Page 34 of Taming the Billionaire Cowboy
“I can have the ranch taken care of while you’re gone.” She looks back at me. ‘“I know a few people who can help out here and there.”
“Great. Thank you. I planned on asking you about that today - if you’d be my, uh, forewoman. Run the place when I’m not around.”
“I would love to.” She grins. “You could try to keep me away, of course…”
I snort. “You? If you stopped breaking in to muck stalls in the middle of the night, I don’t think you would be Carly anymore.”
So it’s settled then. No matter how long or how often I decide to stay here — and regardless of my reasons for staying— it’s possible.
Carly goes quiet again, and I let the silence stretch out between us. It’s not uncomfortable — at least not for me. The tension that was once there because of our misunderstandings and mistrust has subsided, making room for something else.
I glance at her, but she’s gazing out the window, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. She stays like that the entire ride back to the ranch, only snapping out of her reverie when I pull into the driveway.
“Hey,” I say, turning the truck off. She jerks a little, as if she’d forgotten where she was.
“Sorry, I was just…” She doesn’t finish, closing her eyes and shaking her head slightly. “Did you say you wanted to be here more permanently?”
“Yeah,” I reply, hoping my sincerity shows. I can now appreciate the ranch for what it really is — a chance to change my life. To slow down and enjoy the simpler things, just like Marie was hoping I would.
“And you’re okay with me being at the ranch?”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Why is she asking me this? Is she hoping I’ll change my mind?
“But what if I make some changes? Some…big changes?” She looks at me, warily.
“Like…?”
She hesitates, like she’s unsure about whether or not to open up.
But then she seems to decide to go for it, because she takes a deep breath and says, “Before you bought the ranch, we had events and lessons here. It was how the ranch made its money.”
“Right.” I nod. Those aren’t things the ranch needs anymore, since I have a separate income that supports it.
“I’d like to go back to doing that. What do you think? It’s just, it’s so important for the community. And, if you’re okay with it, I’d like to introduce more education-based stuff for the visitors. Interactive elements to educate people about the animals and conservation efforts.”
Her face is serious, her gaze steely as she waits for me to respond. And I realize she’s asking for more than my approval - she’s asking for my trust.
“That sounds like a great idea,” I say honestly, watching as relief transforms her features. “Education and conservation go hand in hand with a place like this.”
A smile tugs at her lips, and there it is again — an invisible force pulling us together, making the space between us ripple with energy and awareness. She’s glancing at me, her gaze shifting from my eyes to my lips, and if she doesn’t look away soon, I’m going to kiss her.
“Carly—”
Suddenly, she jumps out of the truck, ending the moment. “Sorry to keep talking your ear off. I’ll get to work.”
“You weren’t…” But there’s no point in finishing the sentence. She’s already disappearing around the edge of the stable, an angel vanishing from view.
CHAPTER 15
CARLY
The ranch unfolds around me, every creaking fence and weathered board welcoming me back like it knows my heart, my hopes. My fears, too.
Even though I try not to let them grow too large.
I feed the horses, breathing in the scent of hay and the open, endless sky. Thoughts of Oliver loop around my mind with every task, making me wonder how a man who was a stranger two weeks ago now occupies so much space in my head. I’m trying to puzzle him out, trying to make sense of how he’s so full of surprises and what it all means for me.
He’s good with Bradley, but that’s one more reason to guard myself and my son from disappointment. He offered to fix my car, which still has me reeling. And he plans to stay, a notion I can hardly get my heart around.
