Page 21 of The Fake Girlfriend's Billionaire Match
“Hey, any calves yet?”
“Yeah, three so far. One isn’t doing so great. Jayce is taking that one to his bunkhouse. He wants to try and save it.” Caleb rubbed his horse’s neck. “I told him it was fine with me.”
Bear was glad he’d decided to give each ranch hand’s cabin their own small barn. It made it easier for them to take care of their horses, as well as other ranch animals as Jayce was doing with the calf.
Jayce Knight was the last ranch hand to arrive. He was the guy Wyatt had recommended. Until recently, Jayce had toured with the rodeo as its newest star. Then he’d allowed fame to go to his head. Roughly two months ago, he’d found himself in a bar fight and then in the county jail. His sponsors had fled like he had the plague, leaving him broke and no place to go.
“How’s Jayce’s attitude?” asked Bear.
Caleb chuckled. “Terrible, though slowly improving, but he also knows we’re the only ones willing to give him a place to stay at the moment.”
“As long as he remembers that, we’re good.” Bear glanced around the property. “All right, anything else I need to know?”
“Naw, things are running smooth. There’s something off about Mark that I can’t put my finger on. I keep thinking I’ve seen him before, but I don’t know where.”
Bear had thought the same thing when he interviewed Mark Anderson. Of course, he’d run a background check, and it was all fine. With no red flags, Bear had hired him. “Is he not getting the job done?”
Shaking his head, Caleb said, “No, he’s good, but I feel like he’s hiding something. Can’t hold that against him, though. We all have our secrets.”
Yeah, everyone had their secrets. “As long as he’s doing well, he can have his secrets.”
“That’s what I thought. Is everything okay with the family? Thanks for the Thanksgiving meal you sent out to the hands. It was amazing.”
“I’m just sorry I didn’t think to invite you all in for the actual meal with the family. I hope you all will join us for Christmas dinner. The family is fine. The ladies went shopping yesterday, and they were all tuckered by the time they got back. I suspect they’ll sleep in a while.”
Caleb grunted a laugh. “I’d rather pay full price than deal with all that nonsense. You’ll never catch me in that mess.”
With a snort, Bear shook his head. “I’ve learned never is never a good word to use.”
“True. I guess I’ve doomed myself to Black Friday shopping in the future.” His horse shifted, and he rubbed her neck again. “It’s cold. I’m going to take Lanny to the barn, give her a good rubdown, and then huddle around the fire.”
Bear gave him a small two-finger salute. “Sounds good to me. I think I’ll do the same.” With that, they went their separate ways.
Back at the barn, Bear brushed Spur, blanketed him, and put him out so he could graze. On his way to his room, he spied Winnie on the back deck, wrapped in a blanket and sitting in her rocker. Instead of going to his room, he stepped outside to see if she was okay. “Do you mind if I join you?”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “No, I don’t mind at all.”
Bear pulled his rocker closer to hers, slipping his hands into his pockets. “It’s a little cold out here.”
“Yeah, it is, but I really like it.” There was a sadness in her voice. It had been a great day in his opinion.
“Is something wrong? Because if it’s something I’ve done, I apologize.”
Shaking her head, she picked at a string on her sweater. “No, you haven’t done anything. I’m just starting to feel terribly guilty for lying to your family. They’ve been so sweet to me.”
He understood that. He’d never liked lying to people. Even his justification in the beginning wasn’t giving him a reprieve now. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. Lying to them hurts.”
“How do we fix this, then?”
“That’s a good question.” Part of him wanted to come clean, but if he did that, he wouldn’t have an excuse to kiss her anymore. Simply put, that bothered him just as much or more than the lying did. What was the solution when his head and his heart couldn’t come to terms? Before he had a chance to really think it through, he said, “Maybe we don’t pretend the rest of the time and actually date instead, knowing it will end after the new year.”
As soon as the words left his lips, he considered taking them back, but it seemed to be the best solution to him. His family wouldn’t know he’d lied, and his heart would remain safe. If he knew the relationship was ending, he could keep that in mind when they were together. There was no chance for a heartbreak for either of them when the terms were laid out in black and white.
She twisted in the seat and faced him. “Don’t pretend?”
“Well, we can drop the deal and just enjoy our time together so it isn’t a lie anymore. But after the holidays, you’ve got a restaurant in San Antonio that needs to be opened, and I have this ranch. After wanting it so many years, I just—”
Winnie touched his arm. “I get it.” She chewed her bottom lip as if she was struggling to decide. Maybe she was thinking he wouldn’t pay her the rest of the money since that was the deal from the beginning.
