Dearest Cowboys Box Set

by Mia Brown

  I made my way over to his ranch, and when I got there I marveled once again at how well Will had done since finishing school. He had always been very ambitious and he had always been great with the ranch life. It wasn’t for everyone, and it required a certain person to make it work. Will was definitely that guy. While some of the other ranches seemed to have fallen to pieces, his was doing better and better with every passing day. Will took great pride in the place and you could tell from the moment you drove in.

  The moment I arrived Will took me to see the horse, which seemed to be doing a lot better since the last time I had seen it. I checked on all its vitals and did a thorough check to make sure I had all the details down. I compared them to the last notes I had taken and smiled. I was relieved to see that I had good news to share with him. As a vet I often had to give bad news to my customers and even after all these years of doing it, it never got easier. I got the feeling it never would.

  “I have some good news, Will.”

  “You do?” he asked hopefully.

  I nodded. “Well, things seem to be improving. It’s a long and slow process, but I think you’ll find that this horse is going to have a full recovery. He’s a very healthy horse which has helped him get better.”

  Will let out a sigh of relief as if he had been holding his breath the whole time. “It’s all thanks to you. I was hoping you would say that. I thought he seemed better but I wanted to hear it first from you. I wonder what is going on? He was so ill.”

  I shook my head. “These things happen, but it looks like we caught it just in time. I know of a few other horses who have gotten ill so perhaps there’s some sort of virus going around but I’m not sure yet. I’m just glad that this beautiful guy is fine.”

  “Thank you, Dallas. Would you like to come in for a drink? I have some iced coffee chilling in the fridge if you’d like one?”

  “Iced coffee? That sounds amazing right now. Thank you.”

  I followed him into the house, and once we had fetched the drinks we went to sit on the front porch to drink. Will had a great house, but he still lived very simply and I liked that about him. While we sat on the porch we had a great view of the horses, and I could see that he looked on them with pride. It was probably the way that I looked at all the animals that I worked on. Even though they weren’t my own, they were so dear to me.

  “You’ve done a great job here, Will,” I said to him.

  “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say. I really love what I do which helps. Same goes to you though. You’ve done a great job too. I can’t believe you’re a vet now. That’s amazing. I still remember you talking about it when we were in school. You wanted to be a vet from such a young age and you never once backed away from that idea. You always had these big dreams and I never doubted for one minute that you would go after them.”

  I smiled. “Thank you. I used to drive everyone crazy with my talk of becoming a vet. I don’t think I realized how hard it was going to be though. It really wasn’t easy, but it was worth all the hours I put in. I swear I had no social life for years.” Not that I had one now either, but I didn’t say that out loud. I wasn’t sure what sort of a social life Will had, but I had no doubt that mine was worse. My idea of a good Friday night was getting a pizza takeout and watching a good movie in my pajamas. The whole thing was very pitiful.

  “You and me both,” he said. “But I guess that’s the price you have to pay sometime.”

  We sat in silence for a while, just drinking our coffee and looking out at the horses. They were majestic creatures and even though I dealt with all sorts of animals on a day to day basis, I always had a natural affinity toward the horses. Unfortunately, the silence soon became uncomfortable for me and I felt a sudden desire to speak.

  “So, uh, how was your Valentine’s Day?” I asked and then immediately regretted it. The way I had asked it almost made it seem like I was trying to flirt with him, which I definitely wasn’t.

  He seemed embarrassed by the question. “Uh, it was fine. You know, nothing special. I’m sort of in between girlfriends at the moment. How about you? Did you have a good day?”

  “Uh yeah, it was fine. I’m not really into the whole Valentine’s thing although Madison swears it’s only because I don’t have a boyfriend at the moment.” I shrugged. “But I had a relatively good day despite that.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” he said. I noticed that he wasn’t look at me but was instead looking out at the horses. His cheeks were slightly pink and I wondered if he was thinking about the flowers.

  “So, you’re too busy to date, huh?” I said. “That must mean things are going well here for you.”

  Will nodded. “Oh things are going great. We are currently doing ranch expansions which is keeping me very busy. I’m in the process of hiring out some more staff too. That is the part that always takes me the longest. I think it’s so important to have the right people on board at all times. I am sure that’s why I’m doing so well. It’s the people that make me.”

  “Sure, but it’s also you,” I pointed out.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Will, you have always been determined. You went from being a ranch hand in high school to being one of the richest ranches in the area. You’re doing so well for yourself. I mean, even back in high school you were working when the other kids just wanted to mess around. You have always had the right attitude to make it work. You should acknowledge that.”

  Will shrugged. “Oh, well, thank you. I’m just glad I could finally make some money for the family business. They deserve it.”

  I smiled. Will had always been a very humble man, and I liked that about it. I wondered again if perhaps Madison was right about the two of us. We were both so similar. We were very dedicated to our work, and spent a lot of our time trying to get ahead in a job we both loved. Will was a good looking guy too. He had sandy blonde hair, and dark brown eyes that made you trust him. After all the work he did out on the ranch he had also developed a great body which he didn’t have in high school. I definitely didn’t feel any sort of flutter when I looked at him, but perhaps that was something that could grow in time. I wasn’t sure. I knew I wouldn’t do anything about it unless he asked me out, because something was still holding me back.

  “Who needs a relationship when you have work,” he said.

  I laughed. “You sound like me. Madison said I should just marry one of the horses.”

  Will chuckled. “One of my friends said the same thing to me.”

  “Well, I better get going, Will. I still have quite a few things I need to do. Thank you so much for the iced coffee. It was just what the doctor ordered right now.”

  “My pleasure,” he said as he took the glass from me. “It was good having you over. You should come around more often. I think the horses really like you.”

  I smiled. “Well, they’re very likeable creatures.”

  “So, a busy day ahead? You have more clients to attend to?”

  “I have a few people coming into the office today and I also want to pop into another ranch to check on some horses. I also have tons of paperwork to do. Oh, and I have some flowers that need watering.” I added the flower thing in at the last minute just to see what his reaction would be. I knew that Madison would kill me if I didn’t at least try to get an answer out of him.

  “I always seem to kill flowers,” he said without even a flinch. “I think my talents will remain at the ranch and will not extend to anything else.”

  I laughed. “You and me both.”

  His reaction surprised me. I thought he would’ve flinched when I mentioned the flowers, but he hadn’t seemed fazed by it at all. Either he really didn’t want me to know or he hadn’t sent them to me. Either way, I wasn’t about to ask. There was no way I had the guts to ask him directly. Anyway, if they were from him and he liked me, he’d find a way to tell me.

  Four

  Blaze

  I probably should’ve made an appointment to see Dallas,
but I was worried she would make an excuse about why she couldn’t see me. I figured the best way would be to just arrive unannounced. I made sure to arrive around lunch time in the hopes that she would have more time to talk to me.

  When I got there I was pleased to see that the flowers were on her desk, and that she’d taken the time to put them in a vase. She had clearly been watering them too because they still looked fantastic. I was sure she was going to just throw them in the trash so this pleased me. Unfortunately, she didn’t look too happy to see me when I walked in, but I made sure to keep the smile on my face. I knew I could be charming, just as much as I knew I would one day win her around. I was not someone who gave up easily.

  “Hi Dallas, good to see you again,” I said.

  She nodded. “Hi Blaze. How are you?” She might not like me but she was always very polite.

  “I’m great. Where’s Madison?” I asked as I indicated toward the empty seat.

  “She’s out for lunch with her boyfriend.”

  “Mind if I take her seat then so we can talk.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that, I really need to get to work. I have tons to do today. Is it serious?”

  “It is,” I said.

  “Well, okay then. Take a seat,” she said. “Oh no, does it have something to do with the horses at your family ranch? There’s been this horrible horse virus that has been sweeting the county, and a lot of horses are getting sick. If it’s caught early enough it can be treated, but unfortunately some of the horses have not made it.”

  I shook my head. “Really? A horse virus? That’s awful.”

  “It is. If it’s not caught quickly then it can be very dangerous. It’s respiratory so it’s a major threat to the ranch horses. I haven’t seen anything like this in a while. So your horses are all fine at the family ranch?”

  “Yes, all fine.”

  Dallas frowned. “When last did you visit?”

  I laughed. “You think I just ignore the ranch now?”

  “Well, you have a busy job,” she pointed out but I could tell by the way she was saying it that she wasn’t giving me a compliment. Dallas wasn’t very good at hiding her emotions, and unfortunately I was always at the wrong side of them.

  “Yes, I certainly do. No, the horses are fine, and I know that for a fact. I might not be there as much anymore since I went back to being a lawyer, but I’m still at the ranch at least twice a week to ride. I was there just the other day and I haven’t noticed anything. The family hasn’t said anything to me either and I’m sure they would’ve told me. I love being a lawyer but it doesn’t mean I don’t still love the ranch.”

  Dallas blushed ever so slightly at my words. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. Well, that’s good then. I would hate to see this spreading even more. Perhaps it has come to a halt now. So, uh, if you’re not here about the horses then why are you here?”

  “Can’t I just come to say hello?” I teased.

  Dallas raised her eyebrows at that. “You can do whatever you want, but you seem to have come for a reason.”

  “Actually, I came because I heard that Steve wants you to move out.”

  Dallas groaned. “Yes, I am fully aware that he wants me to leave. However, I have a lease with an option to extend unless I’m in violation. I’ll have you know that I’m most definitely not in any sort of violation so he has no leg to stand on.” Dallas had taken on a very superior tone and I could imagine that this was the way she had spoken to Steve. No wonder he wanted someone else to talk to her. She seemed as if she wasn’t going to let anyone tell her what to do.

  “Look, here’s the thing, Dallas. I understand that you don’t want to move, but it’s going to happen anyway, so you might as well move now and make it easier on everyone.”

  “And how exactly would that be easier on me? Do you have any idea how difficult and expense it will be to move everything. It’s not like I’m just in some small office room. I’m a vet, and I need my building set up in a particular way. It’s not like I can just pack up and move out. I don’t think Steve, or you apparently, have given that any thought. Not that Steve would care of course.”

  I stared at Dallas in frustration. I could understand her being annoyed with Steve but I wasn’t sure why she had to have such an attitude with me. I was only there to talk to her about her options, but she was talking to me like I was a child and I was finding it very frustrating.

  “You know, you better be careful because you might end up facing eviction if you carry on this way,” I pointed out to her. I was aware that my tone had now taken on a very childlike approach but I couldn’t help myself. The more annoyed she got with me, the more annoyed I got with her.

  “You can’t just evict someone because you feel like it,” Dallas pointed out to me. “I know all the local laws, and I know that Steve can’t raise my rent until the next lease renewal period, and even then the percentage amount is capped. So, I’m not going anywhere for at least six months and he’s just going to have to deal with it. I’ve done my research. If he thinks I’m just going to roll over and let him take what’s important to me, then he clearly doesn’t know me at all. I’m sorry for getting so agitated, but I really don’t like being bullied. And that is exactly what Steve is. A bully.”

  I nodded but didn’t say anything for a while. I wanted Dallas to calm down a bit before I spoke again. I didn’t like seeing her so worked up, but at the same time I knew that this was a part of her personality that I was most attracted to. I loved how fiery she was and how she would always stick up for herself. For the most part, Dallas was actually very reserved, but this side of her would always come out when she needed it to. Along with her beautiful she was, I couldn’t help but feel myself stir as I watched her. Not that I told her any of this though. Now was definitely not the time to admit that I liked her.

  “Well, here’s the thing. Steve says he knows that it’s not going to be easy for you, so he’s willing to compromise. He’d like to offer you a thousand dollars if you will move within the month. I can assure you that he is good for this money too. If you accept then he will get the building and you will be compensated for it. What do you think?”

  “What do I think?” she said with a scoff. “I think it’s an awful idea.”

  “It’s a thousand dollars, Dallas. That’s a lot of money.”

  “A thousand dollars won’t cover the cost of the move. And where am I supposed to go? Out on the streets? I need time to find the perfect place. Do you have any idea how long it took me to find this place? I searched for months until I found this place and I always thought I would be here for the rest of my life. That thousand dollars won’t go far. I will need a deposit for a new place, I will need to move all this equipment. It’s not good enough, and I cannot believe that Steve had the nerve to offer it. I can’t believe he had the nerve to hire a lawyer to do his dirty work for him.”

  “Okay, well let’s not worry about it too much,” I said. I figured it was best to try and placate her because she looked like she was going to combust at any moment. As much as I had promised Steve I would try to help him, I also wanted to do my best to keep her on my side. “Look, let me talk to Steve and see if we can figure out a way to work things out that works for everyone. Okay?”

  She nodded. “Well, okay. Thank you. I would appreciate that.”

  “So, nice flowers,” I pointed out. I decided not to tell her directly that I had sent the flowers. After the heated conversation we had just had this was not the time. For some reason, Dallas had never liked me, and she’d never even tried to hide the fact. It hadn’t stopped me from liking her though, and I hoped that the flowers would act as a nice connection between the two of us. I figured she would warm up to me once it was revealed that the flowers were from me.

  “Yeah, they’re beautiful,” she said. “I’m not used to having flowers on my desk but I must admit that they’re very nice.” She was looking admiringly at the flowers in a way that made me realize
I had done the right thing by sending them to her. I couldn’t imagine why nobody sent her flowers on a more regular basis but I was glad I had been the one to do so.

  “So, who are they from? Was it for Valentine’s Day? I didn’t know you had a boyfriend?” I said.

  She shook her head. “I don’t have a boyfriend, but yeah they were for Valentine’s Day.”

  “If they’re not from a boyfriend, who are they from?” I asked.

  “Honestly? I have no idea.”

  “Oh, a secret admirer. That’s cool. Do you have any ideas?”

  “Hmm, maybe. I’m not sure though.”

  “Really? Come on, tell me, who sent them to you?”

  She looked at me then, almost as if she was trying to figure out whether or not she should say anything. Then she sighed and shrugged. “I think they might be from Will Green. The two of us went to school together and I’ve been helping him out with his horses.”

  “Will Green?” I said with annoyance. I couldn’t believe she would think of him first. Did that mean she liked him? The guy was so irritating. I had never liked him. He always walked around like he was the nicest guy in the world and everyone seemed to fall for it. But he was a shrewd businessman, that’s why his business was doing so well. If I could see that, why didn’t anyone else?