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Willow
The first thing she saw when she drove through the gates of Morgan Ranch was a stray cow. She frowned and slowed her car. What was the cow doing outside the fence?
She sighed and pulled over, dust billowing up behind her. She got out and scanned the fence, looking for a break or a broken post. It wasn’t unlikely—after all, the last time she’d been here, the place had been falling apart.
But everything looked okay from what she’d seen. At least they’d fixed the fences. Part of her worried about the rest of the place, though. Part of her knew that if she didn’t stay to help get things in order, the ranch might not be able to function anymore.
Before Willow could get back into the car, she saw a horse in the distance. On top, a man—a huge man with a dark hat. She shielded her eyes from the sun to try to make out who it was. Her parents had hired a few ranch hands years back, but as far as she knew, one or two had quit, and the others were young. Inexperienced.
He rode well, in control of his horse, hands wrapped around the reins like he’d been doing this his whole life. But this was ranch country, so that was more than likely. Willow had started riding and roping when she was two.
When the rider saw her, he slowed and then hopped off his horse.
“Do you work here?” she asked.
He gave a short nod, paying more attention to the cow than to her.
“Your cow’s loose. I didn’t see any breaks in the fence, but—”
“There aren’t any.” His voice had a bite to it that got my back up. It was also low and dangerous, giving me the chills.
“Then how’d she get out?”
He glanced my way. The brim of his hat shielded his eyes, made them dark enough I could hardly tell what color they were. Her guess? By the way he stared her down like he was God’s gift to man? Onyx. Black as black.
“Someone didn’t do their job.”
Him, probably. But he wasn’t going to take the blame. If her father knew there were cows wandering the road, he wouldn’t be too happy.
She crossed her arms. “Looks like someone’s in trouble then.”
His jaw flexed, gaze narrowed, going all the way from her head to her toes and back again. The motion was equal parts creepy and sexy, with enough edge for her to feel it right in her pussy.
Then he turned, dismissing her. She barely heard his deep voice when he said, “If you’re heading up the ranch right now, Mr. Morgan isn’t home.”
She knew that. She’d called before she’d left this morning, and made good time. Her father was probably getting supplies in town—a job he liked to do on his own. No matter. She’d tell him about the cow and the ranch hand later. They’d get things sorted out.
Willow got back in her car, trying to ignore the eyes on her. She could feel them boring into her back, assessing her. She glanced down at her outfit, a summer dress and sandals. Okay, so her clothes didn’t exactly scream cowgirl, but she hadn’t been planning on doing anything today other than driving home and taking it easy.
But maybe she’d get her jeans and boots on later and give the place a thorough looking over. Just to see how bad it’d gotten. The last thing she wanted was to see the ranch go downhill. Her parents would hate that, too, but they were getting older. Her mom had mentioned buying a summer home further south and her dad, ever since he’d had a heart attack, just couldn’t work as hard as he had before—even though he wanted to.
Willow finished making her way to the ranch, keeping her eyes open for items to put on her list. Items that needed fixing. But the fences were good, the barn door had been fixed. She even spotted a few other workers staying on task. Surprise, surprise—her dad had gotten some things in order.
When she arrived at the main house, she gazed up at the structure. No more broken shutters or chipped paint. Hell, it almost looked brand new.
The moment she stepped out of her car, her mom was at the door, waving. She wore a checkered apron that stretched around her ample frame. She’d probably been baking—that was one of the things Willow remembered most about her. How often she baked.
Willow walked to her and gave her a big hug. “It’s good to see you, Mom. The place looks great.”
At least from what she could see.
Her mom nodded. “Once your dad hired Cole, things really started to look up. He’s helped us get the ranch going again.”
“Who’s Cole?”
And she couldn’t help the flicker of frustration in the pit of her stomach. Why had they hired someone else when they knew she’d come and help them once school was done? She’d had a plan to help get the place back in order. Of course, there still had to be more that needed to be done.
“He’s been helping out your dad,” her mom said, her eyes scanning the scenery. “Doing more than that—he practically runs the place now. Oh, there he is.”
Willow followed her gaze and saw that same rider she’d seen earlier. Another round of chills worked its way through her body. He guided his horse to the porch and then hopped down. His gaze raked her again as he approached.
He tipped his hat at her mom. “Mrs. Morgan.”
“Cole. I’m glad you’re here. This is my daughter, Willow.”
His jaw clenched but he nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
“Willow, this is Cole Park.” Her mom beamed like she’d just played matchmaker. “I hope you two will get to know each other well.”
Willow frowned. No way. She didn’t need to know anything else besides his true intentions. The ranch was worth a lot of money and he had to know that. Everyone around here did. Which meant he was probably taking advantage of her parents, and she planned on getting to the bottom of it.