even with the wipers on the fastest setting, it was only just enough to keep her moving at a snail’s pace—thirty-five miles an hour.

“At this rate, I’ll never get home,” she muttered to her empty car.

That was something she desperately wanted, not that she had anyone waiting for her at home, but just so she could put this mess behind her. She’d been such a fool.

Hadn’t she? Maybe she should turn back. She hadn’t given Thomas a chance to defend himself, to convince her...

But why should she need to be convinced? What did it say about her that she was so desperate to be loved by a man? Pathetic. If the partners at Briggs & Spric could see her now, they’d strip her of her partnership for sure.

Besides, the idea was ridiculous. People didn’t just fall in love in a weekend anyway, so what did she expect?

Too much. That was the answer. She’d expected too much.

“It’s going to be fine,” she tried to convince herself. “I’ll be fine. I’ll throw myself back into work and forget all about...” She winced at the sadness in her own voice. And more than that, she had just realized that leaving early meant she didn’t fulfill her promise. What would Mr. Dawson say? Would he let her go because she hadn’t stayed?

Natalie steeled herself against the panic that threatened to consume her. “It’s going to be okay,” she murmured. “I won’t mention it, and I doubt anyone from the ranch is going to call my boss. And Mr. Dawson will get too hung up on work to call either. It’ll be fine.”

She should have felt reassured—she could imagine it working out exactly as she’d said. But that didn’t make her feel better, and for once, it had nothing to do with work. After all, she had experienced a life that was more than ‘fine’ and now that she had, she didn’t know if going back to status quo would be enough.

Don’t be ridiculous. It had to end sometime. No fairy tale lasts forever.

Except if he really loved me, she answered her inner cynic. That was what she was afraid of. What if he did love her and she was running away from the only man who would ever see through her, to the real her, and the lonely little girl inside?

Natalie gripped the steering wheel tighter, shaking her head to banish the thoughts. But hard as she tried, she couldn’t. Because the truth was, though she’d used the Daddy excuse to leave, she hadn’t really minded his extra-special attention, had she? It had felt nice. More than nice, even. It had felt right. She just hadn’t wanted to admit it. And now she was leaving as fast as she could, running away from the only man who had ever made her feel that loved and she might never find it again.

Even if he didn’t love her, if she was being honest, she wasn’t sure she loved him, either. She’d never been in love, so how would she know? All she was certain of was that she came alive when she was with him, she felt safe enough to be her real, truest self, faults and all. Natalie wanted to explore that feeling. She wanted to get to know him better. Maybe, over time, love could grow from there.

And, then again, maybe she was just a client, a business arrangement that got him paid at the end of the week, but she hadn’t even given him the chance to tell her which.

Natalie sped up, then had to slam the brakes when the torrents of rain parted long enough to show her there was a car in front of her. Flipping her turn signal on, she moved to the left lane and, when it was clear as far as she could tell, she did a U-turn. She couldn’t leave things like this. Maybe it wouldn’t work out the way she wanted, maybe she would be disappointed by his answers, but she had to at least give him the opportunity to speak for himself rather than make assumptions.

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