Rode Hard, Put Up Wet: Cowboy Romance (Rebels & Outlaws 2)

But he thumbs through it until he sees a name that he's looking for, punches the number into his phone, and waits until it starts ringing.

A woman's voice answers. That's a surprise by itself. But the name she gives is the same one he's used to.

"This is Phil Callahan, over at the Callahan ranch."

"Good morning, Mr. Callahan. How can we help you?"

"I've got a horse I'm looking to sell. I've got all his papers. I think that Glen will be interested."

"Would you like to make an appointment to have Mr. Brand come look at it?"

"Sure. Whenever is fine, I'll be here."

"How's Thursday afternoon, around two?"

"Thursday afternoon sounds great," Philip says. He lets out a breath. Glen Brand used to be a little name in a big game, but he wanted to win. And like most people who wanted to win, and who were committed to winning, he was willing to spend the money it took to get there.

If he had a secretary, that was proof by itself that he'd found what he was looking for.

Maybe, if Callahan was very lucky, he was looking for more of it.

Chapter Fourteen

Morgan Lowe knows that there's a next step. There's always a next step, and she knows that sometimes the next step is to do nothing.

This doesn't feel like one of those times. It feels like there's something she should be doing. This feels like a junction for her. More than that, it feels like it could be a major turning point for Phil Callahan.

The way he was looking at her didn't leave much question about what he was thinking. He'd pulled out of her and not one second later he'd started blaming himself for the whole thing.

He'd started thinking, maybe it was all his own fault. Nothing could have been further from the truth, but that wasn't going to be something that she could just tell him.

She'd made her choices. She'd decided to do what she did. The best thing she could do was sit down and talk it out. He wasn't ready to talk last night. Any idiot could have seen that.

Maybe after a night's rest he could give it some serious thought. Maybe he could see things clearer. Maybe she could sit down and talk things out.

They could get closer. Maybe they could even grow from the entire experience. Was it the right decision to have made? No. She was pretty sure that it wasn't. It was a mistake by all accounts. But there's a big difference between something being a mistake and something being unrecoverable.

The situation was far from being unrecoverable. If she got over there, and she talked to him, then she could probably make everything go back to the way it was. Better than the way it was.

She could have a relationship based on more than just her constant nagging need to be involved in his affairs, built on more than just nagging him into oblivion to pretty-please give selling her the property some thought.

And once a relationship like that was established, you could start seriously working on getting things done.

Which would be very nice to have. It would be extremely nice. It could all lead up to that big win that she's needed. All she had to do was go talk to him, get the air cleared up.

Which is why it's so frustrating that leaving the grounds is the one thing she absolutely cannot do. Brad leans his weight on the desk in front of her with a wolfish smile.

"How's the Callahan ranch going? You drafting up papers yet?"

Whatever he knows, or thinks he knows, he thinks he's got something that will get under her skin.

"It's a work in progress," she says. Flatly.

"You ought to know, the old man's never going to sell that ranch. Never in a million years. Might as well give up. Woman like you, he'll take you for everything you're worth and then drop you with nothing to show for it."

"Thank you for your advice, Brad. I'll keep that under advisement."

"No problem. I know why you're trying to get it. Would look real good to the board. Nobody doubts why you're doing it, and it's a good idea, on some level. But babe—" Morgan bristles at being called 'babe' but keeps it to herself— "you got to admit. It's just not going to happen. You want a man's opinion, that's my opinion."