Page 5 of My Billionaire Cowboy Protector

Finally, as though they were in sync, both of their breathing returned to normal, and Diablo’s eyes weren’t wide open in fear. Taylor’s heart finally slowed back to its normal pace and her dinner settled better in her stomach.

She continued to pet and talk to Diablo. He slowly started to lean against her hand as she petted him.

“You like that, don’t you Baby. That’s right. You just need a little bit of love.”

She laughed when he nudged her with his nose.

“We’re friends now, aren’t we? I have an apple that I grabbed from the house as a snack later, but now seems like a great time for a snack.”

Moving slowly, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a shiny red apple. Taylor bit a huge chunk out of it and offered it to Diablo from the flat palm of her hand. He took the snack with surprising gentleness.

She continued to pet and feed the animal snacks for at least an hour.

“Okay, Pretty Boy. I need to get some rest, but I will make sure to visit with you tomorrow.”

Diablo started to follow her, but then saw the row of men on the outside of the corral and shied away.

“Nice job,” Robert said. “No one has been able to get to that horse since Lane saved him at the auction.”

“He just needed the right touch,” Taylor said.

Her pride swelled as the others praised her and congratulated her, except for Anthony, who simply glared at her.

“Who knows. Someday, I might be able to ride him. I’ve had a gift with horses since I was a little girl,” Taylor said.

Lane smiled at her. It was a sexy grin that reached all the way to his eyes and it made the butterflies in her stomach explode. He stole her breath away.

“Nice job. You’re the first person who could even get close to him, let alone pet him and give him treats.”

“Thanks,” Taylor said, suddenly tongue-tied.

Sam slapped her on the back, hard enough to make her take a step forward. “That was beautiful. It was like a meeting of the souls.”

“Don’t tell me that you’re the ranch’s resident poet,” Taylor teased.

“I’ve always loved poetry and literature. There’s nothing wrong with being a nerdy ranch hand,” he laughed.

“Nothing wrong with that at all,” Taylor said. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”

She could feel Anthony’s eyes boring into her back as she walked toward her cabin. The hate emanated from him like a grotesque aura. Taylor figured that it wasn’t just because she was a woman who could hold her own on the ranch, but also because she argued back. Based on what her mother said about Anthony’s father, the ranch hand likely wanted her to back down and even cry.

“He’s in for a rude awakening,” Taylor muttered.

Although she knew she was likely safe on the ranch, she still locked the cabin door and put a chair under the knob. No hoodlums were likely going to come this far to create mischief, and the Johnsons, Robert, and Sam would never come into the cabin uninvited. However, when she thought of Anthony, a chill went up and down her spine and grabbed her bones. He wasn’t someone who liked to lose – especially to a woman.

Chapter 3: Lane

“Sorry,” Taylor mouthed as she stepped into the dining room where Lane was giving out assignments.

Annoyance flared inside of him and he growled before he continued to explain the daily duties.

“I guess you think that you’re the golden girl after two days of work and that you don’t need to bother showing up to the meeting on time.”

Her back stiffened and her eyes narrowed. Through tight lips, she said, “I got sidetracked looking at the calves. It seems to me that your calf expert, Anthony, missed something important. Three of the calves are developing hoof and mouth disease.”

Animals with hoof and mouth disease will often have blisters on their tongues, lips, in their mouth, on their teats, and between their hooves. It isn’t deadly, but it can make the cattle a lot weaker. It was a highly contagious virus.

“I understand that I need to be on time and I’m sorry that I was late. But if that is how you are going to talk to me, you can find someone else. I won’t be disrespected,” Taylor growled.

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