Page 3 of Taming the Billionaire Cowboy
“And miss the thrilling deadlines?”
She frowns. “Yes, even those.”
I groan. She acts like I’ll get used to this. Like I’ll enjoy it. She doesn’t get what it’s like to be the one at the top. “It’s hard,” I say, “to slow down when everyone’s counting on you.”
“They can count on you for a much longer time if you chill out now. It’s worth it.”
The car moves smoothly, and Marie is taking turns without missing a beat. I can’t stand how young and carefree she is. I should be doing all this, should be taking care of her, not the other way around. But I’m in no shape for it. Not now.
“Ever been on a ranch?” she asks.
It’s a weird, random question. “Does my lawn count?”
She laughs. “My family used to go on a ranch vacation every summer. It’s good for you. Slower pace, fresh air, that whole thing.”
I try to picture myself sitting on a porch, nothing but time and grass. It makes me dizzy, or maybe I’m still dizzy from the panic attack earlier. “What’s the point?” I ask. “Chase chickens, rope cattle?”
She shakes her head. “Being bored, not really having much to do… it helps you figure stuff out. Like how to chill. How not to have panic attacks and die of a weak heart.” Her turn signal ticks as we wind around a corner. “You’d like it more than you think.”
“I bet it’s as boring as it sounds.”
“That’s the idea.”
I grumble and feel another tightness in my chest, this one born of lists and tasks I can’t attend to, lists that are suddenly as longas my life feels short. It’s nothing I can go to a doctor for. There’s no pill for a type A personality.
“I’ll put it on my calendar,” I say, pulling out my phone.
“Put your calendar away.” She nabs my phone from my hand and tosses it onto the back seat. “I’ll book you a stay somewhere.”
But I’m shaking my head. I already know that I don’t want to be around other people, even if they’re only staff catering to my needs. If I’m going to do this vacation at all, I want to do it properly.
“I have a better idea,” I tell her, suddenly feeling the best I have all day.
CHAPTER 2
CARLY
Some people run away to the circus. In my case, it’s a ranch. It has fewer elephants, sure, but it makes up for it in sheep and goats, among other things.
Brushing a lock of hair out of my face, I tilt my hat against the sun and soak in the smell of dust and grain and Texas, a smell so familiar it’s like seeing my mother’s face. It’s another gorgeous day at Blazing Trails Ranch, my home away from home, where everything has its place, including me.
“CARLY! Get your lazy hide over here!”
Smirking, I turn around from where I’m facing the West Fields and take my gloves off. Mack is just kidding — I know my boss would take a bullet for me before actually insulting me — and I already have a few ideas for retaliatory insults brewing in my head.
Tucking my gloves into my jeans, I head his way, past Wyatt, the other ranch hand, who’s fixing up the tractor. Mack’s sitting at a makeshift table outside the office with two glasses of lemonade and an expression I can’t quite read.
“Better be good lemonade if you’re interrupting my work for it,” I say, then tack on an “old man.”
“Best you’ve ever tasted.” he drawls. “It’s fresh out of the can.”
We both laugh, but I can tell there’s something on his mind. He’s quiet for a moment, which is unusual. Mack doesn’t do quiet, unless there’s a reason.
“Listen, Carly.” His lips are drawn thin.
I take a seat next to him. “What? What is it?”
“I’ve got news, and I need you to hear it from me.”
