Page 19 of My Billionaire Cowboy Protector

After dinner, he walked slowly to the cabin. He raised his hand to knock and then dropped it again.

How in the world am I going to convince her to help me out. This is a little beyond the scope of what she was hired to do.

Taylor opened the door and stepped aside so he could come in.

“Coffee?”

“No thanks. I really need to talk to you,” he said.

She pressed her lips together and sighed.

He sat on the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. Lane rubbed his face and looked at her for a minute. He started to speak but stopped again.

“I tried calling her back to tell her the truth but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I think that she has already sent outannouncements. You would be doing me a huge favor if you went with me.”

“Tell her the truth. Or tell her that I broke up with you. I’m sure that you’ll be able to figure out something,” Taylor said.

The last thing in the world he wanted to do was upset his mother right before the celebration. She would likely have a heart attack.

“If you will go with me to the celebration as my fiancé, I will give you enough money to buy your ranch back. I’ll also give you Diablo.”

Taylor’s jaw dropped.

“You’re joking, right?”

“No. I’m dead serious. This event is the third most important event in my mother’s life. I don’t want to upset her before it happens. I’ll tell her that we broke up afterward,” Lane said.

“You are telling me that if I go to this celebration with you, you will give me the money to buy back the ranch. You will give me the horse,” Taylor said, repeating his offer.

“Yes.”

“Let me think about it.”

“That’s all I ask,” Lane said.

He brushed a kiss across her lips and left, hoping that she would agree to his terms.

Chapter 8: Taylor

Taylor flopped on the couch and ran her fingers through her hair.

“I could have the ranch back and I could have Diablo. It would only be for two days,” she said aloud. “I could have my life back for two days of work.”

She imagined the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the right.

“You would spend two days lying to an untold number of people. Remember the ninth commandment: Thy shall not bear false witness,” the angel said.

“True,” said the devil. “However, this is an acting job. Nothing more and nothing less. You would be doing the exact same thing as all those other actors and actresses who get up in front of a bunch of people and pretend to be detectives, nurses, or even serial killers in the movies.”

“This isn’t an acting job. This is designed to fool a bunch of people.”

“No one would get hurt,” said the devil. “You just have to pretend to be Lane’s fiancé for two days. Then, after that, he can tell everyone that you broke up. You have your ranch and your horse, and everyone would be happy.”

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions. No one would be hurt, but it was still a lie,” said the imaginary angel.

Taylor put her hands over her ears, as though it could stop the argument that was happening inside her head. She had never been so torn on a decision in her entire life.

She got down on her knees, folded her hands, and prayed for God to give her guidance.

---