Four days had passed and every time her phone vibrated, her heart jumped a little, hoping it was Duke. Hoping that he’d changed his mind and believed her and wanted her there with him.

It never was.

It wasn’t until Duke was gone that she realized just how alone she felt in a city the size of Boston. Being around him, being part of his life had given her a taste of what it was like to belong somewhere, with someone.

It took a lot of courage to admit even to herself that she was lonely.

Ari had answered almost every job she qualified for and even a few she was overqualified as well. She’d interviewed at a dozen places and got the ubiquitous we’ll call you. Even Mike’s Sports Bar, which looked like they hired anyone off the street, told her to check back another time.

It was the damned rumors about what she’d allegedly done, she knew. It wasn’t so much in what people said to her face, it was more the way they looked at her. But she had heard a stray comment on the T yesterday, some guy who looked her up and down and said he’d pay her for sex too.

Dejected beyond belief, Ari let herself into her motel room and tried not to burst into tears. This was really her life now. Not that it had been filled with excitement before, but at least she’d had a job in her old life—the one before Duke and the ranch. What the hell was she going to do if no one called her back?

Her phone rang and she grabbed it before she thought to screen the number.

“Hello?”

“Is this Arianna?” a pleasant voice asked.

“Yes.” After so many calls from people wanting her to answer questions about Duke, she was a little wary. But she had also given her cell number on her resume, so she couldn’t not answer.

“This is Suzanne from Lincoln Sports Pub. We received your resume and would like to talk with you. Could you come in tomorrow around four?”

Ari sagged to the bed in relief. “Absolutely.”

“Great. When you get here just ask for me. I’m looking forward to seeing you.”

“You too.” Ari ended the call with a smile on her face. Finally things were looking up. If she could get a job then she could find a new place to live and then...maybe she could actually move on and stop thinking about Duke.

Because so far, she had not been able to get him out of her mind no matter how many times she tried to convince herself that he was a selfish ass. That he didn’t care about her at all after he refused to listen to her about Molly. Her chest ached. Duke came all the way to Boston to bring her back to the ranch, he’d fought for her after all, then he’d thrown it away without giving her the benefit of doubt.

All she wanted was for him to consider that Molly could be the one who leaked everything. She needed him to put her first and believe her. He did not. Ari dropped her head into her hands. The tears wouldn’t stop.

Her phone vibrated again but she sent it straight to voicemail. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right now. In fifteen minutes she would take a deep breath and push all the shit down deep, like she’d been doing since Duke walked out. One of these days, the pain would stay buried. She just needed to be patient.

When her eyes were dry and she’d changed into her most comfortable outfit, leggings and a too big Patriots sweatshirt, she grabbed her salad and made herself comfortable on the bed. Only then did she grab her phone to check messages.

She put it on speaker and tossed her phone onto the bed so she could dress the salad she grabbed on the way back to the motel. She’d been drowning her sorrows in a little too much fried food since she got back and when she had to lay down on the bed to button her dress pants this morning, she knew it was time to rein it in.

“Ms. Ripley, this is Meghan Miller from First News Boston. We recently found out that Duke Fallon is selling his Heartland properties and I was hoping you would comment on your experience there at the ranch…”

Ari deleted the message and then stared at her phone. Duke was selling the ranch? What the hell for? When she left it had been booked out half a year in advance. She grabbed her laptop and typed Duke’s name into the search bar.

The first story to come up told her that the rumor was true.

Billionaire bad boy Duke Fallon selling Heartland Resort and Spa for undisclosed amount.

Without thinking she pulled up Dukes number and pressed Dial. Montana was three hours behind so Duke was probably out in the fields, but she could leave a message. Even though Duke broke her heart when he walked away, she had to know what the hell he was doing. The ranch part of Heartland was his life.

Maybe he was only selling the Spa part? As the phone rang she scanned the article. He was selling everything. All of it.

“Ari?”

She sucked in a breath when she heard the drawl in his voice. All the hurt she locked down came rushing to the surface and for a second, she couldn’t get any air into her lungs. Damn him for still affecting her. With a fierce inhale, she let the anger come to a boil.

“What the hell are you doing, Duke?” she yelled.

“Fixin the fence line but getting ready to grab some lunch. What are you doing, darlin?” His voice almost sounded lazy. Why the hell was he acting so blasé?

“You’re selling the ranch?” It wasn’t a question so much as an accusation. She waited but he didn’t give her anything else. God she wanted to reach through the phone and strangle him.

“Did you just growl at me?” He had that sexy deep laugh in his voice that made her body break out in goose bumps. The same one she heard too many times when his face was between her legs and she begged him not to stop.

“Seriously, Duke, what the hell is going on? Are you selling the ranch? It’s your life, why would you do something like that?”

“Technically ownership has already changed hands. It’s not mine anymore, but I’m staying on until the new owner tells me to either move on or stay.”

Ari was speechless. He sold it? His home. It would have been their home. Her chest ached. The man and the place she fell in love with were both gone. “Is this because I wouldn’t come back with you? I don’t understand.”

“Things change. Reasons for wanting things change. Maybe I was just tired of the country life.” She could hear the sarcasm in his voice but it still didn’t explain all this. Before she could open her mouth to demand he tell her why, the deep warm drawl that she tried so hard not to miss filled her ear. “Darlin, I got to get back to work, too much to take care of around here and I’m afraid the new owner is going to be up to their eyes in problems if they don’t handle them soon, but it was real nice hearing from you, Ari. We’ll talk again soon.”

The call ended and Ari just stared at her phone. Damn him. She hit redial but it went straight to voicemail. She tried again and again until it was obvious that Duke wasn’t going to pick up his phone.

“Damn it!” Ari threw her phone across the room where it landed with a thud on the carpet. She sat for a few minutes and then grabbed her laptop. It wasn’t her business what Duke did. He made his choice, he chose to believe Molly over her own concerns, so she just had to put him and the ranch out of her mind.

An hour later, after scouring through the apartment listings and any new job openings, Ari gave up. She couldn’t concentration for shit because Duke was taking up all her brain space.

Seriously, was the ranch in such dire straights that he had to sell? Why didn’t he tell her? She grabbed her phone from the floor and called for delivery, then pulled up an episode of Walking Dead in her laptop.

After ten minutes she gave up. It was bad when watching her favorite zombies couldn’t let her mind rest. A long hot bubble bath, that’s what she needed but there was no way in hell she’d take a bath in a motel tub. The idea made her want to jump in the shower and scour her skin raw.

What she really wanted was to sink into the water at the hot springs Duke had shown her. Thinking about the springs only reminded her of what else they did in the water. Her body went warm and now she was back to thinking about Duke again.

Ari growled in frustration just as someone knocked on her door. She grabbed her wallet and double-checked the peephole. The person was standing to the side so she couldn't really get a good look but the door had a stop lock so she opened it several inches.

The man had on a suit and looked like a lawyer.

“Hello?” she finally said.

“Arianna Ripley?” His voice was deep

“Yes, that’s me.”

The man gave her a bland look and slid a thick manila folder through the crack. “Let me know if you have any questions. My card is inside.” Then he turned on his polished black shoes and disappeared from sight.

Right before she closed the door again, the delivery guy showed up with her food. She opened the door, paid and then locked herself inside her room. The manila envelope sat the side table. Who would have sent her something? The return address was for a law firm in Boston.

Maybe someone died and left me their entire multi-million dollar fortune and a brownstone in Back Bay.

More likely it was a notice that she lost her security deposit on her old apartment because the dishwasher flooded the kitchen and the tile stopped sticking to the floor on one side.

“Fine,” she muttered to herself and picked up the envelope. “Like a Band-Aid. Can’t get much worse right now.”

She slit the top and pulled out a thick packet of papers that were stapled and paper clipped and had little red flags sticking out the sides.

Transfer of Ownership.

She didn’t own anything to transfer. Except under her name she saw Duke Fallon. What the ever-loving hell was this? She read on and her stomach clenched. It took her three times of reading through every single word before she had to run to the bathroom and splash cold water on her face.

He’d transferred everything to her.

The land. The houses. The business.

It was all hers now.

The figures in the paperwork were staggering. She’d never seen that many zeros on a dollar amount in her entire life. Her hands shook as she went back the bed and read through one more time just to be sure.

Once the shock wore off, confusion and then anger began to fill her. Who did he think he was? She didn’t want any of that. What game was he playing?

Ari grabbed her phone and pressed redial.

After ignoring her calls earlier, she didn’t expect Duke to actually answer, so his deep voice took her by surprise.

“Well hello again, darlin,” he drawled.

She could hear the smile in his voice and it pissed her off. He was playing with her and she hated feeling confused and out of control.

“What the hell, Duke?” she yelled into the phone. “Are you crazy?”

“Depends on who you ask.”

“You know what I’m talking about. Why the hell am I holding papers that say you transferred everything to me?”

“Because I did.” He was being so damned calm and casual and she was on the verge of freaking out and having a panic attack.

“You can’t be serious, Duke.” She was almost pleading with him. “If this is a joke, just give me the punch line and I’ll hang up and that will be that.” When the silence grew too thick, her insides twisted and she exhaled. “It’s a joke right?”

“Fraid not, darlin. It’s all yours.”

“Why the fuck would you do that?” Words exploded from her mouth and for a second, she thought she might throw up. Ari sat down quickly on the edge of the bed and put her head between her knees. Kiss your own ass goodbye, isn’t that the saying? “Duke, I don’t want it. Any of it. You have to take it back. Right now, Duke. I’ll tear the papers up and it will be all set.”

“Not how it works, Ari. Those papers are for your records. I have the originals and everything is done. Unless…”

“Unless what?” Her heart pounded in her chest. What the hell did she know about running a working ranch and a resort?

“Come to the ranch, Ari. We’ll take care of everything then.”

“You did this on purpose. Oh my god, you did this so I’d have to come out there?” Who did that? Who gave up everything to get one person to come back to them? Despite the absurdity of all of it, her pulse leapt. He did it to get her back to the ranch. That had to mean something.

In the next breath, she realized it didn’t matter. Duke made his choice when he refused to listen to her concerns about Molly.

“Just do whatever you need to do to have me removed from your contracts, Duke. I’m not coming back, I’m never setting foot on the ranch ever again.” The pain saying those words made her glad she was sitting down.

“As of right now, you’re the official owner and unless you deal with it real quick, it’s going to go to shit faster than you can say buckin bronco. It’s up to you, Darlin. You’re holding the fate of the Heartland Ranch in your pretty little hands.”

Before she could utter a single word, the call ended.

Duke had hung up on her.