Page 27 of My Billionaire Cowboy Protector

She squealed and whirled around, the hammer in her right hand.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that. You could get brained.”

Lane laughed at her. He gave her a quick hug and said, “Let me help with that.”

They finished up the fence just in time for supper. She went into the barn to love on Athena and to give her some pieces of steak she had saved from dinner. Then, she spent some time with Diablo. Lane walked her back to the cabin just after the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

“How was your conference?” she asked as he settled onto the couch.

He started telling her about the people who attended but stopped mid-sentence. Taylor laughed when she saw he was asleep. She pulled his boots off, put a pillow under his head, and covered him up with a blanket. He was gone the next morning when she woke up.

The next morning, after breakfast, he asks, “Are you ready?”

“No. I really don’t like this. But I won’t back out now,” she said.

“Do you have any questions?”

“No. Willow told me about everyone and kind of what to expect,” she said.

He nodded and said, “I’ll pick you up in an hour. Pack everything that you and Willow bought. You’ll need it.”

The drive to the airport took about an hour. Every muscle in Taylor’s body was stiff.

“Relax,” Willow said. “Lane, Colton, and I will be there with you. No one will bite you – hard. It will just be the four of uson the plane. Colton’s friend will meet him in New York and the other brothers left yesterday.”

Her eyes were huge when she boarded the private plane.

“I’ve never been in a hotel room as nice as this plane,” she said, looking around. “This is incredible.”

“Welcome to Dad’s baby,” Lane said, grinning. “This was his design. He said if he had to travel around the world for meetings, he was going to enjoy it. There are even a couple of cots in the back in case you need a nap.”

“Wow,” Taylor said.

Her heart thundered in her chest and she struggled to breathe. Not for the first time, she wondered what she had gotten herself into.

Chapter 11: Lane

“How about a game of Spades?” Willow suggested.

“Do you know how to play?” Lane asked Taylor.

“Yeah. I know the basics,” she grinned.

Lane had the idea that she knew a lot more than just the basics.

“Perfect. Taylor and I will be partners, and Lane and Colton can be partners,” Willow announced.

There was a lot of banter going around and Lane noticed that Taylor was relaxing. Willow and Taylor won both games.

“You must have been cheating,” Colton teased.

“Nope. I’ve been playing this game since I could sit in a chair and hold the cards. I think my parents taught me how to play when I was six,” Taylor said.

Just then, the pilot announced that they would be landing in ten minutes. A look of sheer terror flashed across Taylor’s face before she masked it.

Willow put her arm around Taylor after they strapped into their seats.

“It’ll be okay. I promise. Colton, Lane, and I will be with you and we’ll make sure that everything goes smoothly. It’ll actually give me something to do besides stand around, smile,and nod while pretending to listen to people prattle on about their very boring lives.”

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