When it was down to the last girl, I was about to leave, but then Sara Baxter walked out on the stage, and I couldn’t budge my feet. She was wearing a skintight blue gown with sequins that sparkled in the Christmas lights. Her dark, shimmering hair had fiery highlights and gave her a dangerous edge. I cleared my throat and turned back, feeling an instantaneous feeling of want in the pit of my stomach. There was something about this girl that hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to stop myself from bidding, remembering that I was only going to be there for a couple of weeks, weeks when I needed to stay focused and on my game. These couple of weeks were just enough time to do what I came to Bonanza to do. I needed to get my ranch going, get everything set up and working correctly, and then give some interviews to the reporters that the PR company had sent out. Those, I needed to be on my game for, knowing I needed good press to polish my public image.
Small town Sara did not look like the kind of girl who was up there to fool around. She also didn’t look like the girl looking for a husband like the rest of them. I could tell there was a fire to her, something she might be trying to hide behind that pretty blue dress and heels, but something I could see right through. It almost made me want her that much more.
“Our last contestant is Sara Baxter,” the emcee said. “For those of you who don’t know Sara, she was born and bred right here in Bonanza. She’s a veterinarian, also able to make house calls for those who need it, just an FYI. And in her spare time, Sara donates her skills to the organization, working tirelessly with the horses.”
A hometown, house-calling, veterinarian who had a knack for volunteering her time. I definitely needed to stay away from this girl. I needed to stay far, far away from her, in fact, and no matter how much I was yearning to take her out, I needed to remember what I was in that town to do in the first place. Too bad I didn’t have any pets, though. That would be one house call I would love to have had. Sara’s look and background screamed that she was a “good girl” from her head to her toes, and me? Well, I was a bad boy and had been for most of my adult life. It wasn’t on purpose, but I was never the one to be tied down and had this uncanny knack for accidentally hurting almost every girl I took out. That was more than evident by the trail of broken hearts that followed me everywhere I seemed to go. It was the reason I was in a mess or dramatic situation almost all the time, and it was more than a little annoying and distracting when I thought about it.
I figured I would stand there and watch, having never actually seen one of those auctions take place before then. I had a feeling Sara was going to be a town favorite, and even the old, catty women in the back were smiling and waving at her. She was the town sweetheart. I had every intention of not bidding, but when it started, I changed my mind really fast. I watched the crowd hearing different bids being shouted out. They started innocently enough with twenty-five dollars here, thirty dollars there, and so on. Then, out of nowhere, a deep voice bellowed out.
“One hundred dollars,” the voice shouted.
I followed the voice over to the side where a tall, thick man in a cowboy hat was standing. He had a gold star tacked to his old school leather jacket and his face was firm. Everyone got silent in the crowd, and no one else bid any further. It was like they were afraid of the guy or something. I had a sneaking suspicion it had nothing to do with the dollar amount and more about the size and stature of the man. He was obviously someone important in town, but it was crazy to me how everyone cowered back. I looked back on the stage at Sara whose face had tightened, and the emcee cleared her throat uncomfortably. There was a sudden flash of fear in her eyes as she looked over at the woman with the mic, obviously trying to signal her without making a scene.
I didn’t know what it was, whether it was the look of fear on Sara’s face or the hush of the crowd around me, but something happened inside of me. Suddenly, there was no way I could let this girl walk off that stage with that man. I took in a deep breath and then raised my hand nonchalantly.
“Two hundred dollars,” I said loudly from the back.
Everyone immediately turned their heads toward me, including who I now realized was the sheriff. He frowned at me across the room, trying to bully me into submission. I had seen worse, especially growing up on the streets, so some wannabe cowboy wasn’t going to shake me.
“Three hundred,” the sheriff said, staring me in the face.
I smiled and nodded my head at him, thinking quickly. There was no way this guy was going to bully me. I shuffled in my stance for a moment and then looked up at the emcee.
“Four hundred,” I said with a grin.
Everyone’s heads were moving back and forth between us as we bid higher and higher. He bid five hundred, I bid seven hundred, and then finally, he smirked and bid one thousand dollars. Obviously, this guy didn’t know who he was dealing with.
“Wow,” I said with a smile. “That’s impressive. I bid five thousand dollars.”
Everyone in the room gasped and looked back to the sheriff whose mouth fell open for a second. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction. I looked up at the girls on the stage, and the emcee collected herself quickly.
“Sold to the highest bidder for five thousand dollars,” she shouted excitedly.
Everyone started to clap loudly, cheering in my direction. I was pretty sure I had just become the new hero of the town. My eyes shot back over to the sheriff who was now throwing daggers at me with his eyes. He turned and disappeared out the door, followed by a squirrely-looking chubby man in a smaller cowboy hat. I looked up at Sara who looked relieved, nodding at me and then disappearing offstage. I downed the rest of my whiskey and wandered over to the table to pay for my purchases. Everyone stared quietly at me as I walked along, whispering to each other. I nodded at the mayor who tipped his hat at me and smiled uncomfortably. Obviously, what I had just done ruffled more than a few feathers, and I hoped I hadn’t gotten into the middle of something I was going to regret. She’d looked like a damsel in distress, and I was definitely a sucker for a girl in need, though in my gut, I had a feeling she could take care of herself just fine. I guessed I would soon find out.
Chapter 4
Sara
I pushed my way through the backstage area, not even bothering to grab my coat or say anything to Alison. I pushed through the back door of Grange Hall and started for the parking lot. I had known it would be a mistake participating in the auction, but Alison had ambushed me at the last minute. How was I supposed to tell my best friend no, especially when it benefitted the animals I loved so much? I had accepted and tried to put on a brave face for it, but still, somewhere in the back of mind, I knew something like that was going to happen. I kept asking myself, “What if Janson bids on you?” I didn’t actually think he would, though, and I didn’t think it would go as far as it did. I had done everything I could to ignore that voice, from trying to be girly and beautiful, to convincing myself Janson wasn’t that stupid. Apparently, I was the stupid one, though, because my fears had been realized as he stood there in a showdown with a perfect stranger.
I stopped halfway across the parking lot and bent over, putting my hands on my knees and breathing heavily. I had almost been bought by my ex, someone I had vowed I would never speak to again. I knew it gave him some sick pleasure knowing he could buy me, thinking, as always, that he could get away with anything he wanted since he was the sheriff in town. But he had lost, and that was what was most important. He had not won a date with me, and I could go back to living my life. I stood up and started toward the car again, trying to calm myself down. Some stranger, someone I had never seen in town before who stuck out like a sore thumb in the back of the room, had just paid five thousand dollars to take me out on the town. I wish I had gotten a better look at him before leaving, but the lights on the stage blinded me, making the man more of a shadow than anything else. He wanted to pay all that money to take me on a date, for me to show him the town, not that there was much of a “town” to speak of. We were one of the s
mallest places left in the United States.
I shook my head and reached down into my purse, trying to find the keys to my truck. I searched through the bag until I found them, groaning as I reached for the door. Before I could, though, a hand grabbed my arm and yanked me back. I dropped my purse on the ground and gasped, knowing that feeling all too well. Slowly, I turned around and that fear from inside came tumbling back to me so fast, it made my head spin. My eyes moved up that old, leather jacket and over the shimmering sheriff’s badge, finding Janson staring down at me. He looked angry, angrier than I had seen him in a while. I straightened myself up and looked down at his hand still holding my arm.
“Please, let go of me,” I said with a brave face.
He smirked and tightened his grip even harder on my arm. I pulled my arm, but he was too strong. When I looked back up at him, I could see someone standing in the background keeping watch. It was his goon, Gary, lurking not far behind, as always. He had his sidekick wherever he went, and it had become a normal sight for people to see out in town.
“I come out here to support the only organization in this town, and what do I find? You’re selling yourself to a crowd of hungry men like you’re nothing more than cheap trash,” he growled.
“What are you doing bidding then?” I said, feeling the sting of his words. “If you think I’m nothin’ but cheap trash, why would you waste your money?”
He tightened his jaw, and the spot under his right eye began to twitch. My stomach dropped, and alarms started going off in my head. That was not a good sign, a sign that I had seen more than once in my lifetime and would really not like to experience again. Janson had always been quick to anger, even when he was younger. I could tell by the grip of his hand and how he was looking at me that he was inches away from completely exploding, and I didn’t want to be anywhere near him when he did. It was never a good thing. Immediately, my mind flashed back to one of our last arguments before we had completely split up. I had caught him cheating on me with a waitress from the saloon across town. He never did like being questioned, and never found fault in anything he did. It was infuriating but dangerous as well. It always set him off when I spoke against him.
We had dated for a long time, and in that time, there had been more than one instance where I’d accused him of cheating. Up until that time, though, I’d never had proof, but with the text messages I’d found on his phone, I knew I’d finally had caught him in a lie. Immediately, he had started berating me, reminding me that if I wasn’t so unattractive, if I had taken more time to do my hair, my makeup, and not always be working, he wouldn’t have to step out on me with other women. He always blamed me for anything he did wrong. I didn’t hold back that night, though. I’d had enough of being treated like that. He had humiliated me in front of everyone in the town and broken my heart just the same. I told him to get out, that I didn’t want to speak to him anymore, but he refused, telling me he was the one who gave the orders.
When you were in a relationship like that for so long, you started to get tired of being treated that way. That night, I’d had enough, and I lost it, screaming at him to get out of my house before slapping him right across the face. As soon as my hand hit his skin, I knew I shouldn’t have done it, but what was done was done, and I stood tall behind my choice. I remembered the muscle under his eye twitching right before he grabbed me by the hair and dragged me through the house into the bedroom. He threw me down on the bed and stared at me, angrier than hell. He pulled his body over mine, holding my arms above my head and jamming his leg between my thighs. I was terrified, more terrified than I had ever been in my life of what was going to come next. I didn’t put anything past that man.
My fear had gotten the best of me, and I’d started to cry, begging him to stop. All he did was look down at me and snort in disgust before letting go. He pulled himself to his feet and walked right out of the house, slamming the door behind him. I had just laid there, sobbing into the covers, feeling the burn on my wrists and the pounding in my head. Right then, in the empty back parking lot of Grange Hall, I could see that same dangerous light in his eyes. It put a fear in my throat that forced me to swallow hard and release the tension from under his hand. As much as I wanted to tell him off, I knew that buttoning up my lip might be the wiser way to go. I didn’t need a complete scene out there in the parking lot, and I was scared of what he might do to me. I gathered myself and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“Alison asked me to be in the auction at the last second,” I said. “The beauty queen that was supposed to be there had canceled, and I had to fill in for her. I didn’t want to do it, but you know how important this whole thing is. I couldn’t tell her no, not after all the work she had put in.”
He snickered, eyeing me up and down, focusing in on the tightness of the dress in my mid-region. I pulled one arm across me, feeling uncomfortable and exposed. He was such an asshole.
“Trust me.” He chuckled. “No one would confuse you with a beauty queen.”
“Let me go,” I said angrily, yanking my arm away from him again.
He snarled, gripping me even tighter, pulling me toward him. His hand was so tight around my arm that it was painful, and I knew it was going to leave a mark. I wasn’t going to give into him, though. I couldn’t be afraid of him forever.
“Didn’t you hear her, pal?” a voice said from behind me. “Let her go.”
I turned toward the shadowy figure, recognizing him immediately as the man who had bought me during the auction. Both relief and fear ran through my chest, knowing I wasn’t alone but that Janson wasn’t going to let go so easily. I tried to pull away, but he had his hand so tight, I could barely move.
“Move on,” Janson growled. “This is none of your damn business.”
The man wasn’t scared off that easily, though, and I could hear his shoes tapping across the pavement as he moved closer. I turned my head toward him, and as he stepped forward into the street lights, my heart fluttered in my chest. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen, in Bonanza or anywhere else. I had to admit, it took me by complete surprise. Janson kept his hand tightly gripped on my arm, not giving in to the man’s advances.
“Let her go,” he said sternly. “You lost fair and square, and that isn’t her fault. If you want to take it up with someone, why don’t you take it up with me? Or do you like an unfair fight with a girl in a dark parking lot?”
I looked between the two of them, feeling uncomfortable being stuck in the middle. The two of them stared each other down, no words being spoken between them. I held my breath, terrified of what was going to happen next. It felt like the two of them were standing there staring at each other for hours. Janson looked the man up and down before releasing my arm, tossing me back. The man grabbed my shoulders and kept me on my feet, letting go as I stood up and rubbed my arm. Janson looked back at me and snorted, turning and stalking off. He whistled and tossed his hand, his sidekick, Gary, following quickly behind him like a whipped puppy.
I had never seen Janson back down from a fight, and I didn’t know if it was the fact that we were standing in a parking lot in the middle of town or that he was intimidated by the man standing beside me. Either way, I was glad he was gone, and I could let out a deep breath. I stood there, rubbing my arm, feeling like I needed to say something. This was the second time in one night this man had saved me from Janson’s clutches, and I had never met him before in my life. How much more insane could my life really get before something started to give?
Chapter 5
Ryan
My blood was racing, and I hadn’t found myself this upset in a really long time. I could feel the anger boiling up inside of me, and I didn’t even know how I had gotten to that point, standing in that parking lot, staring at this idiot with his hands on a woman like that. After I’d checked in at the payment desk, they told me to go find Alison, the emcee and owner of the organization. I had tracked her down with a check in hand, finding her backstage finish
ing up a few things.
“Thank you so much,” she said, shaking my hand. “I’m Alison.”
“Ryan.” I smiled. “Just figured I would touch base with my date. Do you know where I could find her?”
“Hmm, that’s a good question,” she said. “Seriously, though, your bid will do so much for our horses. Just your bid on Sara alone will pay for a lot of the medication needed to keep these horses alive and comfortable. It’s been a long time since anyone has put that kind of money into our organization, and that’s on top of the bed and breakfast they said you won the bid on. It’s very generous. I’m just glad you were able to win the bid with Sara.”
I smiled, watching the relief on Alison’s face. Between the look on her face and the relief that I had seen on Sara’s before she disappeared off stage, I couldn’t help wondering what was going on. There was obviously something up with the guy who’d been bidding, something that made everyone silent and made the two girls nervous as hell.
“So, I’m curious,” I said with a charming smile. “Who was that guy bidding against me? The one with the leather and the badge. I’m assuming he’s some kind of officer in town, maybe the sheriff. I just couldn’t help but notice how everyone reacted to him.”
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