Page 20 of My Billionaire Cowboy Protector

Then, she called Melissa and explained the situation to her.

“I say go for it,” Melissa said. “It’s a chance to have your dream come true.”

“I would be lying to a lot of people.”

“You would be acting. Lane wants to hire you to perform a role. He hired you to perform the role of a ranch hand and now he wants to hire you to be his fiancé.”

“I guess so,” Taylor replied doubtfully.

“Think of the irony,” Melissa said. “His family tried to buy the ranch several times, but the Williams wouldn’t sell. Now, he is going to give you the money to buy the ranch. He’s even giving you a bonus to get your ranch back – that devil horse.”

Taylor giggled and said, “He’s not a devil. He just has good taste in people and loves me. But you’re right. It is ironic.”

She tossed and turned all night long and struggled to sleep. When Morpheus finally did overcome her, it was a restless sleep. She was exhausted when she opened her eyes the next morning.

Taylor never cursed, but a few words might have slipped out when she tried to pull on her jeans, her leg got stuck and she hit the floor with a thud. Her foot went clear through her sock when she slipped it on. Luckily, she had done laundry so she had a clean pair. Unfortunately, she only had five pairs of socks – four now.

“Really. Is this how my day is going to go?” she growled at no one in particular.

She was a little late for breakfast, but luckily Franny always made plenty of food, so she was able to hastily gulp some eggs, bacon, and orange juice down.

Diablo was waiting for her in the pen and her mood was instantly soothed. Taylor hugged him and gave him bits of apple. When it was gone, he pressed his lips against her face as though he was giving her a kiss.

This horse had won her heart. They had an unbreakable bond. Taylor realized that she had no choice.

After daily assignments were given out, Taylor said, “I’ll do it for the horse and the ranch.”

“Excellent,” he said, grinning widely.

“We can act like a couple in public, but there won’t be any sex when we’re alone. We can keep going on the same path as we have been, seeing each other, but nothing else until the time comes for us to move our real relationship forward if that time comes,” Taylor said.

“Agreed,” Lane said. “I’m going to rearrange my schedule and take over your duties today. Willow is going to take you shopping. You’ll need the clothes to play the part. They will obviously be yours to keep.”

Taylor wanted to protest. She really didn’t like the idea of him buying her clothes. It didn’t seem right. However, she realized that she didn’t have the right clothes to participate in that society, even if she raided the wardrobe that she had in storage.

“I love shopping,” Willow said. “It’s even more fun because we are dressing you up. It’s almost like when I was playing with my dolls when I was a kid.”

Taylor laughed.

“I’m jealous of you,” Willow said.

“Why?”

“You get a fresh start. When this is done, you’ll have your ranch back. You’ll be able to get your horse ranch growing and live your dream,” Willow said.

“Aren’t you happy?” Taylor asked.

Willow shrugged. “I guess so. I have a third of the ranch, almost. I have thirty percent, Colton has thirty, and Lane has forty. I have all the money that I could spend in a lifetime. But, except for college, which was an interesting experience, I haven’t been away from the family or the ranch. Except, of course, for short vacations and such.”

“If you sold your share to your brothers, what would you want to do?”

Willow thought about it for a minute and said, “I honestly don’t know. I guess I’ve never given myself permission to dream about it because it was a waste of time.”

“You don’t seem to be the kind of person who would sit around in your teddy bear slippers, eating bonbons, and watching talk shows all day or lounging around the pool with servants waiting on you hand and foot.”

“I’m not. However, I am the kind of person who likes having a maid and a cook because I loathe doing housework and cooking,” she laughed.

The two of them visited a dozen stores and they were loaded down with bags.

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