Page 2 of Plus-Size Temptations of the Billionaire

Before I can process anything else, my phone goes off. I kind of expected it to be Larissa but I see it is her father, James. I have no idea why he is calling me, but I know it can’t be anything good. I answer the phone quickly.

“Hello, James, what can I do for you?” I ask him, hoping that it’s not going to be anything dumb.

“Not much, I just have a favor to ask of you.” James murmurs, sounding amused, “I know a few of your sons are single and I’m really trying to get Larissa to settle down. Do you know if one of them is interested in her.”

My stomach drops, “I don’t know about that, James, I haven’t really talked to them about it because they have never brought it up to me. Are you sure this is a conversation you should be having with me and not Larissa? I’m sure she’s probably not interested in them from what I could tell.”

James sighs as if he is shaking his head, “yeah, I was afraid that you would say that. The only thing about it is that Larissa doesn’t seem to have any interest in any man, and I have this fear that she is never going to settle down and give us grandbabies. Her sisters have all gotten married and produced children and I have no idea what she is waiting for, it’s not like she’s getting any younger. If she doesn’t start thinking about her age and how no one is going to want her when she’s old, she needs to hurry and settle down.”

That makes me angry because there is no way in hell that Larissa would ever get treated that way if I have anything to do about it, “honestly, James, I think you just need to let her do this at her own pace. She’s not going to just fall in love with someone who just walks through the door, it doesn’t happen like that. If anything, I’m sure she could fall in love with someone in the future but that takes time and patience, not force. I know you want her to settle down and I know that you have this fear that she won’t ever, but I think you need to have some faith in her. Ifyou don’t, it just might be the end of things for your relationship because she might get mad at you for ruining it.”

“You don’t have to tell me that, I already know.” He grumbles, making me wonder why he wants to do it then, “I don’t know if you know but she has had many suitors, and they all end up running away because she’s a… Freak so to speak. That’s not the kind of girl that I am raising, and I don’t want to be hearing from people how they can’t stand to be around her because she’s so boring. None of my children have EVER been boring and I won’t have Larissa tarnish my reputation. I hope that you will ask your sons for me.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond as he quickly says goodbye and hangs up. I kind of wish that I could just throw his head through a wall because this was NOT the way to go about this but I kind of know that either way, he’s not going to change and there’s nothing I can do about it.

I just hope that Larissa can meet the guy of her dreams…

Even if it isn’t me.

Chapter Three

Larissa

When I arrive at Rustic Ridge Ranch, I see that Walker is waiting for me. He has a solemn smile on his face that makes me feel a bit nervous because I have no idea why he is looking at me like that, but I don’t dare to ask questions. Running my fingers through my hair, I just watch him carefully as he approaches my car as I am getting out.

“Thank you for coming to help me, Larissa.” He murmurs softly, a look on his face that makes my heart squeeze into a million little pieces, “Littlefoot is stable for now but I’m worried that the foal is breeched or something. I don’t know if she’s going to be able to give birth because the foal doesn’t seem to be coming out right.”

“Let’s not worry too much yet until I can examine her.” I tell him, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart from his intense gaze, “if anything, the baby is probably stuck but that can quickly be fixed with just a little bit of help. I hope that you’re ready for this, Walker, because it’s definitely not going to be easy. Sheneeds you to be calm for her. Can you do that, or do you need to call someone else?”

“Even if I wasn’t, I’m not leaving her side.” He promises me, an emotion in his eyes that makes my heart skip a beat, “you do what you need to do, Larissa, and I promise that I will follow you through.”

I nod and he leads me to the barn where Littlefoot is. His horse is beautiful with a black coat and little white patches around her feet that looks like socks. She has been his prized possession for the longest time, and I know he had been wary about breeding her, but he wanted to keep her line going. I wasn’t sure if it was the smartest thing to do because she was a little older, but she wasn’t out of the range where it was unsafe for her to give birth. I just have to keep Walker calm through this.

As I put on my gloves and examine her as gently as possible, I see the worry on Walker’s face as he carefully watches my every movement. I know that I need to help him the best wat hat I can and to do that, Littlefoot needs to make it through this alive. I know she’s a fighter and I keep mentally projecting that to her, knowing it would kill Walker.

I let out a breath of relief when I see that nothing is wrong yet, just that she had grown tired. She’s still able to keep herself up so I do have high hopes that she will still be able to give birth without much assistance. Walker is immediately at my side.

“So?” He asks me softly.

I take off my gloves and smile at him, “it’s good to know that Littlefoot is fine, she’s just tired. I do believe that she will still be able to give birth.”

He lets out a breath of relief because he honestly looked like he didn’t believe me, “that’s great news. I had worried that the process was becoming too much of a toll on her, but I had no idea it would come to this extent. I should have just gone withmy gut instinct and not bred her like everyone else was forcing me to do. This is all my fault…”

My heart aches for him almost instantaneously because there’s definitely no reason that he should feel this way. He had no idea this was going to happen, no one could have predicted it, not even him. It makes my heart sink a little bit when I know that he has probably done everything in his power to make sure that everything he cares about and loves is alright, but I can see just how much this horse means to him.

Walker has always had a soft spot when it came to his animals, it didn’t matter. He has always taken great care of them, something that others could never do. I know he might not think it but after everything he has dealt with and how his children have lived up to their legacy, everything that he has ended up doing has been for the greater good. Am I a hundred percent sure what’s going on is right, no, because we can’t be a sure about everything. I just have to have faith that this is all going to go the way it needs to be, and I can continue to live with that. If I didn’t, there’s no way in hell I would be here right now and that’s saying something.

Smiling to myself, I set my things down where I would be able to get quick access to them. Of course, something could happen in the blink of an eye, and I need to be ready for it. I can tell that Walker is worrying about that as well and I’m not sure how to make him feel better. It’s not always going to be an easy realization, I know this, but as I keep going back and forth in my head, I do know that there should be nothing holding me back anymore. If there is, I’m sure I would probably go crazy with it.

Letting out a sigh, I run my fingers through my hair and think long and hard about what is going to happen next. I don’t know if it will or how it will happen, but I have been going through my mind, trying to figure out how I’m going to say this to him. I need to get my feelings off of my chest becausehonestly, it’s not a good idea to keep holding them back. The smart thing for me to do is to just forget about it and not worry about it ever again but I know that is not so simple either. Wracking through my mind, I just know that I need to do something about this.

“I’m going to stay here and help her give birth no matter how long it takes.” I promise him, seeing how he looks up at me with surprise like he hadn’t expected me to do that, “and don’t worry about expenses, it’s all covered.”

He just smiles at me and nods his head, “thanks, that does mean a lot to me.”

I guess either way, we’re going to get this done. I just hope that I don’t regret it.

Chapter Four

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