His dad leaned back on the couch and ran a hand through his thinning gray hair. “There’s a whole bunch of things you could do differently or more often, depending. You can start by no longer drag racing and getting into trouble.”
Trent felt like his dad knew about the ticket. He resolved to pay it as soon as this conversation was over, so it wouldn’t be hanging over him anymore. That was the responsible thing for him to do.
“I can stop that,” he said to his parents. “No problem. I won’t even miss drag racing.” Okay, that was a lie and he was probably trying too hard to convince them with words. But even he knew now that the way he hung out with his friends was detrimental to his reputation. He forgot himself when he was driving his truck with them. Surely he could hang out with his buddies in a calmer fashion. Going to get burgers didn’t make him receive the same kind of scrutiny, for example. It also didn’t run down his tires or get him speeding tickets.
“If you can prove to us that you can focus on this ranch and put your whole heart into your family, then we will consider signing the deed over to you,” his mother said.
“But it’s not just about your friends,” his father added, looking at him pointedly. “We want you to start thinking about your future, too. You won’t be able to run this ranch on your own. You should start a family of your own.”
Of course, Trent thought somewhat dejectedly. I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. He had a haphazard dating history. Most of his relationships had been superficial and short. He didn’t worry himself with finding ‘the one.’ He just tried to have a good time. Apparently the good times are over.
Trent up until this point, had bought into the whole myth about marriage being a ‘ball-and-chain’ kind of thing. A wife was probably going to nag him and keep him from living the life he wanted to live. She was probably going to make him change and give him endless grief. He wished that it was acceptable for him to have kids without having a wife. He liked kids. They could be fun. But a wife?
He knew his parents weren’t going to go for him avoiding that. And it was useless to argue with them when they had an idea in mind for him. They were the bosses. Literally.
“I’ll give the dating game a shot again,” Trent said, inwardly hating himself a little for it. He didn’t think that it should be anyone else’s business if he got married. That was supposed to be something that naturally happened once a man loved a woman and they wanted to take that next step. The likelihood of that happening for me is slim. Not everyone is into marriage. Is that so wrong?
It was useless to argue with them about it, though. His dad even smiled slightly and reassuringly patted Trent on the shoulder. “You don’t have to rush into anything. We’re not going to retire tomorrow.”
His mom nodded, smiling along with her husband. “We want you to make wise choices, obviously. Choices that show that you understand what we’ve been talking to you about.”
Trent got it. They wanted him to calm down and be a more dutiful son. A wife-and-family kind of son that wouldn’t embarrass them or their good name. The Reed family ranch has been around for generations; people trusted and relied on them for their sheep and cows, blah blah blah.
Trent could tell that he was being just as immature as his parents said he could be, but it wasn’t a good feeling to be told that he wasn’t good enough for their precious ranch. After devoting all of his youth to the place, working there as soon as he returned home for school and everything… I could’ve gone down so many different paths, but I stayed here and helped them. I am focused on this ranch. Probably even too much. He didn’t see why his having a hobby was such a big deal, but he supposed that he could find a hobby that wasn’t so risky and skirting the legal line.
“I won’t rush,” he said, forcing himself to smile at his parents. “I’ll find someone perfect. And I’ll work with Willie more often. He’s a good kid, but I have some pointers that I think he could use.”
This seemed to satisfy Trent’s parents. They got up from the couch and left the room – his mom to work on dinner and his dad to work on shearing some sheep before dinner. Once they were gone from the room, Trent was free to roll his eyes. Rather than staying there where could be lectured some more, he went upstairs to the sanctuary of his bedroom. He sat on his bed and pulled his phone out of the pocket of his jeans. He messed around on social media for a few minutes – okay, half an hour – and then he searched the internet for ‘quick wife.’ He didn’t expect much.
Indeed, some of the results were completely ridiculous. Some of them were even scary. But one of the top results was what looked like a dating app called Pretendr. Trent furrowed his brows and clicked on it, not quite knowing what to make of what it was called. “Need to be in a relationship really quickly to please a boss or your parents? Then look no further – help is right here!”
The more that Trent read, the more he liked the sound of this service. He didn’t need to find a woman, date her, or all of that boring stuff if he could just pretend to be with her! He could essentially hire a young woman to act as his wife. And it would be helping her, too. She’d be looking for the same sort of situation, with someone like him.
Wow, this is the answer to my prayers, he thought, grinning down at his phone. He couldn’t believe that the solution he needed was already right there, waiting for him to sign up.
If you enjoyed this preview of The Cowboy’s Match, you can now read books 1-4 of the Pretendr Dating App Series as a box set!
Matched through a fake relationship app, they weren’t looking for love. But their hearts could only play along with the charade for so long.
This box set of sweet, fun, and uplifting clean romances includes:
The Lumberjack’s Match
The Rock Star’s Match
The Cowboy’s Match
The Detective’s Match
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About the Author
Blake Andrews is an author of sweet, wholesome contemporary romances. Hailing from New England, her own happily ever is spent hiking with her husband and rescue pup, devoting long, lazy afternoons to reading on the beach, and trying every flavor in the ice cream aisle.
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