Page 27 of Parading the Cowboy Billionaire (Bluegrass Ranch 4)

Ginny didn’t argue with her, though neither of them were the guests of honor at tonight’s party. It was simply a ham and potatoes dinner at the Winchester’s, but they owned one of the largest plantations in Kentucky, and they’d serve their salted, cured meat on family heirloom china, sterling silver forks and knives to complete the settings.

Everyone would be in gowns and suits, and everyone would fit in the dining room. Ginny and Mother had been invited for the past two years, and this would be their third appearance.

This year, Colton Winchester had called Ginny and said they’d only be serving Sweet Rose whiskey and bourbon, and she’d gushed at him for a solid ten minutes. He also had a son who’d just turned forty, and Ginny suspected she’d be somehow strategically placed next to Emerson Winchester for dinner.

“I hope there’s someone there I can latch onto,” Ginny said. “To avoid Emerson.” She met Mother’s eye, who frowned.

“I agree,” she said. “He hasn’t quite lived up to his potential, has he?”

“I heard his last girlfriend was only twenty-two,” Ginny said, and that was the honest truth.

“There will be someone there,” Mother said with confidence. “Let’s go.” She reached for Ginny, and together, they went down the wide hall, and then Ginny went first down the steps, her skirts gathered into her fists and Mother’s hand on her shoulder.

Step by painful step, they made it to the first floor, and Ginny said, “Mother, you need to consider moving to the main level.”

“There is nowhere for me here.”

“Mother, it’s a four-thousand-square-foot level. There has to be something here.”

“If you find me a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a sitting area on this level that does not include that front bedroom, I’ll consider it.”

Ginny could rise to this challenge, and she said so as she opened the back door and helped her mother to her SUV. “I’ll get someone to look into it,” she said. The kitchen in this house was massive and meant for a professional to man it. Mother couldn’t use it, and there was no other place to cook.

A library and ballroom sat on the main level as well, as did a drawing room and a music room. “The music room would work,” she said. “There’s a bathroom right next door, and we can modify it the way we did the room upstairs with what you require to make your tea and toast.”

“I don’t want all those men in the house,” she said.

“Mother,” Ginny said. “Don’t be unreasonable. If you want the house modified, it’ll take people to come modify it.”

“Idon’t want it modified,” Mother said haughtily. “You do.”

“For your safety,” Ginny said, driving slowly as she left the property. Mother didn’t like fast driving, and Ginny was doing everything she could to stay on her mom’s good side these days. When she did that, Mother didn’t look took closely as what she did in other areas of her life.

Several minutes later, they arrived at the Winchester’s mansion on the east side of town. It didn’t look like there was a party here at all, though the entire front face of the house was lit up with tasteful lights.

Ginny followed the arrow and turned down a lane just past the house. A valet met her, opening her door and helping her from the SUV while another helped Mother. Someone met them on the sidewalk and escorted the two of them into the house through a back door, where light and music spilled into the darkening night.

One step through the door, and Colton Winchester spotted her instantly. “There she is,” he said, his loud voice filling the whole house.

Heat filled Ginny’s face, and she told herself not to look anywhere but at Colton’s smiling face. He was serving their liquor exclusively, and she had to please him. She had limits, but playing to his ego was well within them.

“Colton,” she said, making sure Mother was steady on her feet before she stepped away from her. She laughed as she got engulfed by the bear of the man wearing a cowboy hat. He lifted her right up off her feet and Ginny let out a giggle as his laugh covered hers.

He set her down, and Ginny kept her hands on his shoulders. “We’re not late, are we?”

“You’re never late,” Colton said, smiling down at her. “Look at you, Wendy.” He grinned at Mother and stepped over to her. She offered him her hand, and Colton lifted it to his lips like a perfect Southern gentleman. “You are beautiful.”

“Thank you, Mister Winchester.” Mother didn’t have a giggling bone in her body, and Ginny found it a miracle if she even smiled. She also wondered why she tolerated Colton and his cowboy hat but not Cayden and his.

“My daughter will show you to your places,” Colton said, turning back to Ginny. “You’re coming with me, Missy. I have someone I want you to meet.”

“Is that right?” Ginny asked, finally allowing herself to sweep the room. She couldn’t find Emerson or Cayden. She told herself it couldn’t be Emerson, because she’d met him several times.

“That’s right,” he said. “There’s a gentleman here who’s putting together a race at his ranch, and it’s the perfect opportunity for the two of you to combine your audiences.”

Ginny knew who Colton was going to “introduce” her to before Cayden came into view. He stood with a couple of other men, a drink in his hand he hadn’t touched. She knew, because the amber liquid was much higher than the others in the group, and even when he lifted it to his lips, none passed into his mouth.

His eyes met hers, and he lowered his glass.

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