Dearest Cowboys Box Set

by Mia Brown

  “Oh come on, don’t be such a baby. I did it at night. Nobody saw me. Nobody got hurt. What’s the big deal?”

  “What’s the big deal? Are you really asking me that question? You might have damaged her equipment!” I said.

  “So what?”

  “So what? Dallas works to help animals. She is doing good in this world. I know you want her out but that’s not the way to do it. What you’ve done is wrong, and it’s illegal and you shouldn’t get away with it,” I said. Oh it felt so good to finally be standing up to this bully. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to do this until now.

  “Oh please, don’t tell me you care? Let me guess, you have the hots for her. So pathetic. Anyway, you can’t do anything about it. Remember, when I took you on as a lawyer you promised me attorney-client privilege. You can’t say anything. You are not allowed to say anything. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Come on, can’t you see what a good thing this is? This has given us the opening we need. There is a positive side to all of this that you are not seeing.”

  “You disgust me,” I said.

  He laughed. “Don’t be all holier than thou with me. I know that you used to work for a big corporation. I did my research on you. I’ve seen some of the clients you’ve worked with. I know that you will take on any case just for the money. I know that you’ve worked with some bad people. I’m not stupid, Blaze. You can’t fool me. I know who you are and it’s pointless to even try and hide it.”

  “You’re absolutely right, Steve. I did work for some awful people, and I was exactly that guy that you are describing. I’m not going to even try and deny it anymore. I did things I wasn’t proud of. I left that company to start my own for that very reason. I wanted to change and I wanted to leave that life behind. I guess it followed me and I’m ashamed to say that I have still being doing business I’m not proud of with clients I really can’t stand.”

  “Are you trying to say that you can’t stand me?” he said.

  “Oh, I think we both know that I don’t like you. I’m tired of helping people who don’t deserve it and I’m tired of blaming my actions on professionalism. There is nothing professional about working with a man like you. Nothing at all. What an idiot I have been.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “We’re done. I’m not working for you anymore. I quit. I won’t even charge you for the last couple of weeks of billable hours. I don’t even care anymore. I just want to be done with you. It’s time for me to move on and do what makes me happy. I won’t be a part of your scheme and I will no longer with for clients like you. This is it, Steve. You took it a step too far and I want nothing to do with you anymore.”

  “You’re quitting? Just like that?” he asked.

  “Yep. Just like that.”

  “How dare you?” he fumed and I was pleased to see that he looked flustered for the first time. “The project is falling apart. Don’t you see that? It’s falling to pieces.”

  I laughed. “And whose fault is that? Look, if you really want to be such a big real estate guy then why don’t you move to a bigger city? You’ll have better luck there. Just sell her building, take the loss, and move.” I wasn’t sure why I was even giving him advice but the sort of him leaving this town made me feel happy.

  “Listen, Blaze, don’t you want to reconsider? I need you now,” he said and for the first time ever he sounded like he was pleading. “We can work this out. I won’t do anything bad again. I just need her out. Like you said, I probably suit the bigger city more. This town is too placid for me, but I’m here now and I want my project to go ahead.”

  I shook my head and stood up. “I’m sorry, Steve, but I’m officially done with you. Nothing you can say will make me stay.”

  “Sure, but how about I offer you more money? I will make it worth my while.”

  “There’s no amount of money that will make me want to say. Goodbye Steve. Oh, and do yourself a favor, get some new suits. Those ones are horrid.”

  I walked out of the office feeling lighter than I had in a long time. I had finally rid myself of Steve and nothing felt better. I still had no idea what was going to happen with Dallas or how her situation was going to work out, but I was glad that I had finally done the right thing. The moment I got to my car I called my brother.

  “I did it,” I said.

  “You got Dallas back!”

  “No, I wish, but I have told Steve that I will no longer be working for him.”

  “Oh wow, and how did he take it?”

  “As bad as I expected him to. He also begged me to come back and offered me more money but I said no. The guy is an idiot and he even admitted to throwing the rock. I’m glad to be rid of him. Man this feels good. Why didn’t you make me do this sooner?”

  “I did!” he said.

  I laughed. “I know you did. I was way too stubborn. Sorry for not listening. For what it’s worth, I’ll try listen to you a bit more now. But only sometimes.”

  Tyler chuckled. “Good to have you back, bro.”

  “Good to be back.”

  Thirty-Five

  Dallas

  I was sitting in the office while the men worked on the window. Will had been true to his word and I felt extremely grateful for this. However, a part of me also felt a little bad that he had done this for me. Did he want something in return? Will was not that sort of guy but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t ask me out again. Between the flowers and the helping with the window, it was going to be hard for me not to say yes. Maybe I would. The guy deserved a chance. I would be lying if said I didn’t wish Blaze had been the good one in all of this. I would be lying if I said I didn’t care. Of course I cared. Blaze had crept into my heart without even trying. I hadn’t meant to fall for him the way I had, but soon he was the only one I was thinking about. You’re in love when you can’t stop thinking about him. You’re in love when he makes your heart beat faster than the rest. I thought of those words and felt sad. Was I in love with Blaze? Perhaps not, but I certainly had the potential to be. Why couldn’t I feel the same way about the lovely Will? Why couldn’t he be the one who made my heart beat faster? I willed myself to think of him. Perhaps if I just gave it a try I would fall for him. Or maybe I should just stay away from men for a while. They were too much trouble.

  “Well, we’re all done,” one of the men said and shook me out of my thoughts. I had been so lost in thought that I had almost forgotten they were there.

  “Wonderful. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you guys coming over like this. It looks great.”

  “It’s our pleasure. I’m sorry to hear about what happened. There are some very stupid and very nasty people out there with nothing better to do. I hope it doesn’t happen again and I hope it hasn’t affected you too badly.”

  I smiled at him. He seemed like a nice man. Maybe I was too harsh when I said all men were trouble. “Thank you. I’ll be fine,” I said.

  I watched as the men left and then called Madison to let her know. She had taken the day off to do some wedding planning with Jack. She wanted to try on some dresses and look for wedding cakes. They still hadn’t set a date but she was so excited that I told her to take the day off. She’d been so good to me throughout this process that it seemed like the least I could do anyway.

  “The window is all fixed,” I told her.

  “Oh, I’m so glad. That’s a relief. Thanks to our lovely knight in shining armor.”

  I smiled. “Thanks to him. So, how’s it going? Did you find a dress?”

  “Yes! Can you believe it? And it was the first dress I tried on. So many people say that they end up going for the first dress they try on but I didn’t believe them. I thought I’d be one of those people who try on every dress and can’t decide, but this one is so beautiful. I did try a few more on just to make sure but it only made me even more sure that it was the one.”

  “Now you just need to set a date,” I said to her.

  She laughed. “I know. This has made me want
to get married soon. We’re actually thinking of doing it in about ten months. We figured that would give us enough time. Remember the deal, you need your plus one by then.”

  I groaned. “I forgot about that. Can’t I just bring a horse?”

  She giggled. “You could bring Will.”

  “Yeah, maybe. I’ll see. Anyway, there’s someone at the door. I better go. Have an amazing day. Enjoy the cake.”

  “Thanks, Dallas.”

  I cut the call and headed to the front door to see who it was. I didn’t have any customers booked for that day but people sometimes just took a chance. The last person I was expecting to see was Blaze. I hated how handsome he looked and how much I just wanted to reach out and kiss him. I hated the way my heart pounded in my chest at the mere sight of him. I hated that I wanted him and hated him all at the same time.

  “You should go,” I said to him.

  “Please can I just talk to you? I promise you it won’t be long and you can kick me out after that. Please, Dallas. I have a few things I need to say to you.”

  I sighed. “Okay fine. But you better be quick.”

  “Thank you,” he said and then followed me into the office. I wished I had Madison there with me as backup. I didn’t trust myself with him alone. But I reminded myself of the type of person he was. He was going to try and charm me now and I would have to keep reminding myself that he was not being genuine. He had already sweet talked me so many times before. I couldn’t fall for it again. I was surely stronger and wiser than that.

  “You can sit,” I said as I pointed to the spare chair. I went to sit behind my desk just so that there was some sort of barrier between us. “So, what’s going on?”

  He was about to say something when he noticed the window. “Oh, you got it fixed. I’m so glad. Look, I’ll pay for the repairs. Just let me know how much it cost you and I’ll make sure that it gets sorted out,” he said.

  I shook my head. “There’s no need. You don’t need to pay for it. Anyway, Will is the one who got it sorted out for me and he’s already paid it in full.”

  I noticed that he flinched at the mention of Will’s name and I prepared myself for some sarcastic comments, but none of them came my way. This surprised me although I could see he was trying to hold himself back.

  “That’s nice of him,” he said instead. “I’m glad you have it all sorted out. I didn’t like the idea of you working here with that window all bashed in.”

  I nodded. “I didn’t like it either. But I’m sure that’s not why you came to talk to me today.”

  “I came to tell you how sorry I am.”

  “Hmm. That seems unlikely,” I said. He seemed very genuine but he was a lawyer. It was his job to convince people and he was damn good at it.

  He sighed. “I really am. Also, I dropped Steve as a client. We are no longer working together. I really wanted you to know that.”

  “You dropped him as a client? Really? Or are you just telling me that? Because I’m not going to fall for anything you say ever again.”

  “I promise you. I dropped him. He wasn’t happy at all. He kept begging me to work for him again, which is ridiculous considering the way he treated me when I was working for him. He was very rude to me and very demanding, just like he probably is to you.”

  “Oh, I think he’s like that with everyone,” I said. “Anyway, you’re the one who continued to work for him.”

  “You’re right. And I’m an idiot. Steve is the one behind the rock. I got him to admit to it. He said I can’t do anything about it because of attorney-client privacy and all that. I wanted you to know though, although I’m sure you probably guessed it already. But I’m not the one who told him to do it and I most definitely had nothing to do with it. He knew that there was a damage clause in your contract and that’s my fault, but I would never have let him do something like this if I knew about it. I’m not that sort of person no matter what you might think of me.”

  “Well, I’m not surprised it was him. I figured it was anyway.”

  “So do you believe me that I had nothing to do with it?” he asked.

  He seemed to be pleading with me, as if everything depended on me believing him. I regarded him now and tried to figure out if he was telling the truth. No matter how much I didn’t want to like him and no matter how much I disagreed on his work ethics, I didn’t actually think he would do something like this. He might love his work, but he loved horses as much as I did. I sighed.

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t think you had anything to do with it. I do believe you.”

  He smiled gratefully. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. Dallas, I really like you. I mean, it wasn’t just about the sex for me. That was incredible, but it was more than that for me. I do want to be with you.”

  I gulped. I hadn’t expected this. “I don’t know, Blaze. I don’t agree with so many of your ways. And morals and ethics are important to me.”

  “They’re important to me too,” he insisted. “You’ve got every right to be weary of me. I was a bastard. I thought that part of my life was over. The very reason why I started my own law firm was because I didn’t want to work for the big corporate world where the only thing that was important was money. I honestly thought I had left that part of my life behind. But then I took on a few jobs with people I didn’t like because it was easy, and when Steve came along I did the same thing. I convinced myself that it didn’t make me a bad person. I regret it, and I know I’ll never go back to that again. Trust me, it’s not just you I’m making a promise to. I’ve made a promise to my brother and my parents too. I’ve also made a promise to myself. I want to be with you, Dallas. Like properly be with you. If you’ll let me.”

  I was overwhelmed by his speech but I was too scared to take what he was saying at face value. The last thing I wanted was to agree to being with him only to find out that I was duped again. I couldn’t deal with that and I would never forgive myself if it happened.

  “I’m not going to lie to you, Blaze. I like you too, and I’m very attracted to you. But I’m not yet convinced that this is nothing more than lust. When I’m ready to commit, I want it to be with someone who isn’t just good in bed, but with someone who has a romantic soul who I can really connect with.”

  “I can be that guy. I am that guy and we do have a connection. Let me prove it to you,” he insisted.

  “I’m sorry, Blaze, but this situation is just too complicated and I don’t want to get hurt. I need time. I need to think things through. I’m not going to just jump into this. I’m still angry with you and that’s not going to go away just because you said sorry. Just because you’re not working for Steve anymore doesn’t mean the damage isn’t done. I’m still going to have to move out. He’s still going to make sure of it. Look, you have to understand where I’m coming from. I need time.”

  Blaze nodded. “I understand completely.” Then he got up, and came over to kiss me gently on the cheek. “You can have all the time you need. I’ll be waiting for you.”

  I watched in surprise as he then walked out of the office without another word. It was then that I realized my heart was still thumping.

  Thirty-Six

  Blaze

  I was happy for Tyler, but he was now spending so much time with Veronica that he didn’t have much time for me. Still, I was being selfish. So I called him and invited the two of them to join me at a bar near me for a drink. I didn’t like being the spare wheel but I was looking forward to meeting this woman who had so clearly crept into my brother’s heart. When Tyler arrived I could see immediately why he was so in love. Veronica was beautiful. She had long dark hair and big brown eyes and her skin looked like a porcelain doll. She had a strong accent when she spoke but her English was brilliant.

  “Veronica, I’d like you to meet my older but not necessarily wiser brother, Blaze. Blaze, this is Veronica.”

  I grinned at her. “Veronica, it’s a pleasure to meet you. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brother this hap
py before.” Tyler actually a blushed a little when I said that and I tried not to laugh. He really was completely smitten.

  She smiled. “That’s nice of you to say. I’m glad I met him. I always knew I’d end up with a guy like him. I have always told my family that if a man doesn’t like animals, then I won’t like him.”

  “That’s a good philosophy to have,” I said as we took a seat.

  I couldn’t help but think of Dallas then. Her love of animals was beyond what I had seen from anyone and it was one of the things I liked most about her. I tried to force myself to stop thinking of her but it wasn’t easy. I missed her so much. It had been a few weeks already since I had gone to see her at her office and every day I kept hoping that she would get in touch with me. I still sent her anonymous flowers just to have some sort of link to her. Even though I was trying to keep the hope alive, I wasn’t sure if there was a chance for us to be together again. If she hadn’t been in touch by now then my opportunity might have been missed.

  I forced myself to turn my attention back to Veronica and Tyler. They were very sweet together and Tyler couldn’t stop grinning. Veronica was very easy to talk to and her stories about Austria were fascinating. I reminded myself to call my mother the next day to hear her thoughts on the matter because I could already see that she was the sort of girl my parents would love for Tyler. They were very well suited.

  “So, you’ve moved here for good then? Was this your first time in Raindrop?”

  “Actually, this is my second time. I came here a few years ago and fell in love with it. I knew right away that I wanted to come back and here I am. I wasn’t sure if I was going to stay for good though. I told myself that I would make that decision when I was here. And, well,” she smiled at Tyler then. “I think I’m going to stay.”