Page 7 of Chloe's Christmas Cowboy: A Festive Second Chance Romance

Tyler had assumed that marrying a cowboy who worked for her uncle probably wouldn’t fit into her plans, so he had backed off. Trouble was, the more he tried to avoid being with her the more he wanted to touch her.

Then had come the worst night of his life. He had been thrilled to be invited to attend Chloé’s graduation, which had been a lovely occasion. He had felt a glow of pride seeing her up on the stage in her cap and gown, and he had noticed her turn and smile to him as he stood up to clap when she received her degree.

She had been out celebrating the night before with her uni friends as some were leaving straight after the ceremony to start their new careers, so he took the bull by the horns and asked her to go out to dinner with him that night.

He had been elated when she agreed, and had left her drinking with her friends and Uncle John while he went back to his duties at the ranch.

Early that evening Lightning had gone down. Tyler and the hands tried everything to get her back on her feet, but she was too weak. When the veterinary arrived he announced that Lightning wasn’t going to make it through the night. Tyler was devastated, as he knew Chloé would be. When John arrived he was horrified.

Chloé was at the beauty parlor enjoying a relaxing massage before her date with him that night. The boss had consented to have the horse put out of her misery, and had told Tyler to help the vet take her away before Chloé got back. John was determined that nothing was to spoil Chloé’s graduation day.

Tyler was sworn to secrecy on the matter – Chloé would be told by her uncle in the morning. Luckily she wasn’t due to leave for the city for another few days, so she would at least have some time to get over the loss of the beautiful beast before she went away.

By the time Tyler returned to the ranch it was getting late and he was told that Chloé had already left. He rang the restaurant, Marconi’s, which was the swankiest one in the neighboring town, and told the Maitre D’ that when Chloé arrived she was to be treated like a VIP and given champagne to drink while she waited for him. He arranged for a tab to be opened, so she could have whatever she wanted, and he would pay for it all with the rest of the bill when they had their meal.

The Maitre D’ promised to look out for her and explain to her that he had been delayed and would be there as soon as he could. The man assured Tyler that he and his staff would treat her like royalty and look after her until he arrived.

By the time Tyler reached the restaurant he was almost an hour and a half late and it was raining hard. He rushed inside to find her. He had been mortified when the Maitre D’ informed him that no one had been in asking for him, and he hadn’t seen any unescorted young girl in the building all night who matched Chloé’s description. He asked in the bar but no one had seen her.

He remembered how miserable he had felt as he sat on the barstool contemplating his options. He had a whisky to warm him while he decided on his next move, and was amazed to be joined by Bill Simmons. Bill seemed surprised when he told him he had been hoping to meet with Chloé that night. He told Tyler that she had been drinking at the Rough Oaks Hotel earlier with some posh guy from her college.

The penny dropped, and Tyler realized that she must have been stringing him along. He had been right in the first place – he wasn’t good enough for her. With her fancy education and her even fancier friends, there was no room for him in her life. She was a career girl on her way up and she would have been a fool to waste her time with a cowboy from a small town like Rough Oaks. He had thanked Bill and made his way home feeling more miserable than ever.

The next morning he avoided the ranch house by taking a trek up to the far fields to check on some of the fences. When he returned he went to see John to find out how Chloé had taken the news. When John informed him that she had been upset about losing her horse, and even more upset that she hadn’t been able to say goodbye he had felt physically sick. That feeling only got worse when John told him that she had been so mad and upset that she had packed her bags and left for the city already. She had felt deceived and wouldn’t listen to her uncle when he had tried to explain the reasons for not telling her right away.

It was snowing again as he stopped to strengthen one of the fences, his heart feeling almost as heavy as it had that day. He was annoyed and hurt that she had stood him up at the restaurant, but was also upset that she had been so devastated about her horse.

He wondered what she would be deciding now about the future of the ranch – and whether Bill Simmons would play a part in those decisions...

CHAPTER FOUR

Chloé had been surprised to see Bill Simmons on her doorstep. She really wasn’t in the mood for visitors, but thought it would be rude to turn him away. Her mind was in a whirl after the events of the morning and she didn’t know whether she was more angry or upset that her uncle had chosen to split the ranch from its livestock.

“I thought you could probably do with some company after your appointment. And I wanted to apologize for being a bit overpowering yesterday. I know I can come across as a bit bossy sometimes, but I don’t mean nothin’ by it. How’s that ankle doing?” Bill frowned with concern.

“It’s fine, thanks. I was just going to have some coffee. Come and join me.” She managed a smile and ushered him in. Large snowflakes were tumbling from a gray sky and she could feel the cold following him inside.

“Was it really awful?” he asked, as they sat at the kitchen table with their hot drinks and cookies. His voice was gentle and quiet, and Chloé began to wonder if she had got him wrong, after all.

“It was certainly a shock,” she said with a nod. “Uncle John left me the ranch and one of the horses, but the rest of the livestock goes to Tyler Brannagh.”

She watched his sympathetic expression quickly morph to anger. “What in hell would he do that for?” He was obviously seething.

Chloé shrugged. “I’ve no idea. I did wonder if he might leave everything to Tyler – Uncle probably felt that he was like a son to him, and he does know how to run the place.” She chewed the inside of her cheek thoughtfully.

Bill looked shocked. “You mean – you’re not going to contest it? He’s not even family.”

Chloé shook her head. “No, it was Uncle John’s ranch and he can do what he likes with it. He even left Tyler the house over there. Not that it would be of any use to anyone but the foreman anyway.”

She took another sip of her coffee, surprised to see how outraged Bill appeared.

“But it’s not right. You need to check into the deeds of that house. See if your uncle left him the land it stands on – you might be able to claim some sort of rent for the plot if nothing else. And you can charge him a good amount if he wants to keep the animals here, too. My guess is it would be too much of an upheaval for him to move them to another ranch, especially as his house is here – you can charge him a small fortune.” Bill was obviously thinking fast and Chloé had a hard time keeping up with him.

“Of course, you’ll make good money out of the hay,” he went on, frowning thoughtfully.

“But we use everything we grow for the horses,” she protested.

Bill snorted. “You’ve only got one horse to worry about, remember? If Brannagh wants the rest of it for his horses he’ll have to pay you for it.”

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