Page 108 of The Guy Who Stole My Ranch

“Yes, ma’am.”

I was reminded of Brooke’s dad, Robert, and chuckled.

“How do you know William?” Gary asked.

Brooke gave me the side eye as she said, “He’s buying my ranch.”

Gary was one of the only people that knew about my side project, and he nodded. “I’ve seen pictures of the property. It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

Gary glanced at me and pointed at Bert. “Should I take him in?”

I shook my head. “No, I’ll do it.” Then I looked at Brooke. “Will you help?”

“You’re giving me the chance to judge your skills?” She folded her arms across her stomach and grinned.

“I am.”

“Then yes, but first, Frank is going to die unless I throw something for him to fetch.”

If she needed a moment alone, then I’d give it to her. I drew her to me, kissed her on the cheek, and said, “We’re just around the corner.”

“I’ll be right there.”

It was Gary’s turn to give me the side eye as I walked Bert back to his stall. “How did he do?”

“Fine. He favored the leg a little at the beginning, but he evened out.” Before Gary could ask if I’d followed his rules, I said, “We took it easy, as ordered. Only walking.”

“Good.” We got to the water trough, and I took the bridle off, and Gary replaced it with a rope. When he’d finished, his dark eyes looked through me to my soul. “So, who’s the beautiful woman out there?”

How did I even start? “She’s the daughter of the man who owns the ranch I’m buying.”

“Is she why you haven’t been here in a week?” Gary and I worked in tandem to get the saddle off Bert.

There was no use hiding it from Gary. Especially since I’d never kissed a woman as openly as I’d just kissed Brooke. “She is.”

“You don’t usually bring your girlfriends here after only a week.”

I grabbed a brush and started running it along Bert’s back. “She’s…special. And she loves animals.” I didn’t want him to know that she’d surprised me. Thinking about that, I needed to have a chat with Patrick. He must have been the one to lead her here.

“I can see that.” Gary’s eyes were fixed over my shoulder. I looked behind to see what had caught his attention and found Brooke and Frank heading our way, but instead of coming straight to us, she was stopping at every stall to greet the horses.

“Should we warn her about Goliath?” Gary asked.

I thought back to the rescue ranch outside of San Antonio. “She can handle him.”

Sure enough, the surly horse tossed his head and kicked the stall door when Brooke got to him. She raised an eyebrow, looked down at Frank, then started talking to the horse under her breath. Frank sat and watched with apparent amusement on his face.

“Is she scolding him?” Gary asked.

“Likely.”

Gary laughed. “She’s a strong woman.”

“You have no idea.”

I couldn’t help but watch Brook as she approached. The grooms gave her plenty of space. I didn’t miss their curious glances or the way a few of them gave her a second look. Brooke was a force of nature, especially here in her element, and any sane man would be hard pressed to tear his eyes away.

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