“Dammit.” I got up from my chair and carried my plate over to the trash bin. My dog, Jackpot, lifted his head and whined. “You want some of this?”
He staggered to his feet. Poor dog was nearly as broken down as me. I scraped a couple of bites of my dinner into his bowl. Jackpot scarfed them down, then cocked his ears and turned toward the front door.
I heard tires on the gravel drive right before a set of headlight beams swept across the wall of my living room. Great. She was here.
“We’d better get this over with, huh, Jackpot?”
At the sound of his name, the mutt’s tail whipped back and forth. He wouldn’t be the only one excited about having a visitor on the ranch. The ranch hands living down at the bunkhouse would probably be pretty keen on getting to know Flint’s daughter. Hoping she was covered in warts and ugly enough to sour milk, I reluctantly shuffled toward the front door.
2
WHITLEY
I stoppedin front of the rustic looking ranch house. I’d been expecting something bigger based on the way my dad talked about his business partner’s homestead. The two-story home was quaint. Charming even. I couldn’t believe my dad had agreed to let me drive down to Broken Bend. He’d been dead set on me joining his business as soon as I graduated from college. I’d spent all summer getting a feel for the different operations he managed under the Silverstone Companies umbrella, but none of them seemed like a good fit.
Until I came across his recent investment in the Rocking H Ranch.
I’d always dreamed of living in the country. The real country, not the ten-acre compound right outside of Dallas where I grew up. My parents didn’t understand. They thought English riding lessons would pacify me, and they did for a little while. But I still yearned for a different kind of life than the one they’d worked so hard to provide. As the only child of two overbearing parents, I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice other than to follow the path they’d set out before me.
Now I had the chance to spend a few days on a real ranch. If I loved it half as much as I thought I would, I might finally have the nerve to stand up for myself and make my parents take me seriously for the first time in my life. Eager to get started, I grabbed my purse and climbed out of my car.
A giant dog nudged its nose into my leg as soon as I stepped out. His tail wagged back and forth with such force, it made his whole back-end wiggle.
“Hey, there.” I held out my hand for him to take a good sniff. He seemed friendly enough.
“You must be Whitley.”
I turned toward the deep voice. A man stood on the wide porch that ran the full length of the house. It was too dark to get a good look at him, but he had to be my dad’s business partner.
“That’s right. You must be Mr. Hampton.” The dog followed me as I summoned a bright smile and walked around my SUV. I stepped onto the porch and held out my hand.
“That’s Jackpot, and you can call me Chase.” He didn’t take my hand. Didn’t return the smile, either. I couldn’t make out much of his features thanks to the dim light from the porch and the dark cowboy hat he had on.
I let my hand fall to my side. “My dad said you’d be happy to show me around the ranch and fill me in on the breeding program you’re starting.”
“That’s what he told you?” Chase asked. He hadn’t moved a muscle since I stepped onto the porch. I was beginning to think he wasn’t exactly thrilled to have me.
My mom had always told me it was easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar, so I channeled her southern charm and tried to win over the cowboy with another smile. “That’s what he said. I hope there hasn’t been any miscommunication. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Mr. Hampton.”
He shook his head. “Wish I could say the same. Your dad just called and told me you were on your way about ten minutes ago. I don’t like having visitors, especially with no warning.”
A prickly numbness spread through my chest. Clearly, the cowboy didn’t want to have anything to do with me. “I apologize for the inconvenience. He told me it wouldn’t be a problem for me to spend the next few days shadowing you.”
“I’m running a working ranch out here, and I’m not in the business of babysitting socialites, Ms. Silverstone.”
His icy tone was like a slap in the face. Lucky for me, I was used to people underestimating me. “It’s a good thing I’m not a socialite. And I don’t need a babysitter. Now, if you’ll show me where I’ll be staying, I’d like to get settled, so I’ll be ready to go first thing in the morning.”
He muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t make out. Then he moved toward the door. Not wanting to be left standing on the porch, I followed him into the house. The foyer opened right into the living room, where a stone fireplace stretched the full height of the back wall. Rustic hardwood covered the floors except for the Spanish tile in the entryway.
“You have a beautiful home.” I reached down to scratch Jackpot between the ears.
“Well, I can’t have you stay down at the bunkhouse. You can take the spare bedroom all the way at the end of the hall.” Chase took off his hat and hung it on a hook by the front door before he turned toward me.
My heart pounded as I got my first real look at him. A huge scar in the shape of a crescent moon covered the left side of his face. It started at his temple and curved over his cheek before it disappeared behind his jaw. I had to stop myself from sucking in a deep breath. Whatever happened to him to leave a mark like that had to have caused a lot of pain.
“The animals get to eat before we do. I’ll be up and out before six if you want to follow me to the barn.” His mouth turned down at the edges. He didn’t even bother to try to hide his disappointment at being stuck with me.
“Thank you. I’ll just grab my bags, then I’ll let you get back to your evening.”