The Chestnut Ranch Cowboy Billionaire Boxed Set: Three Sweet Cowboy Billionaire Novels (Chestnut Ranch Boxed Sets Book 1)

by Emmy Eugene

  “Not comforting,” he said, holding his phone out. “I’m serious. Give me your number.”

  Holly looked helplessly at the other brother, who’d come closer too. “What’s going on?”

  “She’s my ex-wife,” Rex practically bellowed. “And she told me she’d lost our baby. But I just met her.” He glared at her. “I want your number, and if you leave town, I’m filing kidnapping charges.”

  Tears streamed down Holly’s face, but she nodded. She recited her number, and Rex tapped it into his phone. Her device in her back pocket buzzed, and he said, “I just texted you. Text me where you’re staying, and I’ll come pick her up in the morning.”

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  “My brother got married today,” Rex said. “So I’m going to keep everything real quiet for right now. And then I’m going to make sure I get to see my daughter whenever I want.” He took one menacing step toward her. “You stole five years from me. I gave you everything.” He broke then, and Holly’s heart wailed and wailed.

  She watched him cover his emotions with that furious mask again, and he said, “If you don’t text me, I’ll call the police.”

  “I’ll text you,” she said, wondering how she was going to explain having to stay in town to her mother.

  He turned back to his brother, who wore a look of complete shock on his face. So Rex had kept their secret this whole time. Rex marched past the brother and got in the fancy pickup truck parked at the curb. The brother stared at her, so many questions in his eyes.

  Then he turned and got behind the wheel, driving away in the next moment.

  Holly watched the truck go, and then she collapsed onto the nearest bench and sobbed.

  “I don’t know, Momma,” she said later that night, after the wedding. “But I’m staying for a bit. I have a place for me and Sarah.” She glanced around at the tiny studio room she’d gotten for the next week.

  “Who’s going to take care of Sarah?” Momma asked. “You’re really going to get a job up there? Why?”

  Holly drew in a deep breath. “I ran into Rex today.”

  For maybe the first time in her life, Momma had nothing to say. When Holly had taken Rex to meet her parents and tell them she was pregnant, her mother had had plenty to say. A born-and-raised Texan, she didn’t hold back her opinions.

  “He knows about Sarah,” Holly continued.

  “Dear Lord in Heaven,” her mother said, her voice breathless.

  “I’m ready, Momma,” she said. “I’ve been telling you that for months.”

  “I know,” Momma said. “But I thought you’d start easy. Get a job, and I’d take care of Sarah during the day.”

  “Well, I’m going to get a job up here,” she said. “They have daycares and stuff here.”

  “You can’t afford that,” her mother said. “Where are you even staying? You can’t afford anything in Chestnut Springs.”

  Holly pressed her eyes closed against the questions. Her momma had fired them at her like this when she’d shown up five years ago, divorced and six months pregnant. She’d been living with her parents ever since, fading in and out of depressive episodes that didn’t leave her much time to learn how to be a mother.

  But she’d been doing really well for a long time now. Over a year. Once her father had passed away and Holly had seen her mother start to slide, she’d pulled herself together and gotten help. She still talked to a therapist every day through an app, with weekly video appointments.

  And she was ready to be the mother Sarah needed. Her mother had been resistant, because she loved playing the hero. And if Holly got back on her own feet and started taking care of herself and her daughter, Momma couldn’t give herself a medal at the end of every day.

  “Momma,” she said, when she realized her mother was still talking. “I’m thirty-one years old.”

  You’re a terrible, terrible person.

  “I can do this,” she said. “It’s time to come clean. Tell the truth. Move on.”

  “In Chestnut Springs?”

  “I owe Rex a proper apology and explanation,” she said quietly, powerful guilt moving through her. “Aren’t you the one who always says that?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Momma,” she said over her mother, and it felt good to stand up to Momma. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

  A long silence came through the line, and Holly knew her mother was working through a lot of her own issues. “Okay,” she finally said, and Holly nodded. She hung up and looked over to the sleeping form of Sarah.

  A pretty little girl, Sarah had brought more joy and light into Holly’s life than anything else.

  “Except Rex,” she murmured, because that man had been her whole world.

  You’re a terrible, terrible person.

  She knew an apology wouldn’t go far with Rex. The man loved deeply, and she heard his angry voice as he accused her of stealing six years of his life. As he threatened to call the police. She reached over and stroked Sarah’s hair, the soft, silky quality of it helping her feel a tiny pinprick of hope.

  “You’re better now,” she whispered to herself. “Maybe you can fix things with Rex, too.”

  She’d texted him the name of the motel she’d found, and he said he’d be there at nine o’clock in the morning. Holly hadn’t brought clothes to Chestnut Springs, because she’d planned to stay for just one day.

  Momma was right; she didn’t have much money. But she had a credit card, and she could get a few things for the week she’d be here.

  “Might be longer,” she said to herself, because she remembered Rex being the kind of man that fought for what he wanted. He’d called her for six straight months after she’d vanished from his life. He’d gone to her parents’ house. He’d called her friends. Gone to talk to her boss.

  And when he found out where she’d been, maybe he’d understand.

  Maybe.

  Hopefully.

  “Please,” she prayed, because she was ready to move forward, and she couldn’t if Rex didn’t come with her.

  Oh, dear, I sure hope Rex and Holly can figure things out! Find out if they can in A COWBOY AND HIS DAUGHTER.

  Sneak Peek! Chapter One of A Cowboy and his Boss

  Griffin Johnson couldn’t tie a bow tie to save his life, and he glared at his neck in the mirror. The other brothers seemed to have perfected it somehow, but Griffin didn’t see how.

  He’d had his mother tie it for Seth’s wedding in November. And then for Travis’s nuptials in March.

  Russ and Janelle were getting married right here on the ranch, and Griffin was supposed to be in Russ’s bedroom five minutes ago.

  He was not asking his mother for help for a third time. He could do this.

  He tried to loop the two ends over one another like he’d seen in the Internet video, but he felt like a four-year-old trying to tie his shoes for the first time.

  “This isn’t happening,” he muttered, abandoning the task. He was the only Johnson brother without a relationship, and he’d thought he’d at least beat Rex.

  But he’d gotten back together with an old girlfriend, and he’d had a date for the wedding for over two weeks.

  Griffin had tried dating a few people in the small Texas Hill Country town of Chestnut Springs, but nothing seemed to stick.

  And the most recent woman he’d been out with was one of Janelle’s best friends and her Maid of Honor. Griffin had to escort her down the aisle and everything, as Russ had asked him to be the Best Man.

  Griffin loved his brother, or he’d have said no. He didn’t want to attend the wedding at all. Not that he’d ever miss it, because Russ had been through the wringer to get to this point. And he was deliriously happy, and Griffin was happy for him.

  The fact that he was leaving for Camp Clear Creek in the morning had sustained him through the last week.

  He’d been a camp counselor there for a couple of years now, and he loved summer at Lake Marble Falls. He liked
working with the boys, he loved being outside, and he enjoyed all the activities the Texas Hill Country had to offer.

  Rex would say that Griffin couldn’t wait to see Toni Beardall, but Griffin had dismissed him every time he’d even looked like he was going to mention Toni. His younger brother could be relentless, and Griffin had learned how to deal with him the best. If he didn’t completely shut down Rex, the man could really rev up his mouth. It was always better to cut him off before then, and the only other person who could do it effectively was their mother.

  Griffin left the bedroom where he’d been getting ready and went downstairs to the master suite. He knocked and said, “Russ, it’s me. Let me in.”

  The door opened, and noise spilled into the hallway. All the brothers were already inside, along with their father, and the air smelled of leather and cologne.

  Seth already wore his dress hat, as did Travis. Their oldest brother pulled out a box and said, “Okay, we’re all here.” He cut a look at Griffin, who still didn’t have his tie right. “We got you these.”

  Russ took the box and looked at his brothers. “What’s this?”

  “Open it,” Travis said.

  Russ pulled the black ribbon off the box and opened it. “Oh, wow.” He lifted out a perfectly silver cufflink in the shape of a J. Griffin had actually found the cufflinks, and he grinned as Russ put them on.

  “I need help with my tie,” Griffin said, and Travis turned toward him. He had the tie whipped into shape in only a few seconds, and Griffin turned toward the full-length mirror to make sure if was straight.

  “We need to get outside,” Seth said. The brothers huddled up, and a powerful sense of belonging moved through Griffin. In an hour, more than half of them would be married, but he believed they’d always be brothers. That bond wasn’t changing just because Russ was about to say I do.

  “Boys,” Momma called, and Griffin grinned along with everyone else.

  “How old do you think we’ll be before she’ll stop calling us boys?” Seth asked, and they all laughed together.

  “Comin’, Momma,” he said, but he didn’t lower his arms from Griffin’s shoulders. He looked around at them. “I sure am glad to be your brother.” He smiled, and Griffin’s own emotion welled in his chest.

  “All right, men. Let’s go before Momma comes in here.”

  “Ready, Daddy?” Russ asked, looping his arm through their father’s.

  “You’re coming with me, Pops,” Rex said, joining the pair of them. Daddy smiled at his boys, and he left the room with Rex.

  “You okay with Libby?” Russ asked.

  Griffin nodded, his emotions laced tight as he went out into the kitchen behind Seth. Russ had been working on the backyard at the homestead for the past five months in anticipation of this wedding, and the patio now had air conditioning that blew down from the ceiling in the deck above it.

  Tea lights had been strung through the rafters too, along with with several buffet tables that were laden with food and flowers.

  Pretty, wedding music played out of the bluetooth speakers Russ had installed, and Griffin paused to take in the rows of chairs. Millie had tied white ribbons to them, and set Texas bluebonnets through the knots.

  Even Griffin could admit the space was beautiful. Perfect for a wedding.

  “Johnson men,” Millie said. “Over here.”

  Rex walked Daddy down to the front row, where Momma waited, and then he joined the wedding party. Griffin felt better with Rex by his side, as the two of them had done pretty much everything together for the past five years. They’d even bought a house together, and Griffin knew he was about to live in it alone. Well, soon enough, as Rex seemed to be advancing his relationship in the direction of marriage.

  For Griffin, he wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen, and he lingered several feet from Libby without talking to her. Guests continued to come around the side of the house, where Russ had laid a cobblestone path that led from the driveway to the patio.

  The altar at the end of the aisle arched above everyone’s head, and held flowers and more lights. Everything was perfection, and if Griffin ever found someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, he was going to hire Travis’s wife to plan the wedding.

  Janelle’s mother and father came out of the house, and Millie said, “It’s almost time. Everyone line up with your escort, please.” She moved among the wedding party, which consisted of all the Johnson brothers, the four ranch hands which worked the ranch with them, and Janelle’s brothers on the male side. Her sisters, the sisters-in-law, and some of her friends completed the bridal party, and Griffin moved to the front of the line, his elbow already cocked for Libby.

  “Evening, Griffin,” she said pleasantly, and Griffin looked at her. She really was beautiful, and he wished they had more in common. But going out with her had been boring, and while he’d thought there was a spark of attraction the first time they’d had dinner together, it had fizzled by the end of the night.

  He hadn’t given up though, and he’d tried taking her to a spring dance in town. A movie. For a hike. In the end, she’d said, “I don’t think this is working,” and Griffin hadn’t been able to argue.

  It was his most amicable break-up, which was fortunate, as he had to walk her down the aisle for this wedding.

  “Good to see you, Libby.”

  She smiled, and Griffin was proud of himself for being cordial and kind. Inside, he felt like someone had taken a melon-baller to his most vital organs, hollowing them out one painful scoop at a time.

  Russ stood down at the end of the aisle, the arch over his head. Mille went to check on Janelle, and Griffin overheard her say, “We’re waiting? One more guest?” She sounded stressed, and Griffin was ready to get this show on the road. It wasn’t exactly cool the last week of May, despite the upgrades on the patio and the shade from the tents that had been set up.

  “She’s here,” Janelle said. “She’s coming around now.”

  “Great,” Millie said. “Phone, please. You don’t need that at the altar.”

  Griffin smiled at her no-nonsense tone, as he really liked Millie. Travis had built them a house right inside the entrance of Chestnut Ranch, and Griffin found it downright charming. This spring, Millie had put in rose bushes and let the entire side yard grow wild with bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and other native Texas wildflowers.

  “She’s right there,” Janelle said, and Griffin looked to where Janelle nodded to the right of the wedding party.

  His breath froze in his lungs as the gorgeous, curvy, brunette he’d been communicating with for a couple of months rounded the corner of the house.

  Toni Beardall had an anxious look on her face, and she held up one hand as if to say, Sorry, Janelle.

  She paused near the back row, looking for a seat, and she had to climb over several people to one lone seat in the middle of the row.

  “Sorry,” she said. “Sorry. Excuse me.”

  Griffin couldn’t stop grinning. If he’d have known Toni was going to be at the wedding, he wouldn’t have been dreading it quite so much.

  “Do you know her?” he asked Libby. Janelle had held the wedding for her. Only for a moment, but it meant something.

  “Sure,” Libby said. “She’s one of Janelle’s clients. A good one too. Refers tons of people to us, and she runs a camp a little bit north of here that we handle all their legal issues.”

  “Ah, got it,” Griffin said, tucking Libby’s arm closer to his side as the wedding march began.

  “Here we go, people,” Millie said. “Eyes up. Smiles on. Remember, this is about Russ and Janelle.”

  Griffin did what Millie said, because he was leading the party out. The guests stood and turned toward the aisle, and Griffin’s eyes latched onto Toni.

  A smile brightened her face when she saw him, and she lifted her fingers in a little, waggly wave.

  Griffin couldn’t look away from her, and he stumbled slightly. Panic reared in his throat, and he yel
ped.

  “Griffin,” Libby hissed at him, but what did she expect him to do?

  He reached out to steady himself against the chair on the back row, embarrassment spiraling through him. Had he just yelped during the procession?

  He faced the front, his goal in sight, and Russ’s grin said he hadn’t messed up too badly.

  Griffin felt like every eye was on him, even after he passed them. But really, it was Toni’s gaze that had seared him.

  He led Libby to her spot, almost right behind the pastor who’d come out to the ranch to perform the ceremony, and circled around to his side. Only a few feet from Russ now, Griffin calmed a bit more.

  He’d done what he’d said he’d do, and all he needed to do now was observe the nuptials. He’d hand Russ the diamond when it was time, and then he could eat.

  His eyes moved instantly to Toni, and a flush moved through his body when he found her looking at him too. He couldn’t believe his luck, and all the legends he’d heard about meeting the perfect woman at a wedding rushed into his mind.

  Maybe, he thought to himself.

  He’d never once confessed his feelings for Toni to anyone. Rex, of course, had suspected, but Griffin thought he’d done a good job keeping everything under wraps.

  She hadn’t left the camp, as Rex had suspected. Griffin had communicated professionally with her. She’d hired him without an in-person interview because he’d worked for the past two summers at Camp Clear Creek. He’d read all the emails she’d sent, and he was packed and ready to leave in the morning.

  Seeing her tonight was just an added benefit.

  “Dearly beloved,” the preacher said, and Griffin tore his eyes from the gorgeous brunette in the back row as all the guests settled back into their seats.

  The preacher talked about love throughout the ages, and Griffin found himself wanting that sort of romance in his life. Maybe he’d always been a bit of a romantic, and he was glad he wasn’t standing next to Rex. He could practically hear his brother’s scoffing in his head.