Page 16 of My Billionaire Cowboy Protector

“I’m going to focus on becoming a board certified teacher and not even worry about men,” Melissa said. “I actually feel better knowing that I only have to worry about myself and my dog.”

They ended the call after an hour of chit-chatting. The last image in Taylor’s mind was of a gorgeous rancher without his shirt.

The next morning, she and Lane acted like nothing had happened the night before. He gave out assignments and Taylor groaned internally. He had assigned Anthony to work with her and Lane on the range, rounding up, vaccinating, and branding the range cattle.

They used motorcycles to herd the cattle into a pen. There was no shoot, so each bull or cow was roped and put on the ground. Lane held the head while Anthony branded the animal and Taylor vaccinated it. The process took just a couple seconds for each animal. It was then released back onto the prairie.

Anthony glared at her every chance he got. “You should try doing the hard work for a change.”

She ignored him.

“Do you think a delicate flower like you could use this branding iron all day or hold the critters down?”

Taylor acted as though she didn’t hear anything.

He was getting increasingly frustrated because he couldn’t get a response out of her. At one point, they finished with a young bull and Lane had just released him. Anthony walked past her and purposely pushed her, although he tried to make it look like an accident.

Taylor had enough. Her heart thundered and she gritted her teeth. She wheeled around and put her finger in his face.

“Do it again and I swear, I’ll send you so far back in time, that you’ll be able to attend the first Thanksgiving.”

Taylor was exhausted at the end of the day but wasn’t quite ready to go back to her cabin.

Sam approached her with a smile. “Robert and I are heading to theBull Horntonight. You want to join us?”

TheBull Hornwas a bar.

She stepped in close to him so she wouldn’t be overheard. “Is Anthony going?”

“No. He wasn’t invited.”

“Then, I’m in,” she said.

She bought the first round of beer since she was the newbie.

“Anthony’s been giving you a hard time, huh?”

“Yeah. He looks down on me because I’m a woman. If he keeps it up, I’ll have to knock him down a peg or ten.”

“I believe you can do it,” Sam said. “I hope I can watch.”

“Hopefully, I won’t have to. Who’s up for a game of pool?” Taylor asked.

The three of them played several games of pool and darts. Taylor cleaned house, and she came out a hundred dollars ahead.

“Another game?” Taylor asked.

Both men held up their hands in a surrender motion.

“You took all of our money,” Robert said. “You’ll have to buy the next round.”

A voice behind them said, “The next round is on me.”

Taylor turned around to see Lane standing behind her.

They sat down at a table and Lane ordered the drinks. Then, with their knees touching, he held her hand under the table while Robert and Sam jokingly complained about how Taylor stole their money by being a pool and dart shark.

All Taylor could think about was whether she was making a fool of herself and if she was going to end up with a broken heart.

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