“I could’ve helped with that,” he muttered, more to himself than me.
“A snake in the grass will always be just that,” I reminded him, my voice saccharine sweet. Nick blinked, mulling over my statement before he flicked his unruly from his eyes with a shake of his head.
“Can I help with the horses?” he asked.
I shrugged as I picked up a brush and headed towards the chestnut mare, her tail flicking expectantly. With the weather getting a little cooler, it was easier for me to bathe them indoors some days, and today was one of them especially with the number of strangers wandering on and off the property.
Taking my silence as a sign of assent, he mimicked my movements, moving to the other side of the horse, murmuring to her under his breath. The mare stilled at first, eyeballing him carefully before she snorted and relaxed, recognizing that he wasn’t a danger to her.
Maybe she even remembered him, considering she’d been around when he was younger, albeit much smaller than she was now.
“Look, I don’t know how many more times you want me to apologize,” Nick began. “You weren’t supposed to find out.”
I shot him a sharp look, eyes narrowed into slits. “Excuse me?”
“Not like that I mean,” he added, hastily. “I’m sorry, Gwen. I didn’t know what else to do.”
Chapter 4
NICK.
I had the insane urge to grab the nearest bucket and douse myself with the water, maybe shake some sense into that beat up old brain of mine. This was not going how I pictured it, at all.
Seeking out Gwen had been easy enough. She tended to gravitate towards the horses and any chores pertaining them. Luckily for her, they seemed to be plenty. But what I hadn’t expected was how tenacious she truly was.
There she was, trying to carry that pail of water on her own, and when I tried to offer my help, she brushed me off like I was no more than a mosquito, buzzing around and annoying her.
Granted, I deserved that kind of behavior. I wasn’t exactly proud of myself for the way I handled things, but she hadn’t given me a chance to explain. If she did, I would tell her the truth: that I never meant to her.
That part was true.
Unfortunately, it was the other half of it that I couldn’t make up for, seeing as how no apology in the world was big enough or sincere enough to excuse my actions towards her.
Still, we didn’t need to dwell on that.
I had bigger fisher to fry, after all, and so did she. As long as she continued to work on the ranch, she was in the thick of it all, in the eye of the storm so to speak, and I needed to figure out a way to get her back on my side, rather than working against me, hissing from the other side of the fence.
Admittedly, it was for my own personal reasons...but at least they weren’t nefarious. I had no intention of tearing down the ranch. Quite the opposite, in fact. I planned on replacing all the old tiles with brand new ones, updating the entire system and revamping up.
Basically, I was going to give it a makeover, and I knew of several people, including a bull-headed blonde, who weren’t going to be too happy with changes, given how it would change the ranch on a fundamental level.
But, at least it would still be around, I told myself.
I just needed to make them understand that. Once I did, things would go a lot smoother. In any case, it all had to start with an apology, articulate and concise, hitting all the right points.
Or at least, that was the point of following her into the barn and offering to help with the horses. Instead, what followed was one blunder after the other, as if my mouth had a mind of its own, and I couldn’t wrangle it no matter how hard I tried.
Shit.
I stopped brushing the mare’s hair and sighed, using my free hand to rake my hands through my hair, making it stand out in tufts atop my head. My mouth pressed into a thin line as I tried to backtrack, to come up with something to salvage the mess I’d created, but I could tell that Gwen was already doubting my words, the weight of them doubtful in light of things.
“You have no reason to believe me,” I admitted, allowing my hands to fall limply to my side. “In fact, I wouldn’t blame if you didn’t.”
“I don’t,” Gwen agreed without preamble and without looking up at my face. I flinched and squared my shoulders, knowing that I deserved every bit of her aggravation. “So, you can stop wasting your time.”
“It’s not a waste of time,” I insisted. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but it doesn’t mean we can’t work together.”
She snorted and raised an eyebrow, her blue eyes regarding as me I’d sprouted three heads and one of them started singing in Japanese. “I don’t know how it works in the city, but around these parts, if you betray someone’s trust, it’s a pretty clear warning signal. It means you should skedaddle and stay the hell away from them.”
I exhaled, counting backward from five before I answered, drawing on whatever patience I had. She was being narrow minded and making it personal when it didn’t need to be, failing to see the bigger picture.
“Normally, I would agree, but not in this case. You and I have something in common.”
Gwen muttered something dark under her breath I didn’t quite catch, but it didn’t sound flattering, so I pretended I didn’t hear her, pushing forward.
“I know you think I’m bad, but I’m the lesser of two evils. You don’t even know what other buyers would do this to ranch.”
“You make it sound like I know what you’re going to do,” she pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Well, I’m not going to sell it, for starters,” I replied. “So, you don’t have to worry about that. If I get the ranch, you have as much to gain as I do.”
She pursed her lips. “How is that?”
“Because you’ll get to keep your life as it is without any kind of disruption from me,” I told her, sincerity coating my tone. I couldn’t make her see the truth, but I could try to paint it for her in a way she would understand. “If I get the ranch, I’m not likely to come down here a lot, so for the most part, you get to continue as if nothing happened.”
“Something smells fishy,” Gwen commented, wrinkling her nose.
I sniffed. “I don’t get it.”
“It means, I don’t believe you. You just want to own the ranch without caring for it, so whatever nonsense you’re selling isn’t going to work on me.”
“But the other ranchers will do much worse, and you know it,” I protested, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. “When you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas.”
I didn’t understand why she couldn’t see that. Making a deal with the devil wasn’t the better option here, and their bad traits would rub off on if her if she wasn’t careful.
“I’ll take my chances,” Gwen retorted.
Chapter 5
NICK.
Sure, I saw the whole thing playing out differently in my head, imagining the moment when she realized it was better for us to be allies than enemies, especially with her on the fringes, but it hadn’t gone that way.
Not even close.
She seemed determined to hate me, to assume the worst, and I guess I understood why, but it didn’t make it any easier to wrap my head around it. After all, it wouldn’t have been much better if I’d been honest from the beginning.
In all likelihood, Gwen still would’ve been mad me, only then she probably would’ve laughed in my face or slapped me right across the cheek, her hand leaving a sharp imprint.
I wouldn’t admit to anyone, but she sure did have a strong arm, and although the slap she gave me weeks ago still echoed in my brain, the memory of it ringing true, it was my pride that was hurt more than anything else.
Regardless, all roads would’ve led to the same outcome – not that it excused my behavior or anything, but it did put things into perspective. I wished she could try to understand where I was coming from.
After all, I was still here though everyone looked at me like
I was going to pull a Houdini and vanish in a cloud of purple smoke. But I wasn’t going to be deterred that easily. As a man who was accustomed to working hard to get what I wanted, I wasn’t going to let this small hiccup stop me.
Sooner or later, Gwen would trust me again, and when she did, she would see the light and agree to my terms, a fake relationship that benefitted all parties. How could she not? I wondered.
It was the perfect set up.
The issue was figuring out how to get her to open up to me again, considering I could barely stand within five feet without her snorting derisively or muttering under her breath.
I’d dealt with a lot of angry women in my life, had even managed to placate them fairly easily I might add, but I had never seen anyone stick to her guns the way Gwen did. No matter what I did, ranging from expensive gifts to extravagant promises, she was undeterred, her blue eyes appraising me before she turned and walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Yes, she was a woman of integrity through and through.
My phone rang, the shrill sound interrupting his train of thought. Hastily, I fished it out of my pocket and pressed it to my ear. “Matt, please tell me you have good news.”
“I’m afraid not,” he replied grimly. “I’ve been pouring over the contract, but it is iron clad, Nick. Your grandfather sure knew what he was doing when he inserted that condition. My guess is he spent time thinking about it, too.”
My heart dropped to my feet. “So, there’s no loophole?”
“I’ve looked everywhere,” Matt responded. “But no, there doesn’t seem to be. Either you choose a woman who will take care of the ranch, or bow out.”
I gritted my teeth and pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to ward off the headache that threatened to burst out from behind my eyelids. Like anyone else in the world, I hated bad news, but more than anything else, having something within my reach, only to have it ripped away, pissed me off even more.
Without Gwen, I might as well kiss the ranch goodbye because it was unlikely I would find someone who cared as much as she did. Presumably, there would be some kind of test or a measurement, and it wasn’t hard to see it with Gwen.
Just the way she looked at the ranch with love and pride shining in the depths of her eyes was enough. Anyone else would be nothing but a fake, gold-plated compared to the real thing.
I hung up on Matt and paced my room, unable to think of a way out of this predicament. It appeared as if I wasn’t going back to the city anytime soon.
With that thought firmly in mind, I changed out of my clothes and into a loose flannel shirt in the back of the closet along with an old pair of jeans. I paired them with a pair of boots I thought to add at the last second and went down to the stables, a myriad of memories playing out in my mind’s eye, from running around barefoot in the mud to screaming in delight as my grandfather chased after me while my grandma shook her head at my antics.
I slowed to a halt, tears springing to my eyes. Truthfully, I hadn’t allowed myself to think about those things in years, pushing them to the back of mind whenever they cropped up. There was no room memories like that in the city, making me reek of nostalgia and my country boy roots.
Lorraine was the glue that kept the family together, and when she died, the crack spread, seeking out the farthest corners. In truth, it had spread before then, but her death made it all the more final, all the more real.
Firmly, I pushed the thought of my mind and prepared the horse, getting the saddle ready based on memory alone before I glanced down both sides of the barn and swung my legs over, settling in.
It felt good to be back on a horse, better than I remembered, his strong muscles flexing underneath me. I made a low clucking noise under my breath and tugged on the reigns, spurring Charlie forward.
Charlie responded as if he knew what I needed, walking at a brisk trot, and my fingers curled around the reins. My heart pounded against my chest, pumping blood at an alarming rate before I forced myself to take a deep breath.
In.
Out.
The wide open spaces were stretched out before me, fields of green as far as the eye could see, and I leaned forward, sighing deeply.
Chapter 6
GWEN.
I wished things on the farm would go back to normal, that there was some way everyone on the ranch, myself included, could continue to stay detached and uninvolved with the day-to-day dream of passing down ownership.
As it was, we were lucky enough that Grandpa Parker made it so we could all stay on for as long as it would the deal to be settled and final negotiations to take place. For that, I was thankful because I had no idea what I would do when it was time for me to move on.
If, a quiet voice in my head reminded me, if you move on. Nick is still around, and something tells me that he hasn’t retracted his offer yet. After all, he still looks your way, and he hasn’t been able to find a loophole.
What a ridiculous notion.
I didn’t care how handsome or charming Nick could be. A snake was still a snake, and it was bad enough that I had to consider making a deal with a new ranch owner, even without knowing their morals or scruples, Nick wasn’t even in the running.
Besides, he’d already shown his hand and that he wasn’t above getting down and dirty to get what he wanted. On the one hand, I admired his persistence; on the other, it was getting increasingly frustrating.
I had a job to do, and everyone seemed to be getting in the way of that – including a potential buyer by the name of Bill Weathers. Yes, I recognized the man with a salt and pepper gray hair, eyes the color of a black pit, and a smile that sent chills racing down my spine.
He’d been trying for years to get his hands on the ranch, and now that Grandpa Parker was gone, there was very little stopping him from getting his way, especially not since the ranch was fair game so long as Nick didn’t find a way out.
Following that logic, Bill took it upon himself to stop by every so often with a group of people, some kind of entourage that followed him around like lemmings, nodding along to everything he said.
He claimed he was inspecting the property, making sure everything was in tip top shape before the inevitable auction, a forgone conclusion as far as he was concerned. Aside from me, Nick was unlikely to find someone else who fit the description of the woman he needed, after all.
I gathered my hair into a high ponytail and used an old rag to wipe my face, only succeeding in spread the smudges around. I caught a glimpse of myself on the way into the house and grimaced, realizing I looked like I crawled out of a forest somewhere.
And, the smell was worse.
“Well, lookey what the cat dragged in.”
Startled, I spun around, hand flying to my chest and heart leaping around inside my ribcage till my eyes landed on Bill, hovering near the exit with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Mr. Weathers,” I greeted, keeping the tremor out of my voice. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
“Now, sugar, there’s no need to call me that, especially not with the auction coming up,” Bill assured me, glancing around before he took a step forward.
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m sorry about what Mr. Parker tried to do to you. I think it’s mighty despicable,” he offered, his smile never reaching his eyes. There was something about the curve of his lips, more sinister than a blank look, that had me taking an involuntary step back, back bumping against the wall.
“Thank you,” I replied, trying to hear past the pounding in my ears. “I appreciate that.”
“He had the right idea, though,” Bill mused. “It would be awfully helpful to have someone like you stick around.”
“Someone like me?” I repeated, watching him carefully.
“Someone who knows the ins and outs of the ranch,” he clarified, taking another smell step forward. We were barely five feet apart, with no one else around, a cold breeze tore in through the open windows, passing between u
s. Outside, I could hear snippets of conversation as everyone began leaving for the day.
Uneasily, I shifted from one foot to the other. “I’d be happy to stay on in an official capacity, Mr. Weathers. Once the auction is over, that is.”
“Oh, forget about all that official stuff. I’m sure you and I could come to sort of arrangement. An attractive woman like yourself,” Bill murmured, closing the space between us, the smell of him washing over me.
“Excuse me?” I murmured, hoping I misunderstood his intentions. He couldn’t possibly be propositioning me, I told myself. I sized him up, taking in his muscles and the way he stood with his feet spread apart.
No, this was not a man I could take on, so I had to get away from before he sensed anything was amiss because he was definitely up to no good. Granted, he and Nick were after the same thing, but Bill didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who took rejection easily...and his motives were definitely not pure.
Right now, his gaze raked over my body, sending pinpricks of unease up and down my spine. My hands clenched into fists at my side. If I had to lash out, I would, but I doubted I would fare well against him, not with his towering frame.
“Mr. Weathers, I’m afraid you misunderstood,” I continued. “I am here as a farmhand. Not anything else.”
Bill shrugged. “The terms of your employment can be amended, sugar. You don’t have to worry about that.”
I really didn’t want to get into a confrontation with the man, but he seemed to reading the signals all wrong, lightly touching my arm and pausing. Frankly, he was giving me the heebbie jeebies, a dark feeling in the pit of my stomach unfurling at the smell of his putrid breath.
“Thank you for the offer, but I have to respectfully decline,” I said firmly, wriggling away from him when I heard the noises coming closer. I breathed a sigh of relief as everyone poured back in and took advantage of the chatter and clamor to slip away, heart pounding.
I needed to find Nick.
Chapter 7
NICK.
Secret Series: A Stealthy Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 5