Page 30 of Sara’s Dom (The Doms of Madison County)

“As much as I’d like to stay in bed all day with you, I have to make sure everything is being handled.”

“Your boss might get mad that you’re gone so much,” she said.

He stiffened for a moment. “There’s something I need to tell...”

The dogs barking interrupted him. “I need to check on them. You can tell me later.”

He sighed and nodded.

An hour later, she watched him drive away and then remembered he had something to tell her, but they had forgotten. She’d try to remember to ask him the next time she saw him.

Chapter Fourteen

Several months later, Sara was brushing out Dream Catcher in her stall when two men walked into the stables. She recognized their voices but didn’t call out to them.

“Jesus, I just heard Grant bought the old Williams place. It has over two hundred acres.”

“What about the house that’s on it?”

“He’ll probably tear it down. No one has lived in it for years. Besides, he has the big house here that he grew up in, and I can’t ever see him leaving. It’s been in his family for three generations,” the first man said.

Sara hadn’t realized she stood there frozen. So many things ran through her mind, but the one thought that hit her the hardest was that Grant had been lying to her for months. She just couldn’t figure out why, besides the fact he was playing a joke on her, and the thought of him and his men laughing at her stupidity made her nauseous.

The two men walked away.

She patted the horse for a moment but knew she needed to leave before she started crying.

“Goodbye, girl. I will miss you forever.” The thought of leaving and never coming back killed a part of her inside, but she couldn’t see her showing her face at his ranch again. It would be too embarrassing.

She walked out of the stall and put the brush away before heading toward her car. Her focus was on staying calm and getting away as quickly as possible. She was just about to get to her car before someone called out to her.

“Hey, Sara,” one of the ranch hands, Brian, yelled from several yards away.

She stopped and turned. She caught the look in his eyes of concern, telling her she must have looked bad.

“Where are you going? Grant said he’d be here in the next half hour.”

She nodded. “I know. Can you tell him I’ll call him later, please? I forgot I had something to do.”

“Are you okay?” Brian asked as he walked her way.

“Yes. I just have a little tummy ache.”

“Get some rest.”

“I will. Can I ask you a quick question?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“Were you aware of the fact that I didn’t know Grant owned the ranch? I thought he was the manager?”

She could tell immediately that he did and felt herself blush. She tried to laugh. “I guess I’m a little slow on the uptake, huh?”

“No. Wait. Listen to him. He really cares about you,” Brian said.

Sara chuckled. “Well, damn, I wish I could say I believe you, but we’ve been together for four months, and he’s kept up this charade the whole time.”

“Just give him a chance to explain,” Brian said.

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