Cowboy’s Princess_A Cowboy Romance

by Gigi Thorne

  Cowboy’s Princess

  A Cowboy Romance

  Gigi Thorne

  Copyright © 2018 by Gigi Thorne

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by Mayhem Cover Creations

  Editing by Jenny Dillion from Prologue & Prose

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Who is Gigi

  Also by Gigi

  Cowboy’s Princess by Gigi Thorne

  | All Rights Reserved |

  Edited by Jenny Dillon at Rather Be Reading

  Proofed by Jenny Dillon at Rather Be Reading

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except the brief quotations for reviews. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters, places, incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any similarities were surely not intentional.

  Created with Vellum

  1

  Rhett

  Heritage.

  It's not a property to own. It's a part of the soul you lost. A part you need to plant, and watch grow into something that will honor its real owner.

  Heritage is a responsibility. A promise to keep alive the part of their soul and memories you're given permission to keep.

  As I walk around the big place, breathing in the beauty I grew up in, I'm not happy with what I'm doing with the duty.

  Some of my employees are taking care of the animals, some are making sure the land is in good condition, but there's something dull in the place. The excitement and magic this place once had are now lost, and this is when I feel like I’m really losing my parents.

  This ranch was their baby, their passion, the pride of their hard work. It was so much more than land. It carried a part of them, of their happiness and their sadness.

  In my thirty years of life, it's the first time I've seen this place like this. Lifeless. Boring. Dead.

  Heading for the stables, I check the horses.

  “How is it going, James? Is Lily healthy?” I ask nodding my head toward the pregnant mare.

  “They both seem healthy, Rhett. One more month until she gives birth,” James says. He's the vet of my ranch. He's been with us for fifteen years. And when I took over the ranch, I kept him even though I had to say goodbye to a few employees we had, since I wasn't sure what to do with this place yet. With all the animals and the distance from the city, I can't afford to take the risk of firing the vet my dad trusted so much. He knows the animals in here more than anyone, and that's the kind of people I should keep around, no matter what I decide to do with this place.

  “Good. How is Rage?” I ask, walking closer to my favorite horse. With pitch black fur and his dangerous big body, Rage is definitely a beast, and he likes to act like one. I still remember the time my dad brought him here. He was furious even though he was just a foal. His mother was dead after she gave birth to him and he was so weak because he wouldn't let another horse feed him. I was sixteen then. Almost as furious as he was with all the teenager rebellion I had in me. Maybe that was why we got along so well. Because the little monster that didn't let anyone get close to him walked toward me on his unsteady feet. Me, out of all people. He let me feed him like a baby.

  People think they choose their pets. I don't believe that. I think pets choose their owners. And Rage has chosen me.

  “He's same ol’ Rage. Moody asshole. Like his owner.” James snorts.

  “Don't complain. He didn't kill you.”

  “Yet. And I don't know which one will do it. The horse or the owner,” he taunts me as usual before leaving the barn.

  Rage lets me caress the soft fur over his nose as I try to think with his strong breathing in the background.

  When my parents were here, this place was full of people. Everyone was buying or selling something. In the last six months since I have been here, the crowd has died down more and more each day. I can't keep waiting for them to get back. They probably already found new places to engage with.

  “This place needs more, Rage,” I muse. Even though I look like I'm talking to myself, I always thought Rage understood me in a way. I can see the reflection of emotions in his dark eyes.

  Guiding Rage out of his stall to the grooming area in the open, I tie him up even though I know he won't try to run away. Grabbing his body brush, I start to smooth his coat. The mindless job lets me focus on what I want for this place. And every day the image in front of me gets better, even though I still don’t know how to reach that point.

  When my phone rings in my jeans pocket, I put the brush down. Rage isn't happy the little device in my hand takes away my attention from his usual routine, but when I offer him some hay, he seems to forgive me.

  “Hey, posh boy,” I tease my brother.

  “It's less work than being a cowboy, brother,” he fires back.

  “Back in the states?” I ask. He's been in England, chasing another juicy business opportunity in the last two weeks.

  “Yes. I came home yesterday. Jet lag is a bitch brother, I'm telling you,” he groans. “I slept all day.”

  “Is it jet lag or the sleepless sexcapades that exhausted you, Brax?” I smirk, knowing damn well the answer.

  “What can I say? Chicks can't say no to my charm.”

  I laugh. Same ol’ Brax. The womanizer who can't be settled down.

  “How is ranch?” he asks.

  I lose the smile I had on my face as I look around the place that has too many great memories to count. “I don't know, Brax. It's not like the way it used to be. Something's missing.”

  He sighs at the other end of the line. “A lot of things are missing, Rhett. But we have to accept that. It's been almost a year now. You know they want you to take care of the ranch. It's yours. And you're the only person who can make that place like it used to be. Maybe even better than that.”

  I know he's right. Braxton has never been interested in this ranch. He loved the business side of the job. Unlike me, he prefers wearing suits and attending meetings to working on the fences or taking care of the animals.

  “I don’t know where to start, brother,” I finally admit.

  “Do you have any idea what to do with the place?”

  “Kind of. Just don't know how I’ll get there,” I say and tell him the rough idea in my head.

  “I may help you with that,” he says when I'm done. His voice turns to that professional tone I hear him use when he means business, so I know he doesn't think my idea is a bad one. That approval from my older brother gives me some confidence I need to start from somewhere.

  “Give me a week. I'll get in touch with some people I trust and send them to you to discuss your plan with.”

  “Don't send me those posh asshole friends of yours. I don't want a city boy to tell me what's good for my place,” I snap.

  He laughs. “A
lways moody. Chill out a little brother. You'll get old fast,” he says before ending the call.

  I hope he doesn't send over people who want to transform this place into one of those fake ass fancy hotels with ridiculous cocktails that has more fruit in them than booze.

  2

  Aubrey

  With car horns and daily noise in the background, I hurry to my office building with my high heels hitting the pavement. When I step out of the elevator on the 23rd floor, my assistant Chelsea hands me my Grande Americano, and she starts briefing me about today’s schedule.

  “Your first meeting is with Mr. Cooper in fifteen minutes, Miss Watts. After that, you have a meeting for the Sky Residence project.”

  “Mr. Cooper? I don’t remember we had a project with him this month?”

  “You don’t, Miss Watts. His assistant made the appointment today with an urgent note.”

  I frown but nod as I take my seat behind my desk.

  “Okay. Is our team ready for the Sky Residence project? After we get the approval today, they’ll need to start working in two days.”

  “Yes, Miss Watts. Everyone is ready and excited for this one.”

  I smile. “Thank you, Chelsea.”

  After she leaves my office, I look into the files she left on my desk for the Sky Residence project. It's a big project. Something that will guarantee my place in the industry.

  At the age of twenty-eight, I'm already at a good level in a place like Manhattan, where it has best of the bests. I worked hard, and I met good people along the way who noticed and appreciated my enthusiasm for what I do.

  Interior design has always been my passion. It's been like a religion to me, something intimate and spiritual. For others, it may be just about furniture and colors, but for me, it's my touch in many stranger's lives. I see interior design as a part of human life. Maybe someone will celebrate the news of a new baby in a living room I designed. Maybe another one will suffer through heartbreak in the four walls of their bedroom where my soul touches theirs. Every room, every apartment I design is a psychology test in my mind. A challenge to find out what people truly desire.

  This is why every apartment in the Sky Resident is different from each other. This is why I made up a story for each apartment and who may live inside it.

  As I check my notes on the project for the millionth time since I made the designs, Chelsea's voice from the intercom interrupts my study.

  “Mr. Cooper is here, Miss Watts.”

  “Send him in, please.”

  Seconds later, Braxton Cooper, the entrepreneur who helped me find my feet in this industry, steps into my office with his Southern charm.

  “Aubrey, you look even more stunning every day, darlin’.” He walks toward me and places a kiss on the back of my hand.

  “Always charming, Mr. Cooper,” I say, smiling.

  “A guy should use all his charm when he sees a beautiful woman, Aubrey,” he says with a wink.

  Braxton Cooper is a player with a charm of a devil. He's hard to resist if you're looking for fun, but it's obvious he's not looking for a relationship. That's probably the reason why we didn't hook up even though he flirts with me at every meeting. Ours is more like a friendly flirt, because just like his thought about relationships is obvious, mine is too. Which is a total opposite to his.

  Being close to my thirties, I've established the career I dreamed of. Even though I still have a lot of steps to climb up, I'm happy at the level I am. Aside from being career driven, I'm also a woman who reads romance novels before falling asleep, who dreams of her happily ever after with the great guy that will sweep me off my feet.

  Even though some people still think I need to choose one between career or romance, I don't need to choose. I'm a woman, and I know I can have it all.

  “I need your help at something very important to me, Aubrey,” Mr. Cooper's voice takes me out of my reverie.

  “I'm listening, Mr. Cooper.”

  He looks at me pointedly with my stubbornness at not calling him by his first name, but he doesn't comment on it.

  “My brother is in charge of a property that's been handed down to us from our parents. He has an idea about the place that needs a facelift and stuff, and I want you to take a look at the place,” he explains.

  “Of course. I'd love to help as much as I can.”

  “But there's a problem…” he starts.

  Curious, I ask, “What is it?”

  “The place is in Tennessee,” he blurts out.

  “What?!”

  I like designing places when I can be close to them. I can feel and get inspired the best when I spend my hours or days in the room I'm designing. I don't even know how big or how detailed this new project will be and how long will I have to stay there. If it were close to New York I wouldn't worry about these things, but a place in Tennessee? I don't know how that would work with my work schedule.

  “Look, I know it sounds scary, but you're talented, and you shouldn't tie yourself in one place. Just see the place, look and see what you can come up with?” he tries to convince me.

  The truth is, I owe him. If it weren't Braxton Cooper who took a risk with a newbie designer in one of his big projects, I wouldn't have a career this fast this good. I wouldn't be able to compete with the bests in the city. So as he trusts me with the place that belonged to his parents, I don't have the heart to say no.

  I sigh. “Just let me put everything in order in my schedule, and I'll take a look at your property.”

  “This week?” he asks hopefully.

  I smile. “Yes. Sometime this week. I just need an email with all the info.”

  “Thank you, Aubrey,” he says and places a kiss on the back of my hand before leaving my office.

  When he leaves, Chelsea enters.

  “Chelsea, I need you to clear all my meetings for the week. Also, I won't accept any new project this week,” I say and stop when I see an email from Braxton Cooper come through with lots of information. Noting the address, I turn the Chelsea and give her the address. “I need you to book me a plane ticket sometime this week to Tennessee.”

  Her eyes widen, but she doesn't ask questions, only nods before leaving my office.

  I open the Sky Residence project notes one more time. If this project gets the green light, I may be good to leave the city without a problem. My team would take care of the rest without me.

  Closing my eyes, I breathe slowly.

  I can do this. I can do it all, I repeat to myself.

  On the bright note, I've never been to Tennessee, I snort.

  3

  Rhett

  The people Braxton sent came and left all week, taking pictures and writing down some notes. They’ll send me the report they prepare for my ranch. I’m not sure how I feel about strangers roaming around and judging this place that means so much to me, but I know Braxton wouldn’t send them if he didn’t trust them. Now, I’ll have to wait for them to give my idea some kind of approval. To be sure I won’t end up neck deep in debt.

  This morning, when I woke up, I finally took a relieved breath, knowing there’s were no stranger roaming around today, but I couldn’t enjoy that either. Packing up everything to take to the store, I drove into town. There were still people who wanted to give condolences about my parents. I didn’t have the heart to decline their offer for a drink and small chat. I wasn’t good at socializing with people especially in the last six months, I owe them at least that. Everyone loved my parents, whether they were friends or not, and surprisingly, reminiscing with someone other than my brother, helped to ease the pain.

  When I’m finally back at the ranch, it’s already close to dinner time. Even though I’m hungry, I don’t want to go inside before spending time with my horse. The sky is dark and cloudy with the upcoming storm Rage’s favorite weather for a ride in the woods and around the ranch. After quickly putting on my riding jeans and a shirt over my white t-shirt, I head for the barn. Getting Rage out of his stall, I saddle him up an
d jump o. As he runs in our usual route, he adjusts his pace to my need. With the familiarity years have given us, he understands what I want him to do without me guiding him with the lead.

  The rain starts when we arrive at my favorite place. It’s been my escape place when I was a teenager, and even though years passed this place didn’t lose any of its beauty. Among every shade of green, a small lake sits peacefully, hidden from the outside world.

  Rage drinks from the crystal clear water and waits under a tree that will protect him from the rain. He looks at me like he’s waiting for my decision to stay or leave. We wait there a little for the rain to slow down when it does, he comes closer to me. With a sigh, I nod my head, letting him know we’re leaving.

  The ground is muddy on the way back, so we move slower. I quickly put Rage in his stall, I need to clean him up after he warms up. Hanging the saddle on the wooden wall, I leave to take a shower at home, but I stop close to the big gate.

  I see a cab get closer to the ranch. Normally the people Brax sends come in the early hours of the morning, so I wonder why I’m having any guests now. The sun has already disappeared, and the sky is now dark. It’s pretty inappropriate time for business. Rolling my eyes, I walk to greet whoever it is this time.

  The cab stops in front of the big gate of Cooper Ranch, and I wait as the door opens. The big light above the gate spotlighting the newcomer. The first thing I see is a pair of shoes with high heels.