Page 70 of Falling Hard for the Billionaire Cowboy

Austin's fork pauses halfway to his mouth. He sets it down, his expression turning serious. "Hayley, I never left you there. I sent Old John to help pick you up."

I blink in surprise. "Old John – Oh..."

He sighs. "There was a fire at the ranch that day. I had to hurry back to help contain it. But I couldn't just leave you stranded, so I asked Old John to go find you and give you a lift."

I sit back, processing this information. Now that I think about it, I never questioned how Old John had just appeared on that desolate road, knocking on my broken-down car window. I had chalked it up to chance, but it had been Austin all along.

"I had no idea," I say softly. "Thank you for making sure I was taken care of."

Austin reaches across the table, taking my hand once again. "Of course. I'm just sorry I couldn't help you myself."

Our conversation flows easily after that. I ask him about his trip, curious about what took him out of the country.

"Was it related to the ranch?" I inquire.

Austin hesitates for a moment. "Something like that," he replies vaguely. I sense there's more to it, but I don't push. Instead, I let the conversation move on naturally.

We chat and laugh, and the warmth in my heart grows with each passing moment. Austin's smile, his laugh, the way his eyes crinkle at the corners - it all feels so right, so perfect.

But suddenly, a thought intrudes on my happiness.Will this last? Is it possible that this is happening to me?

As if sensing my sudden unease, Austin squeezes my hand. "Hey, you okay?"

I look into his warm, concerned eyes, and I feel my doubts start to melt away. Maybe it's too soon to know if this will last forever. But right now, at this moment, I'm happier than I've been in a long time.

"I'm perfect," I reply, squeezing his hand back. And I mean it. "Gordon Austin." I tease him again, causing him to chuckle.

Chapter twenty-eight

AUSTIN

It's finally Saturday, and once again, I'm spending the whole day with my favorite gal - Hayley.

As I think of her name, the corner of my lip tilts up slightly. I'm taking Hayley to see the car show, and I truly hope she enjoys today as well. I'm about to grab my cowboy hat when my phone rings. My first thought is that Hayley is calling, but the number belongs to my sister, Jenny. It's a video call, but I decline and change it to a normal call.

Grinning, I wait until she picks up the call. "Look who we have here…" I tease.

"Austin, put me on a video call – pleaseeee."

"I am very busy right now. You can tell me what you want."

"You're acting very suspicious right now," she accuses.

"What-" I brush it off. I can only imagine that Sarah has indeed told her something.

"Come on, I haven't seen your face in forever. And you're always too busy to visit."

I feel a bit guilty, causing me to sigh. "Fine," I say, switching to video call.

Immediately as she sees me, she begins to grin like a Cheshire cat. "Look who we have here – it's the old bachelor, or should I say the taken-man?"

"Oh come on. I darn well knew that Sarah said something," I say, shaking my head.

"Where's she? Is she there with you? Can I see her? Should I come over?" My sister rushes on, and I can tell she's excited for me.

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down. I don't need any more people to frighten her away."

"What did I do?" she protests.

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