Page 1 of Pasture Findlay Farms

CHAPTER1

DAKOTA

I pacethe hallway at the county office. The meetings have been happening for months now. Jameson, my oldest brother, the county, and the heads of Robinson Ranch and Eggnog Ranch have been negotiating a contract. The responsibility falls on our farms to show growth in our revenue. If God forbid, we can’t, the other ranch owners have the opportunity to buy us out of a property that’s been in our family for generations.

Typically, my brother Archie comes with Jameson to these meetings. He’s the type you want on your side. He’s confident and charismatic. He’s unafraid to speak his mind, but today he’s shooting new photos for the ranch. My sister Olivia would be the obvious next best option, but she isn’t around much these days, so he asked me to attend with him. I can’t imagine what I have to bring to the table, but I didn’t want to disappoint my family, so here I am.

I stop in front of a black-and-white picture. It’s from way back when all the ranches in this area were one. It was a time when the community worked together before a dispute made us sworn enemies with Robinson Ranch. But the picture is proof that it could happen again, maybe we could come together and stop all this fighting for good.

“All of them sitting side by side like a team… It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?” A deep voice bellows from over my shoulder and it sends goosebumps rippling down my arms.

I turn to see a tall, broad-shouldered rancher in a brown cowboy hat. Despite his squared jawline and calloused hands, there’s a softness behind his eyes and the contradiction draws me in. I blame all the Jane Austin novels I’ve read in my life for the way I flush red at the sight of him.

“Yes, it is hard to imagine.” Our eyes meet and it sucks all the air out of the room. All of a sudden I can’t think, everything around us fades away. Things like this don’t happen to me, yet somehow I recognize the feeling right away.

This man is meant to be a part of my life, something in me knows it…Or I’ve spent too much time reading romance books on a farm where all the men I see are related to me and now I act crazy when a normal person talks to me. I suppose I have to leave room for that possibility too.

The rancher opens his mouth and I nearly stop breathing, desperate to hear what he’s got to say.Is it going to be beautiful, flowery, poetry? Or maybe he's a brooding Mr. Darcy type.But he hesitates and in the end, nothing comes out except for a deep exhale of breath. He looks away and then his silence melts into a gorgeous smile that feels like it’s meant just for me.

I take matters into my own hands, pulling my shoulders back and tilting my chin up to meet his gaze. “I’m Dakota, it’s nice to meet you.” I put a hand out toward him and when he takes it, zaps of electricity course through every inch of my body.

“William.” He tips his hat and looks over my head into the meeting room. “Are you waiting on them too?”

“Yes I am, it’s been a while. But I wouldn’t want to be in there, it’ll be a long day sorting through that paperwork.”

“Well, I’d say that makes it my lucky day.” His smile makes the skin crinkle around his eyes. “From the looks of it, they’re going to be a while longer. What do you say we take a walk in the meantime?”

“Take a walk?” I tilt my head.Am I hearing things now?

“Yeah, there’s a pasture out behind your property just up the road, isn’t there? Let’s go take a walk.” He offers me his elbow and it melts my heart.

I don’t know who this man is, but something inside of me trusts him inherently. The thought thrills me more than it should. But I can’t help my reaction. It’s like he’s courting me. It’s like I’m inBridgertonpromenading and no one says no to a modern-day cowboy with the old-timey manners of a duke. It’s never been done.

Without another thought, I throw caution to the wind. I shoot a text to Jameson telling him I walked home, and slip my arm through William’s elbow. “Yes, let’s take a walk in the pasture.”

* * *

We walk for what feels both like a lifetime and like no time at all. In the space of a few hours, we cover every topic under the sun. William and his brother grew up in the foster care system constantly moving until they became permanent ranch hands at Robinson over a decade ago. It’s amazing he and I have never crossed paths before because his brother Waylin has been in a feud with my brother Archie for years. But I know I’ve never seen him because William isn’t the kind of man you forget once you meet him.

In fact, I’m not sure if anything will ever be the same for me again. As the sun sets and the night air cools, I revel in the warmth of William’s body beside mine as he pulls me close. He’s nothing like the ranchers I know. He’s sweet and his heart is on his sleeve.

William holds my hand and asks me about every book I’ve ever read. He’s interested in my millennial-grandma-hobbies and wants to know about our family recipes. But that’s nothing compared to the way he looks at me. William has a charming way of walking the line between being respectful and undressing me with his eyes.

I catch the way his line of sight dips to my cleavage and the way it traces the curve of my hips. It’s a nice feeling to be wanted. We stay there, hidden in the corner of the pasture and lost in our own world. It’s pure bliss. Another thirty minutes pass before our innocent walk in the pasture takes a turn that would have Lady Whistledown’s paper circulating.

The sun is all but gone when William pulls me close. I can feel the ripple of his washboard chest beneath his shirt. His heart pounds in perfect rhythm with my own. He moves in close, and the heat of his breath on my cool skin sends tingles running across me.

William’s hands wrap around my waist and the heat of his touch radiates through me. The silvery light of the moon illuminates his lips as they come toward mine. My eyes snap closed when our mouths meet.

The kiss is soft and sweet, our tongues dance, and our hands clasp. The way his lips move on mine leaves me dizzy and breathless. When I part my lips, he slides his tongue inside and my entire body responds.

I let myself collapse into his embrace. There’s hunger on his lips but a fierce resolve to control it too like I’ve never experienced. He runs a hand through my hair, using it to tug my head back ever so slightly. His lips brush my neck, igniting a fire within me that I never knew existed. His tongue flicks across my collarbone, sending shivers of pleasure through me with each stroke.

Slowly, his rough hands move across my curves and under my shirt. His ranch-calloused hands are electric and my skin burns with pleasure at the sensation of his touch. My heart is beating a million times a minute. My desire for him grows stronger by the second. Pressure builds low within me as his hands move down my hips coming to rest at the top of my jeans.

We stay there together, lost in our own world for hours. But William doesn’t take it further, but it doesn’t matter. A spark has been ignited between us. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t ever see it going out.

CHAPTER2

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