AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The pieces of the puzzle she hadn’t been able to fit together suddenly fell into place. No wonder Rome was being so nice to her. He was interested in buying Holiday Ranch and he thought starting a friendship up with her would help his cause. She should have pieced things together sooner and realized his attention had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the ranch.
She felt more than a little stupid . . . and hurt.
Something her face must have shown.
“It’s not what you’re thinking, Cloe,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed hanging out with you.”
She forced a smile. “Of course you have. Everyone knows I’m a barrel of laughs. And there’s no need to lie, Rome. I’m sure you got the idea of charming a Holiday sister to get the ranch from my grandmother when she offered us up like prime cuts of meat. You thought why not choose the least attractive sister? The one most likely to succumb to Remington charm.”
He flinched. “It wasn’t like that. Yes, I’ll admit I was hoping you’d give me information about the house going up for sale and possibly put a good word in with your daddy, but I’m not lying about enjoying our time together. I never realized how much we have in common. We both feel responsible for our siblings, we both have stubborn daddies, and we both got our hearts broken.”
“And our commonalities are reason enough to marry me?”
“No. But it looks like it’s the only way to get what we both want. You want your family to be able to keep their home. I want your land.”
“And you’re willing to marry a woman you don’t love for it? Did you get a concussion when you fell off my grandmother’s trellis? Because you must have some kind of brain damage to think I’d agreed to marry a man who only wanted to be my friend to get a piece of land.” She knew her temper was showing, but she didn’t care anymore. The man was unbelievable. “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth.”
Instead of looking upset, he laughed. “There’s that redheaded temper you hide so well.”
Her eyes widened and her voice rose. “I do not have a temper or red hair! And this entire situation is no laughing matter.”
His smile faded. “You’re right. It isn’t funny. I wish I could just pay off your debt, Mimi would sign me over the land, and your family could keep their home. That would be the best thing for everyone. But stubborn people aren’t always smart. Believe me, I know. My daddy has made some pretty stupid choices based on his strong beliefs about family heritage and the sanctity of the land. And, in order to keep our ranch successful and thriving, I’ve had to learn ways around his stubbornness. Yes, I’ve had to be a little deceitful. But sometimes you have to hide the truth for the greater good. Mimi and your family will lose everything if we don’t make her think she got her way. Not to mention that the Holiday Ranch has some prime grazing land and water. Acquiring it would make Remington Ranch one of the biggest ranches in Texas. And yeah, I’m egotistical enough to like the thought of that. I also like the thought of having my own land to do with what I want without my father putting in his two cents.”
“You want the land enough to marry me for it? I thought you never wanted to get married again.”
“I don’t. But this wouldn’t be a real marriage.”
She stared at him. “What do you mean? You want to pretend we’re married when we’re not?”
“I wish it was that easy. But I think your grandmother is too smart for that. I think she’ll want proof before she signs over anything. No, we’ll have to get married. But she didn’t say we had to stay married.”
Cloe couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So we’ll get married and then quickly divorce?”
“Not quickly or everyone will know it was all fake. I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone to know about our plan.”
“You want us to lie to everyone? Our families, friends, the townsfolk?”
He lifted his eyebrows. “You think your parents and sisters would let you go through with it if they found out? I know my brother and daddy sure wouldn’t—even if they’ll all benefit from it.”
She didn’t know what to say. “But it’s crazy . . . it’s just plain crazy.”
He sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. Maybe I did suffer a little brain damage in the fall.” He looked at her. “Come on. I’ll take you back to your car.”
He helped her mount and then got on behind her. This time, he held the reins, his arms encircling her in hard muscle and radiant heat. But between her anger at him only befriending her to get the ranch and his offer of marriage, her thoughts were too jumbled to notice.
A fake marriage? What was he thinking? There was no way she was going to marry a man she didn’t love. Especially a man who had only been nice to her to get her family’s land. She didn’t know who she was maddest at. Rome or herself for being so gullible.
They rode in silence all the way back to the ranch. When they got there, Rome swung down and then held out a hand for her. She ignored it and dismounted on her own. Once on the ground, she stroked the horse’s forehead and patted her withers.
“Thanks for the ride, beautiful girl.”
“Lady Grantham.”
Cloe glanced at Rome, and he shrugged. “Casey named her. He has a thing for Downton Abbey. We also have a goat named Mister Carson and a milk cow named Daisy Mason. He wanted to name the last mare we bought Lady Mary, but I figured one lady was enough.”
She might have laughed if she hadn’t felt so upset. “Tell Casey thanks for letting me ride her.”
“You’re welcome to come riding anytime.” When she didn’t say anything, he stepped closer. “Look, Cloe, I know you’re mad at me, but I really would like to be your friend. Tomorrow night is Twofer Margarita Night at the Hellhole. Why don’t you meet me and I’ll get you that margarita you’ve been craving. I’ll even pick you up so you don’t have to be the designated driver.”
