HER BILLIONAIRE COWBOY
SOPHIA SUMMERS
CONTENTS
Read all of Sophia Summers’ Books
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue: One Year Later
Read all of Sophia Summers’ Books
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Her other books in this series:
Her Billionaire Cowboy
Her Billionaire Protector
Her Billionaire in Hiding
Her Billionaire Christmas Secret
The Billionaire Royals
The Heir
The Crown
The Duke
The Duke’s Brother
The Prince
The American
The Spy
The Princess
Chapter 1
I ndecision swirled in Abby Jane’s brain. A property next to her grandfather’s ranch had just been listed for sale. Her New York City based publishing company might go public. And her excellent photographer, Rob, was pushing to spend more time with her.
“AJ, you have to sign off on these changes before you go!” Ruth, the office manager, called from the desk outside AJ’s office. “I don’t know how in the world I’m going to handle things while you’re gone!” Her frazzled red curls matched her mood.
AJ shuffled through some of her business files, deciding which ones to take with her on vacation. “Ruth, you can do this—I have everything organized. In fact you could take over for me completely.” She paused in the doorway to meet Ruth’s eyes. “You know I have to get away.”
She wanted to get to the airport early. Security lines had been unpredictable lately. She had missed a flight to France the previous month due to a problem with the lines. The designer she had gone to see did sign the contract, but he hadn’t been pleased.
Ruth whined. “Why can’t you just tell Rob to back off?”
Ugh. Why bring him up? “I am not running away from Rob.” Although she had to admit that he was part the reason she needed to get away.
He knew how to hire great talent. His photographers made Style Magazine stand out. The best designers had started asking to have their work showcased because of how great he made their pieces look. But even though he was good-looking—in a model sort of way—he gave her the creeps. And he kept pushing to have a closer relationship—something she would never allow.
AJ shut her office door. She picked up a framed picture of her grandfather’s ranch and sat back in her chair. She needed a minute to breathe. She often thought back to the day she’d been offered this opportunity to publish a fashion magazine. She had been a very successful model and had amassed a fortune, but she had not invested it. Starting a magazine was a nice change from modeling and had turned out to be a great investment.
Style Magazine was a success. But AJ needed to make some important decisions about her—and the magazine’s—future. And she needed to leave town to do it.
When the advertisement for the River Lakes Ranch Resort had fallen open on her desk, she took it as a sign. The fact that Rob wanted her to go on a European business trip with him that same week had added an extra push. She’d sent in her reservations to the ranch immediately.
* * *
Stetson answered his phone and stared out at his tenth floor view. “Yes, Jared, I am packed and ready. I don’t know how you talked me into this.” He checked his agenda. “The last thing I want to do is spend a week in the country!”
“Stet, we need this. Those years we worked your grandpa’s ranch were the best. New York is killing what’s left of my sense of humor. And your idea of fun lately is sitting in front of your computer buying and selling stocks. Don’t you miss riding on a great horse or the smell of alfalfa?” Jared’s voice sounded like a child missing Christmas morning. “You just can’t get that here.”
After Stetson’s parents died in a car accident when he was twelve, his grandfather took him to live on the ranch. He had been shattered by the loss of his parents, but ranch work and the outdoors had soothed his soul. Stet loved the giant of a man, and he respected him.
His grandfather had grown a few cows and some acreage into a fortune, running several hundred thousand acres and multiple ranches. He had managers at each one, but needed Stet to start taking over the general management of his cattle empire.
Stet chose to go to New York instead. He hated to disappoint his grandfather, but he wanted to make his way in the business world. It wasn’t about the money—they brought in millions each year selling cattle. Stetson couldn’t stand being out in the middle of Wyoming, feeling like life was passing him by.
He grunted in response to Jared’s excitement. A pretend cattle ranch in the middle of Texas would be worse than his real one in Wyoming, that was for sure. A bunch of city-folk playing ranch. Stet shook his head. Sounded like an accident waiting to happen. “Well, Jared, you owe me. This week is for you. Fortunately, I’ll have my phone with me. What’s the name of this place again?”
“River Lakes Ranch Resort. It’s just outside a small, one-street Texas town. It will be perfect. You actually go incognito. Everyone comes up with a ranch name, and you can play at ranching or whatever you want with total privacy. From the outside, it looks like any other weather-beaten ranch in Texas, but it’s more like a hideout. I’ll meet you at the gate.”
Stet finished up his work, checked in with his partners, and then called the doorman of his building to get him to hold his mail.
He grabbed his luggage and headed for the street. Just as he stepped outside the building doors, his phone rang. Jared was going to have to catch a later flight—his boss insisted he visit one more client before he left for vacation. Stet grumbled. “Don’t leave me there alone.” It was pouring down rain, which dampened Stet’s mood further. But a cab pulled up while Stet was on the phone. He made a run for it and jumped in, telling the cabbie to head for the airport. The angry shouts of a woman as he drove away made him smirk. One thing he would not miss this week was the Manhattan attitude.
* * *
AJ stood under the portico, waiting for the next cab. As one drove up, she bent down to pick up her luggage and headed out into the rain.
Then some guy in a suit rushed past her and jumped into the cab before she could reach the door. As the cab sped off, a wall of water drenched her.
The doorman ran out with his umbrella. “Miss Bianchi, I am so sorry. Come back inside, and we can get you dry and find you another cab.”
Her beautiful Armani business suit was ruined. Street grit slid down her face. One more thing she wouldn’t miss about Manhattan, the attitude.
“Can you watch the rest of my luggage while I change in the ladies’ room?” AJ gave the doorman her luggage, except for one bag, and asked him to send her suit to the cleaners.
Once she was settled in a new cab, she thought about the rudeness of people in this town. Did men no longer think they needed to be gentlemen? “I’m glad I’m going to Texas,” she muttered to herself. The last time she‘d been there was for a shoot for Vogue magazine. She had happened to drop her purse at the mall, and three men lunged to be the one to pick it up for her. She’d seen the same thing at a grocery store when an elderly lady dropped a bag of carrots. She was really going to love the quiet peace and courtesy of country living, even if only for one week.
She made
it through security quickly for a change, and sat down to read a new novel a friend had recommended to her. She seldom found time to read and was just getting into her book when someone tripped on her carry-on bag.
“Oh, I am sorry,” she said as she reached to pull it closer to her chair.
AJ looked up and gasped. The man who stole her cab. She narrowed her eyes.
His gaze slid over the length of her and his smile was deep and slow. “Please excuse me,” he said as if he had just done her a favor. “I should have watched where I was going.”
“Yes. Well, you seem to be having quite a day of it.”
He paused, a confused expression wrinkling his forehead. “Excuse me?”
AJ could see the slight disdain in his eyes as he surveyed her appearance. Due to the cab mishap, she was dressed in her jeans, boots, and western shirt instead of her lovely Armani suit. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and was still wet from the rain. AJ refused to care. She glared at him and went back to her reading.
“I obviously have offended you in some way. I would just like to know how,” the man persisted.
AJ slowly put down her book with a sigh and rolled her eyes. “Look, nothing can be done about it now. I just want to enjoy my book.” She pointedly returned to its pages.
“Perhaps I could make amends if I sit right here.” He smirked and sat down beside her.
AJ could feel her temper flaring when she saw him trying to hide a smile. He was obviously not used to being brushed off.
She inched as far away from him as she could. “You are too much. I am glad I’m heading to a place where men know how to be gentlemen.” AJ stood up. “If you will excuse me?” She grabbed her things just as they announced that the first-class passengers could board.
Once on the plane, she sighed and returned to her novel. Now maybe she could relax and begin her vacation. But after reading the same paragraph three times, she knew it was hopeless. Cab stealer guy, as annoying as he was, had amazing broad shoulders and a sharp jawline.
Those dark eyes and curly blond hair would be irresistible under any other circumstance. She was attracted to him. Which was a sad commentary on her love life. She closed her eyes and imagined all kinds of awful things about him, and then satisfied she had squelched her fascination, she dug into her book for the rest of the flight, completely ignoring everything around her. It was blissful.
Her vacation had finally begun.
* * *
Stetson could not believe such a remarkably good looking woman had just brushed him off. He was normally great with women. It hurt his pride even more since she seemed smart, witty with a heavy dose of courageous sass. He loved that in a woman.
What was she doing in New York anyway? She was probably some country bumpkin here to see the big city. He remembered her type growing up, aspiring to nothing more than a job at the country store in town. As he tried to discount the experience, he just couldn’t get over her sparkling, angry eyes. She had the figure of a model and looked amazing, even in jeans and a western shirt. It would be a long time before he could forget their encounter. Stet was surprised by the sense of loss he felt after she left.
Lately, he’d been avoiding women altogether. After his narrow escape from an unexpected marriage, he thought he should take a break from dating until he could brush up on his communication skills. Sherrie, his ex, had started talking about getting married on their third date. He hadn’t paid much attention to her. The truth was, he tended to tune her out because she talked non-stop.
After he and Sherrie had been seeing each other—mostly at business functions—for three months, his boss stopped by his office one morning. “Stet, looks like you’re about to set a date. Nothing would make me happier.”
Stet choked on his water. “Excuse me, sir, what date?”
Mr. Morgan, the CEO of his brokerage firm and Sherrie’s father, laughed. “Well, maybe I am jumping the gun a little here, Stet, no worries.”
Stetson stood to see him out of the office. “Sir, I am sorry, but there’s been a misunderstanding. I have no intention of moving in that direction any time soon.”
Stet knew it was his fault for ignoring Sherrie’s chatter, but he stopped dating her that day. Which had only made her more determined. When her constant calls and texting, gifts and visits to his office didn’t let up. he was starting to feel like he had a legitimate stalker, a wealthy, powerful stalker. And it was making things awkward at work.
Stetson wasn’t too worried about his job. He was a young star, bringing in major business, and secretly a major shareholder in the firm. But her father, Jayce Morgan, had made it obvious he was not happy. Stet had no idea what Sherrie was saying to her father about their relationship. But her unwanted attention was putting his personal business plans in jeopardy.
The Sherry fiasco was only part of the reason he wasn’t interested in starting a new relationship. He was just too busy. He worked all day, and at night he helped to diversify his grandfather’s business. His grandfather’s wealth was all tied up in cattle, and Stet was helping him buy stock in a feed store conglomerate. Owning a feed store would be a perfect match for a rancher.
Stetson had inherited a fortune from his parents, but he made a point of not letting anyone know. Only his grandfather was aware of his wealth. His parents had invested wisely, and Stetson was the sole benefactor. Currently, he owned a large share of the company where he worked. The point of his current job was to get experience in the brokerage world before he started his own firm.
As he thought about the beautiful eyes of that lovely, irate woman, he wondered if stepping out of the dating world was such a good idea. What if he had lost his touch? What in the world had he done to annoy her? He regretted his lost opportunity to get to know her and settled down for a nap. As he struggled to get comfortable, he found himself wishing he had the use of his grandfather’s jet. Then again, if he had, he never would have been shut down by such a fascinating woman.
Chapter 2
I t was dark when AJ arrived at the ranch. The moon glistening on the lake. She paused a moment to take in the quiet. She felt right at home and loved Mary and Henry, the darling couple running the ranch. They put her at ease immediately with warm smiles and friendly banter. Mary was going over the guest list for the coming week and invited AJ to listen.
“Looks like we have a nice retired couple, two men who want to check out the fishing on the river, and a single woman from New York—that’s you, my dear. Then we have two men looking for a dude ranch experience, and a mother and daughter having a last trip together before college.”
“It looks like we have some real workers this time. That will be a big help. Carson was complaining last week that nothing got done.” She pushed her glasses back to the top of her head, pulling her very curly grey hair into some kind of order, and called over to her husband, “Henry, did you listen?”
“Yep,” Henry replied.
“Now, Henry, let’s not get into your matchmaking schemes again.” Mary frowned. “Last week was a disaster. That poor couple is going to marriage counseling now because of your meddling.”
“How was I supposed to know that they were pretending they weren’t married for their tenth wedding anniversary? Who does that?” Henry chuckled.
AJ couldn’t help laughing. “They what?” Henry reminded her of her father. “I’ll have to watch out for you, Henry.” AJ stepped out onto the covered porch to join him on the bench swing. “Do you mind if I sit here with you?”
“Of course not.” Henry made room for her on the bench. “I never get tired of this view of the lake.” He started pointing out the features of the ranch. “Mary and I built the covered bridge over the river. Most of the guests enjoy the walk around the lake. If you’re interested in fishing, we do stock the lake, but most of the fishermen go to the river. You could also try the paddle boat or sailboat while you are here.”
He leaned back in the swing, rocking it gently. “One year, the storms picked
up our sailboa, docked up here close, and deposited it on the other side of the lake.” Henry chuckled. “One thing we learned pretty quickly around here. In Texas, you just have to learn to clean up after the weather. But we love it here, and this bit of land that we own.”
AJ loved to hear him ramble on. He was proud of his work and the lovely ranch he and his wife had created. He had a sparkle in his eye, and his grey-blond hair complemented his happy, sunburnt face.
Mary called her back into the kitchen to meet the cook, Juanita. “Juanita is absolutely the best cook we have ever had. Her daughters work here too. We’ll miss her once she finishes her nursing degree.”
They exchanged pleasantries, then AJ walked over to the kitchen window to check out the pastures. She was excited to see the horses. “What type of horses do you have, Mary?”
Mary joined her at the window. “We have great stock horses and pleasure horses, and we have some retired rodeo horses that can do anything.” Mary looked at AJ and asked quietly, “Are you going by AJ while you are here?”
AJ shook her head. “No, I’m well-known in some circles in New York, and I want to get away from all of that. AJ stands for Abby Jane, so I’ll be going by that.” She yawned. “And now, Abby Jane needs to get some sleep so she can wake up early tomorrow. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Mary surprised her with a quick squeeze across her shoulders. “Goodnight, dear.”
* * *
Stetson pulled into a well cared for area of a quiet ranch. He was impressed with the upkeep. At least he could like the owners if they cared for what was there’s. He decided he liked them even more when he sampled some of the delicious cookies and milk the wife, Mary, had set out for the guests. Stetson checked his phone and found another text from Jared: “Sorry Stet, it looks like I won’t get there until tomorrow afternoon. I ran into more trouble than I expected with this customer!”
He relayed his friend’s message to Mary and headed up the stairs.
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