Secret Billionaire's Stubborn Cowgirl (The Secret Billionaires 1)

“Momma? It’s me, Lucy.” She knelt by her mom’s side.

Her mother had been beautiful once and she still had the high cheekbones and faint lines of beauty. But her skin had gone sallow and dark circles smudged her eyes. Lucy came once a month to trim her hair—she’d always worn it shoulder length—and touch up the color so it still gleamed black as a raven’s wing.

Frowning, her mom stared at her.

“My baby girl?”

Lucy nodded and took her mom’s hand. The skin seemed dry and stretched tight over her thin bones. “How you doing, momma? They treating you okay.”

Her mother smiled. “I’m going out for pizza tomorrow. My daughter’s touring in a rock band, you know.”

Getting up, Lucy pulled another chair closer. She knew her mom wasn’t going anywhere—just like she wasn’t with a rock band either.

“Were you watching a show?”

Her mother’s face brightened. She started talking about musical shows—the ones she loved. Lucy had no idea if she’d seen any of these recently—time was different for her mom. Instead, she got up, brushed her mom’s hair. When her mom’s eyelids began to droop, she helped her mom to her bed.

“Can I bring you anything next time? Maybe some carnations—you used to love the real spicy white ones.”

“Do I like roses? That’d be nice.” She frowned for a moment and touched Lucy’s face. “You know, I can’t remember all the things I once wanted to do. I know there were things—a lot of things. But I let the time slip away from me. I’ve got to tell my daughter that. It’s too easy to hang onto all the bad things and you get so busy holding onto them you don’t ever get to anything else. Now where did I put my list? I know I’ve got it somewhere.”

Her mom started to sit up, but Lucy put a hand on her shoulder. “Momma, don’t worry. I’ve got your list.”

She looked up, her eyes dark and big. “Really? You’ve got it safe?”

Lucy tapped her heart. “I’ve got it for you, momma. I’ll take care of the good things for you.”

She lay back down and smiled. “That’s good. That’s real good. You know, you look a lot like my daughter, Lucy. Course she looks like her daddy. Was there ever a man who could make me smile, that was him. But such trouble.” Her mom’s eyes began to close. “Should have married a better man than him. That was on my list....that and so much...more.”

Lucy kissed her mom’s forehead. “I’ll see you soon, okay.”

Her mom shifted on the bed, already asleep. Lucy turned off the overhead lights but left the TV on for a nightlight. Maybe it gave her mom some comfort to see the colorful images and know she wasn’t alone.

Heading out, Lucy nodded to the night nurse at the front desk and stepped into the parking lot. A light breeze had come up and Lucy shivered. Standing under the glare of the parking lights, she wondered what did she do now.

Go back to Charlie’s? And what—have another fight with Zach?

She shook her head. But she had nowhere else to go. Since she hadn’t eaten, she stopped at the burger joint and got the biggest, greasiest cheeseburger on the menu. It sat like lead in her stomach, but she felt better for having eaten. And having gotten her own dinner. She considered sneaking in back, but that seemed far too childish and she was already feeling bad enough for how she’d treated Zach.

She could be an adult about this. So what if he was rich—that didn’t mean she was going to let him run her life or buy her.

Throat tight and stomach knotted—the cheeseburger jumping now inside—she drove to Charlie’s. She parked in front. She saw Zach’s horse trailer still parked to the side, and Sunny jumped down from the porch to greet her, but when she stepped inside the house seemed quiet.

Heading into the kitchen, she found Charlie in a robe, making tea.

Charlie looked up and waved at the table. “He left that for you.”

“Left? But his horse trailer—Sunny?”

Charlie smiled. “This is now Sunny’s new home. Zach said he couldn’t take Sunny back to the city when it was obvious he was born to be a ranch dog. As to the rest, better read.”

Frowning, Lucy picked up the white envelope addressed to her. She had to admit Zach had nice handwriting. She tapped it on the table. “Do you think I went too hard on him?”

The kettle whistled. Charlie poured the hot water into a china teapot and put the lid on. “My momma always told me it was just as easy to love a rich man as a poor man. But what I’m thinking right now is that you want to find a good man to love. Up to you to figure out if that’s Zach or not.”

Lucy pressed her lips tight. “I don’t know—it’s so fast.”

“Honey, so’s lightning. That doesn’t make it any less real.” Charlie poured herself a cup of tea. “Now I’m for bed. Stay up as late as you like. Zach’s caught the red eye out of here, so you don’t have to worry on his account.” She strode out of the kitchen, her slippers flapping on the floor.