Page 64 of Taming the Billionaire Cowboy
I drop my phone onto the desk and bury my face in my hands. When did everything get so complicated? When I went to Miralena, it was supposed to be a short break, a chance to reset before diving back into work. I never expected to find a woman who would challenge me, make me laugh, and support me. I never expected to care so deeply for her son, to see myself in him and to want to be the father figure he deserves.
I never expected to fall in love.
My phone buzzes with another call from Dave. This time, I answer.
“We need to talk about the Parker acquisition,” he says without any preamble. “The numbers aren’t adding up.”
“I’ll be right there,” I respond automatically, already standing and reaching for my jacket.
But as I head for the door, I catch sight of my reflection in the window — tired eyes, tension in my jaw, shoulders hunched with the weight of responsibility.
Is this who I want to be? Is this the life I want?
The questions follow me as I step into the empty hallway, my footsteps echoing in the silence.
CHAPTER 27
CARLY
The sun glares through the trees on Blazing Trails Ranch, and I lean into it, hoping to forget how I felt before Oliver left. How perfect it was, how happy.
My eyes burn and water, and I don’t know if it’s the light or the heartache, but I push the thoughts aside, urging myself toward something else. I’ve done it before. I can do it again.
Grabbing my phone, I call my lawyer, hoping to get his voicemail. Instead, it’s his chipper voice that greets me.
“Carly! How’s the future ranch owner?” he asks.
“Great,” I lie. “Any update on the transfer?”
He goes over the details, talks about paperwork, says it’s all coming together. I hold my breath, not knowing whether I’m hoping he’ll say it will be done tomorrow or next month.
“We should have it finalized in a few days,” he tells me. “There are a lot of moving pieces with this amount of property.”
“I’m sure.”
He hesitates, his voice growing softer. “This is a huge opportunity, Carly. You and your boy will be set for life.”
Not just a local lawyer, Steve is someone who’s known me since I was a kid. He’s seen my ups and downs in life, knows how I live and breathe the land.
“I know, Steve. Thank you. I should get back to work. Talk soon.” I hang up and pocket the phone.
The horses are out in the field, the sky wide above them. I should be with them, running wild, but instead I’m standing here, trying not to feel abandoned.
The truth is, I should have known better. I should have listened to my gut when it came to Oliver. If I had, I wouldn’t be standing here so heartbroken.
But at least I have the ranch. I had swallowed my pride and texted him to tell him that I’d accept it. That counts for something, right?
Focusing on the next steps, I call a few numbers, seeing if I can find help for everything I want to do. Miles is a hard worker, but this ranch is too big for only two people to run, even as it is. If I want to add more events, I’ll need to staff up big time.
I head to the stables, thinking of the birthday parties I’ll book, the weddings I’ll need to arrange. I should be excited, but the plans feel like obligations now, like something I didn’t sign up for. I go over them anyway because I have to. Because that’s who I am. I go over and over the plan, like a broken record, hoping if I say it enough, I’ll believe it, hoping if I say it enough, it will make me forget him.
It will take three new hires, maybe four. I’ll have to rely on my mom and Ferris, too, to help with Bradley more. Then maybe hire a few high school kids for weekends and busy seasons.
I need to make a list, need to get organized, but my brain is all over the place and the only list I can make is a mental one. A family that I’ll never have. A dream I’ll never reach. A heart that will never stop getting broken.
I push harder, throwing myself into the work, ignoring the empty feeling that nothing I do will fill. I do what I’m good at - making do. There’s enough furniture from Mack’s time here that I can sell some of it to cover Miles’ wages for the next month. And Oliver paid me so much that I was putting most of it in savings, but now I’ll have to rely on that, at least until things are properly up and running.
The house looks different already, and I like to pretend it’s all mine, all Carly, nothing of him left behind. But I know the truth. I’m as much a coward as he is. As much as I pretend I’m not bothered, I’m the one still running, still moving out before I move in.
