by Hope Ford
I fix us sandwiches in the kitchen and then we sit on the couch.
We flip through some channels, but mostly we talk.
“So I met your dad. Where’s your mom at?” she asks me.
“She left when I was young. Ranch life wasn’t for her.” I shrug.
“I’m so sorry, Liam…” she gently says.
“It’s fine. I’ve had a long time to deal with it. This life isn’t meant for everyone.” Talking about it sort of puts knots into my stomach. I can’t help but wonder if I’ve gotten myself into another mess. I made it through when Megan, my ex, left. I don’t think I could handle Bella leaving.
She must notice the frown on my face and know what I’m thinking. “I’m not leaving, Liam. Not unless you tell me to.”
I smile at her and pull her into my arms. “Well, that’s not going to happen.”
A phone starts ringing in the other room. Before I have a chance, she jumps off the couch and tells me, “I’ll get it.”
I watch as she walks away and with each stride she makes I get a glance of her panty-covered ass. I don’t think she realizes how sexy she is, without even trying.
She walks back in and hands me the phone. I answer it while she gathers up our empty plates from the coffee table.
Looking at the caller id before I answer, I say, “What is it, Mason?”
“We have a problem, boss,” he says.
“What kind of problem?” I ask him and I’m already heading to the bedroom to start getting ready.
He doesn’t beat around the bush. “Your ex is here and she wants to talk to you.”
“Megan’s here? At the ranch?” I exclaim.
“Yes. What do you want me to tell her?” he asks me.
“Fuck…. I’ll be right there,” I huff at him.
When I hang up the phone, I finish getting ready. Bella is standing in the doorway and she’s wrapping her fingers around the bottom of her shirt nervously.
“Hey, I have to go take care of something, but I will be back, okay?”
“Who’s Megan?” she asks me.
“She’s my ex. She is here for some reason. I just have to go see what she wants and get her to leave,” I tell her.
“What if she wants you? What if that’s why she’s here?” she asks me while I’m tugging on my boots.
“It’s not like that, Bella. I’m sure it’s something stupid. I won’t be gone long.” I kiss her on the lips and she pulls away from me. “Don’t be like this, Bella. She means nothing to me.”
She shrugs her shoulders at me again. I sigh. “I’ll be back. I promise.” And then I walk out the door.
Chapter 6
Liam
I walk swiftly over to the main lodge. I figure the quicker I get there, the quicker I can get back to Bella. I can’t believe that Megan would have the nerve to show her face after all this time.
When I get close to home, I see Megan standing on the porch. She’s not anywhere as pretty as I remember. Of course, it could be because everyone I come across this week, I compare to Bella.
Walking up the steps, Megan walks up to me and tries to put her arms around me. I step back and put a hand up to stop her.
“That was an awful long trip to the store, Megan,” I tell her. That’s right, she told me she was going to the store and then she never came back.
“I’m sorry, Liam. I know I should have explained. I just felt like I was suffocating here and I had to get away. But I made a mistake. I realize that now,” she pleads with me.
I laugh, because really the whole thing is funny to me. “So, you think you can come back here and I’m just going to let you in my life again? Is that how you really thought this would work?”
She shrugs at me, and when I see exactly how much this conversation means to her, I realize I’m not mad at her anymore. It’s good that she left me. I understand now that she never really was the right one for me.
“It’s getting late. I’m going to have one of the hands drive you back into town.”
“Can’t I just stay here in the main house, honey?” she asks me.
“You lost the right to call me honey a long time ago. Plus, my future wife is here at the ranch, and I’m not going to do anything to make her uncomfortable. So… I will have one of the hands here in five minutes to pick you up. Be ready.” And then I stroll out of the house back toward Bella.
However, Mason stops me before I get there saying he needs help with a foal in the barn. It looks like I may have to get back to Bella later rather than sooner. I can’t wait.
Arabella
I waited for Liam to come back, but he never did. I finally fell asleep around eleven. I was exhausted from the day’s events and I couldn’t hold my head up any longer. I slept soundly through the night, but I wake up at five am to realize that Liam never did come back. I try not to dwell on it. Maybe something came up. But today is checkout day. Thankfully, my interview went really well yesterday, and they hired me on the spot. I was even able to find an apartment close to the office. I start packing my clothes and once my bags are ready, I open the front door and wheel out my luggage.
I gasp when I realize that someone is sleeping on my porch. Which is a sight to see when the sun is barely breaking over the horizon.
I nudge his shoulder. “Liam, wake up. Wake up.”
He opens his eyes and yawns. “Morning, honey.”
“What are you doing out here?” I walk back to my luggage and grab a hold of it.
“I knocked but you never answered. Where are you going?” He gestures to my packed bags.
“Today is checkout day, remember?” I tell him. “So how did it go last night… with your ex?”
“It was okay,” he tells me, still eyeing my bags. “She wanted me back, but I told her I wasn’t interested.”
“Really, Liam? Because if you are not sure, you should think about it.”
“Well, I thought you and I had something, Bella. But obviously not if you are already giving up and leaving. You told me you wanted to stay here, that you love the ranch,” he exclaims with his hands held out questioningly. “But the first sign of trouble and you’re leaving.”
“I’m not leaving, Liam. I got a job in town yesterday and found an apartment. I told you I was staying.” I’m standing right in front of him and I run my hand up and down his abs soothingly.
“You’re staying? You’re really staying?” he says as he swoops me up in the air and swings me around.
I laugh, caught up in the feeling of being in his arms. Which is exactly where I want to be.
He stops spinning, but doesn’t put me down. “You can’t stay at an apartment in town. You’re staying with me, Bella. I want to wake up with you next to me every morning.”
“We’ll see, Liam.”
Epilogue
Arabella
I did move into the apartment in town. I really wanted Liam to be sure about everything with his ex. But honestly, he went out of his way to prove to me every day exactly what I mean to him. Staying at the apartment lasted a week. With my schedule and Liam’s, we never got to see each other. So I moved in with him. I drove into town every day for my job but that didn’t last long either. Liam said he didn’t like me to spend all that time on the road by myself. He and his dad hired me to do the marketing for the Knox Dude Ranch.
He also asked me to marry him. I was afraid he was rushing things. I wanted him to be sure. But he says he’s never been more sure of anything in his life. Plus, he wants to marry me so he can breed me. His words, not mine. He is a cowboy through and through.
We are in the main lodge eating breakfast when Jacob, Liam’s dad, walks in.
“Hey, son! Hey, soon-to-be daughter,” he booms as he bends down and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
“Keep your hands to yourself, old man,” Liam jokes with him. “So, what’s happening today, dad?”
“Well, thankfully, Holly is coming today. She should be here any minute actually. We definitely need a cook be
fore our next guests arrive,” Jacob says as he pours himself a cup of coffee.
“That was nice of Rex to suggest we have his daughter fill in for a while until we find someone permanent,” Liam tells him. “We were definitely in a bind.”
“Yep, Rex has been my best friend for the past twenty years. Heck, Holly will fit right in. She and her dad spent enough summers here as she was growing up,” Jacob reminisces.
“I wonder if she still has pigtails.” Liam laughs.
We hear a car pull up and I can’t help but jump out of my seat and look out the window. “Well, fellows, she definitely doesn’t have pigtails anymore.”
Jacob
For some reason, my stomach has been tied in knots all morning. I can’t imagine it’s because Holly is coming. She really will fit in well here and I’m sure she and Arabella will get along nicely. But I can’t shake this feeling.
At Bella’s announcement that Holly is here, I put my cowboy hat on and walk out onto the porch to meet her. But what I find out there is not pudgy little Holly with pigtails. In her place is a woman with curves that are made for sin. She smiles when she sees me and starts running up the steps. She jiggles in all the right places and my cock bulges in my pants. She throws her arms around me and the feel of her soft body pressed against me almost makes me come undone. “Hey, Jacob!”
Fuck! I’m in trouble now.
Coming soon, the second book in the Knox Dude Ranch series, a Dad’s Best Friend Romance.
About the Author
#1 Bestselling Short Romance Author Hope Ford writes short, steamy, sweet romances. She loves tattooed, alpha men, instant love stories and always happily ever afters.
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