The Rancher's Fake Fiancée

by Amy Vastine

  “I don’t need a letter or two weeks. I already have a job offer.”

  Tyler’s brows pinched together. “How did you find a job in the last—” he looked at his watch “—twenty minutes?”

  “Ethan asked me to come work for the ranch. He plans to ask you to vote to keep the ranch in the family with the condition that you do not have to stay and help him run it.”

  “Ethan? You’re going to work for Ethan?”

  “Maybe. I don’t want to make it hard for you to visit your family or to come back here if you ever feel like doing that.”

  Tyler sat down on the porch steps. “You would choose Ethan over me?”

  “I’m not choosing Ethan over you. I can’t choose you. You don’t want me.”

  He didn’t deny it. Her chest ached at the thought of his not loving her anymore.

  “You’re going to leave Portland? Your friends, your life there?”

  Her career was all she had going for her now and the ranch offered her the most potential for happiness. She didn’t have a lot of options. Ethan was offering her a chance to do something that she knew she’d be good at.

  “I need to know if you would be okay with me being here. This is your family’s land. If you want to call dibs, I will walk away and figure something else out.”

  He walked to the other end of the porch, keeping his distance. “Dibs? I told you I wanted to get out of here and as far away as possible. I’m leaving as soon as I pack my bags and I have no intentions of ever coming back.”

  “Then we wouldn’t have to worry about seeing each other ever again. That could be helpful, huh?” The thought of it brewed up a new batch of tears.

  “So much for where you go, I go. Is that what you want? To never see me again?”

  She wanted to bury her face in the crook of his neck and inhale the sweet scent of his aftershave. She wanted to kiss him until they were both so dizzy from lack of oxygen. She wanted to marry him and promise to be with him forever. She wanted to erase every lie they had ever told one another.

  But those things were impossible.

  “I want you to be happy and I want to feel like I am valued and appreciated. Working for the Blackwell Guest Ranch could make me feel that way.”

  “Then who am I to say no? If this is where you want to work, this is where you should work. I’ll tell Ethan that I’ll vote to keep it as long as I can stay away. I’ll also talk to Chance, who doesn’t care what happens to this place as long as he doesn’t have to do anything. Ethan will have the votes.”

  “Thanks.”

  He walked toward her but stopped a few feet away. The sun had tanned his skin over the last week. He was heartbreakingly handsome. “We never watched the sunset together,” he said.

  “Guess it wasn’t meant to be.” They weren’t meant to be.

  “Guess not.” He pushed open the door to the cabin. “Goodbye, Hadley.”

  She wanted to be calm and cool, to say goodbye back. Instead, she was trying her best to strangle the sob that wanted to escape her throat. She picked up her bags and marched down the stairs, on her way to find a different Blackwell brother.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  PORTLAND WAS A different place when Tyler returned from Montana. It was often a rainy and dreary city, but it was especially so this week. He didn’t spend much time looking out the window, though. There was work to be done and a new associate strategist to hire.

  “Can you go to the Kingman meeting with Eric this afternoon? I have a conflict and won’t be able to make it,” Kellen said, when they had their morning meeting.

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll have Veronica post Hadley’s position on the website. The sooner we get that filled the better. The office has been a little lost while she was on that trip you sent her on and then she quit. I can’t believe she quit without giving at least some notice. I’ll be sure to say that to anyone calling for a reference.”

  No one would be calling for a reference. Tyler leaned back in his black leather office chair. The one that Hadley had picked out for him, calling it functional yet stylish. In fact, she had helped him choose most of the office furniture in this room because he trusted her taste more than anyone else’s.

  “I told you we were going to lose her if we didn’t promote her.” That was far from the reason she wasn’t here anymore, but it made Tyler feel better to say it. It was the truth.

  Kellen shrugged. “She’ll be missed, but at least Eric’s up to speed now and is ready to present to Kingman.”

  “Have him come in here so we can go over some talking points before the meeting.”

  “Are you okay?” Kellen asked on his way out. “You’ve been distant since you got back. Missing your vacation, aren’t you? I don’t know why you cut it short.”

  He was missing something. Someone was a bit more accurate. “I’m fine. Must be the Monday morning blues.”

  Kellen smiled and slipped out of Tyler’s office to find Eric. Tyler reached for his notebook and a tiny pink slip of paper drifted to the floor. He picked it up and immediately recognized the handwriting.

  Call your brother Jon. Please. Pretty please. Calling him back will rescue a puppy from the pound and save a unicorn from an evil wizard. Please call.

  You’re the best boss ever,

  Hadley

  The note made him want to laugh and cry. How many of these had she written him in the weeks leading up to their fateful trip to Falcon Creek? She had no idea how he and his brothers would change her life back then. How she would forever change his.

  “Okay, boss. I heard you wanted to meet with me.” Eric came in, holding a manila folder. “We’re going to go over the talking points, right?”

  “Right. I have to say, this is an excellent brand analysis. You did a great job.”

  Eric’s face warmed red. “Thanks.”

  Employees liked to be appreciated now and then. It didn’t hurt to give a little praise, let them know when they had done a good job. Tyler learned that from Hadley.

  “What would you say is the main theme in your analysis?”

  Eric shifted anxiously in his chair. “I was hoping to hear your thoughts on that. You’re the boss, right? You know what the client is looking for better than anyone.”

  Tyler’s brow furrowed. “That’s not how it works, Eric. You did the analysis. You have all the answers there in your report. This is your show.”

  “Right. Right. Well, when you read the report, what stood out to you as the main theme? It’s shaving, right?”

  Tyler was more than confused. Baffled was more like it. “Eric, did you read your own report? It’s excellent. Just summarize what you came up with. That’s your main theme.”

  Eric opened his folder and shuffled through the papers inside. “I’m glad to hear you think the report was excellent. What were your favorite parts?”

  A sinking feeling came over him. Tyler feared things were not as they seemed. “Eric, did you write these?”

  “When you say these, what are you referring to specifically?”

  “Specifically I would be referring to the market research and the brand analysis. Did you write them?”

  “I reviewed them after I had one of my assistants pull some things together.”

  Tyler rubbed his temples, hoping to ward off the headache that was building. “One of your assistants? You don’t have assistants, Eric. Who wrote these reports?”

  “Hadley offered to put it together for me, and she’s such a sweetheart, I couldn’t tell her no, right?”

  Tyler’s jaw dropped. Of course it was Hadley. He stood up and opened his door. “Kellen!”

  Everyone else in the office froze. No one said a word except for Eric.

  “I had to tell Hadley what I wanted her to do. And then I had to proofread the reports. She’s not a strong spelle
r, but I caught all the errors, which is why it looks so good now.”

  “Kellen!”

  His business partner came out of his office and weaved through the cubicles. “Why are you yelling?”

  Tyler held the glass door open until Kellen was in the room. “Eric was telling me about how he had Hadley write these reports for him and that he can’t present at the meeting today because he doesn’t understand what they say. This is your mess. You have to clean it up because I am not walking into that client meeting with Eric, who is no longer the brand strategist for our company.”

  Kellen’s shock gave way to embarrassment. He took Eric to his office to discuss how they were going to handle this disaster. Tyler sat back down at his desk and scrubbed a hand over his face. Of course it had been Hadley. Those reports were perfect because she was perfect.

  Hadley. Hadley. Hadley. It didn’t matter where he was or what he was doing, she was everywhere.

  Hadley would have loved the romantic comedy they played on the flight to PDX. What was Hadley’s favorite drink at Black Rock Coffee? Hadley would have remembered it was Lee’s birthday today and brought in a card for everyone to sign and a cake. Hadley had never sat on the love seat in his condo. Hadley smelled like wildflowers. Did Hadley watch the sunset over the Rockies without him?

  It was supposed to be easier with her in a different state. Wasn’t it? He wasn’t supposed to think about her because he didn’t have to see her every day, but her void was as strong as her presence.

  On his way home from work, Tyler stopped by a pizza place and ordered a small gluten-free vegan pizza just to say he’d tried it. If Hadley liked it, maybe he would. He was wrong. There was a little too much Montana rancher in him to enjoy it. He ended up throwing half of it away. A half hour later, two very meaty sub sandwiches were delivered to his door.

  He sat and ate at his kitchen island. His dining room table was covered with the mail he’d had on hold while he was gone. He hated to have the clutter, so once his belly was full, he began sorting through it. Ninety percent was junk mail and headed for the garbage or recycling.

  The crown jewel of his held mail was a package. A brown-paper-wrapped box with his name and address written on it but no return address. It was postmarked from Texas. He knew only one person in Texas and that was his grandma Dorothy.

  He opened it up not knowing what to expect. She sent the yearly obligatory birthday and Christmas cards but never a package before. It wasn’t heavy and didn’t make any interesting noises when he shook it. Maybe it was a box of money or, with his luck, something Grandma Dorothy crocheted in knitting class.

  It wasn’t either of those things. He pulled out a stack of letters. There must have been five bundles of old letters tied with twine. Why in the world was someone sending him their old mail? The letters were addressed to his grandmother. He had guessed correctly that the package was from her. The return address was hard to read because the tops of the envelopes were ripped raggedly across the top. He could make out Falcon Creek, MT, on the first few that he flipped through.

  He said a quick prayer that these weren’t love letters between his grandparents. That would be weird. He pulled out one of the letters from the first stack and tugged out the stationery inside. He recognized the handwriting immediately. He had two things from his parents in his possession. One was his dad’s arrowheads and the other was a cookbook his mom had handwritten her recipes in. Tyler didn’t cook any of them but sometimes he would page through it to remember family dinners.

  For the next two hours, Tyler fell down the letter rabbit hole. His mom had written his grandmother almost weekly after Dorothy left. Each letter was filled with anecdotes about the boys and the ranch.

  March 12, 1996—Ben and Ethan found the poison oak today in the forest. I’ve been making them wear mittens so they won’t scratch at it. But you know them, they stole my hairbrush and were giving each other back scratches. At least they didn’t ask Tyler and Chance to scratch it for them. I don’t think I would survive if four of them had it!

  April 3, 1996—Jon will never forgive me if he knew I was telling you this, but our little Romeo kissed his first girl today. He didn’t tell me (of course not, he would never tell his MOM these things) but I overheard him telling his brothers. Ben bragged that he had already kissed two girls and Tyler claims he’s never kissing anyone but me. He’s so cute! I wish I could freeze him at this age, so innocent. He’s going to be the one who has all the girls falling over themselves trying to get his attention. Those eyes!

  July 20, 1996—It’s been a rough week. Ty got the stomach flu and was down for the count for three days. Today was the first day he managed to eat solid food and it didn’t come back up. My poor sweetie. Oh, I’m not allowed to call him that anymore. He informed me that sweetie is what boys call girls. Boys can’t be sweet. I am only allowed to call him Bud, Dude, Ty or Tyler. I was also told a couple weeks ago that I couldn’t cuddle him anymore because he’s not a baby. But I guess when you’re sick, those rules don’t apply. He’s been letting me rub his back and cuddle whenever I want. I do love cuddling him the most since he’s so bound and determined to grow up faster than the rest of them. Don’t tell the others!

  Letter after letter. Story after story. All five boys were mentioned. All five drove their mother frantic and broke her heart when they were sad, sick or hurt. All five of them made her smile and filled her heart to the point of bursting. All five. Tyler was the best artist in the family, her favorite to cuddle, the one who was always pushing her away. He didn’t remember doing that to her. Setting limits with her about what she could call him, how she could show him affection. He had been a challenge.

  One thing was clear as he read her words. His mom loved him. She loved him as much as she loved Jon and Ben. Just as much as Ethan and Chance. They were all her favorites. She loved talking about horses with Jon and loved listening to Chance sing. She loved Ethan’s curiosity. She couldn’t get enough of Ben’s wit. And she loved Tyler’s eyes, his toothless grins, his hugs and kisses. She thought he was smart, too smart sometimes. She thought that about all of them at one time or another.

  He wiped the tears from his eyes as he finished the last stack. He’d spent twenty years thinking he was nothing more than an afterthought. So many wasted years rewriting history to fit his ten-year-old misguided belief that he wasn’t special. No one loved him any less. Sometimes he was a little standoffish. Sometimes he didn’t see the bigger picture of what was going on in his mom’s life.

  Tyler had never considered how his personality impacted the way others related to him. It made him look back on his relationship with everyone differently, especially Hadley. He pushed her away with his words and his actions but was hurt when she withdrew. He demanded her loyalty, her honesty but didn’t return it. He wanted to be her favorite person and refused to admit she was his.

  Tyler didn’t need a psychic or a séance to set him straight, but he had needed his mom. Grandma Dorothy gave him just that.

  * * *

  HADLEY AND ETHAN had two lists. One was the practical what-could-they-get-accomplished-before-the-end-of-the-summer-season list. And the other was the if-everything-worked-out-as-planned or the-sky-was-the-limit list.

  “How long do you think it will take Tyler to get ahold of Chance?”

  “No idea,” Ethan said, opening his bag of potato chips. They were having a working lunch together in the guest lodge. “Chance sort of goes off the grid sometimes.”

  “So it’s possible we won’t know before summer ends?”

  “I’ll text Ty and see if he’s heard back.”

  Talking about Tyler hadn’t gotten any easier in the week that had gone by. She thought about him constantly. Ethan let her stay at the Heavenly Pines while she made arrangements to sell her Portland condo. She was scheduled to go there this weekend and start packing.

  The thought of being in Portla
nd made her heart ache. What if they ran into each other out at dinner or at the grocery store? It was a silly worry since she’d never seen Tyler anywhere but at the office in all the years they’d worked together. She had no reason to go to 2K. Tyler had Veronica pack up her personal belongings and they were being shipped to Falcon Creek.

  Still, she wondered what she would say or do if she ever saw him again. Smile on the outside and cry on the inside most likely. It took her a measly ten days to fall head over heels in love with Tyler Blackwell, but it would probably take a lifetime to get over him.

  “Okay, regardless of Chance’s vote, what is the next logical step for us?”

  Even though they didn’t have all the votes they needed, Ethan was moving forward as if he would be the eventual winner and the ranch would stay in the family. He had Hadley managing their social media accounts and booking large events. She was also in charge of their newest marketing campaign: weddings.

  “Well, Jon and Lydia want to get married this fall. I say we offer to have it here as sort of a test run for us. Then there’s a bridal expo in Billings this January that we should try to get into,” Hadley said. “The best part is that we could spare no expense on your wedding in December, use all the pictures from your wedding and Jon’s for promotional purposes, and you could write the whole thing off as a business expense.”

  “You’re a genius. Have I told you lately that you are a genius?” Ethan grinned as he took a bite of his sandwich.

  Jon and Lydia had finally set a wedding date and would be the first of hopefully many weddings the ranch would host. Hadley was excited to help them but also feared that their wedding would be the first real possibility of seeing Tyler again. He had said he’d never be back, but surely he’d make an exception for his brother’s wedding.

  They finished eating and crossing items off their lists. Ethan got up to grab them some cookies from the buffet table.