Page 9 of My Billionaire Cowboy Protector

He glanced at her and smiled. She thought maybe he was silently asking if it was okay to hold her hand, which she thought was sweet. Taylor responded by gently squeezing.

As usual, Brother Ayhart delivered an awesome sermon. He wasn’t a fire and brimstone kind of preacher. He often preached about how theBibleencourages people to help other people and make a positive difference in the world.

Everyone stood and waited for the preacher to walk to the door first and began filing out.

Brother Ayhart gave Taylor a huge hug. “How are you doing?”

“Great. I started working for Lane on his ranch. It’s hard work like ranching always is, but I’m enjoying it. Everyone is great.”

“That’s good to hear,” Brother Ayhart said.

He shook Lane’s hand and said, “You treat her right. I might be a man of the cloth, but I’m not above doling out butt-kicking when it’s needed.”

Lane laughed and said, “Yes, Sir.”

As they walked away, Lane said, “You never told me that you go to this church.”

“You didn’t ask,” she grinned.

“How come I’ve never seen you here before?” Lane asked.

“My guess is that you’ve never looked.”

“How about some lunch at your mom’s diner?”

“Sounds great. I’ve been craving some chicken and dumplings, with a side of fried okra and country green beans,” Taylor said, licking her lips exaggeratingly and rubbing her tummy.

“I guess we better get there before you starve to death,” he laughed.

They enjoyed lunch together and Lane said, “I don’t feel like going back home. How about a drive?”

“That sounds nice,” she said.

She and Carl used to take drives on Sunday afternoons, as well. It was one of the things that she missed. It really wasn’t any fun driving around by herself. Melissa was great, but she was more into shopping than going for a drive and enjoying the scenery.

They drove around Garden of the Gods, which was one of Taylor’s favorite spots in the world.

“I love this place,” Taylor said as she admired the many rock formations that were in the park. “God is truly an amazing artist.”

They stopped by Balanced Rock, which was a huge rectangle-shaped sandstone boulder that was balanced on its edge.

“That thing looks like it could topple over any minute,” she said. “I can’t decide whether I like this or the Kissing Camels formation better.”

“They are both great, but I like this one best. It is nothing short of a miracle that the boulder can balance like that throughout the centuries.”

“True.”

“I would suggest a hiking trail, but we aren’t dressed for that,” he said.

“Next time, we should bring a change of clothes.” She immediately blushed because she insinuated that they would be spending another afternoon together.

“We will,” he said.

As they slowly drove around, he held her hand. Once again, sparks of electricity explode inside of her. A small flameleaped to life deep in her gut. The chemistry between them was undeniable.

“You said you wanted to save enough to buy back your old ranch. Should I be expecting competition?”

“No. I actually want to raise and train horses.”

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