Wild Ride Rancher

He’d seen pictures of her of course. Like every other wealthy woman, Chloe’s face was in the society sections of the Houston newspapers, and splashed all across the news website he checked every day. But she was even more gorgeous in person. Every inch of him felt tight and hot, and when she talked, he realized he hadn’t heard a word.

“Sorry. What?”

She stared at him, and Liam saw a flicker of the heat that still had his body at a slow burn.

“I’m Chloe Hemsworth,” she said just a little breathlessly.

That voice conjured up all sorts of interesting images in his mind, and his body responded to them instantly. She was exactly the kind of woman he avoided—and he wanted her. Bad.

Liam knew he was in deep trouble.

Two

“What happened?”

I couldn’t believe it had gone so wrong so quickly. Pacing this stupid room wasn’t helping, but I felt like a caged lion or something. Nothing I could do to change anything and besides, if you thought about it, it really wasn’t my fault at all.

The Texas Cattleman’s Club was visible from here and I couldn’t keep staring at it. The rain started and I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. He was all alone in there. Did he still care? Should I have cared? No. I should have left. But I didn’t.

This all started years ago, and what happened today was just a part of it all. So really, they set it all in motion way back when. Today was just another link in a long, ugly chain.

I did what I had to. Now, I wanted my stomach to stop spinning and my brain to stop racing. Nothing could change it, and I’m not sure I would change it even if I could. I came this far, there was no going back, and really...didn’t they have it coming after all I’d suffered?

Was it fair that only I was affected by those decisions made so long ago? Was it fair that I’d been forgotten and my pain buried? None of this was my fault.

None of it.

* * *

The cowboy was tall and broad shouldered, and had sun-streaked brown hair that lay just over his collar. His blue eyes were as clear as a Texas lake, and filled with the same mystery of what lay beneath the surface. He was staring at her with a steady fascination that kindled awareness and something more inside her.

He wore the Texas cowboy uniform of faded jeans, scuffed brown boots and a long-sleeved white shirt, rolled back to the elbows, displaying deeply tanned, strong forearms. He had a tight grip on his dust-colored Stetson, and just standing there, he seemed to take up all the room in her small office.

Breathing was harder than it should have been, and Chloe made a deliberate effort to drag air into her lungs. Instant attraction roared to life inside her, but Chloe dialed it down. He was probably there to arrange a party for his girlfriend. Or wife. Still, there was something about him that was almost overwhelming. She had been born and raised in Texas, so she was no stranger to the “western man.” But this one had such a compelling aura it was hard to be unaffected.

Silently, sternly, she told herself to dial it down.

“You’re Chloe, right?” His gaze swept her up and down before settling on her eyes. “I’m Liam Morrow. Sterling Perry sent me.”

Stunned, Chloe stared at him for only a moment longer. She’d been expecting some gruff, older guy, with a comfortable belly. She’d never considered that the foreman of a ranch the size of the Perry place could be so young and...hot.

“Oh, well, hi. Thanks for coming,” she said, recognizing that she was starting to burble. She took a breath. Okay, he wasn’t there to book a party, but that didn’t mean he was single. “You want some coffee? Water? That’s about it on the refreshment front, I’m afraid. But there’s a diner just down the street. We could go there and—”

He held up one hand and, as if she’d been trained, she closed her mouth and stopped talking. Well, that was irritating.

“I’m not here for snacks,” he said. “Sterling wants me to hear you out. So if you want to tell me your ideas, show me your plans, we can get through this meeting and I can get back to the ranch.”

Okay, hot didn’t excuse rude. “Wow,” she said. “Thank you for your complete attention.”