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Mama studied her and sighed. “You always have been my responsible baby. The one who felt like you had to watch out for everyone else. But, honey, you don’t need to carry the weight of this family on your shoulders. No matter what happens to this ranch, me, your daddy, and Mimi will be just fine. You’ll see.”
Once her mother had gone back inside, Cloe wrapped up in the blanket and stared out at the fast-growing darkness. She wished she could believe everything her mother had said. She wished she would find love again. And she wished no matter what happened with the ranch that her family would be just fine. But she knew in her heart the chances of those things happening were slim to none.
As she sat there in the porch swing her grandfather had made for Mimi on their first wedding anniversary, she realized she could live without finding love. What she couldn’t live with was having a way to keep this ranch for her family and not taking it.
Chapter Ten
Rome had been more than a little surprised when he’d gotten the text from Cloe saying she’d meet him at the Hellhole tonight. He thought for sure she’d never talk to him again. The look in her eyes when she had figured out he had been using their friendship to get the ranch had made him feel like he’d been mule-kicked in the stomach.
Maybe that was why he’d come up with his harebrained idea of marriage. He’d wanted to remove that look of hurt and disappointment from her green eyes. He’d wanted to prove he wasn’t a lowdown snake in the grass by offering her family a way out of their problems. At that point, he hadn’t even cared about the land. He’d just wanted to see her eyes sparkle and her dimples flash.
Instead, she had looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.
He had.
Marry Cloe?
What a ridiculous idea. Getting married was the last thing he wanted to do. Even if it wouldn’t be real.
“Hey, Rome.”
He stopped searching the bar for Cloe and turned to see Sissy Haskins standing there. Sissy ran the beauty salon in town and was one of the women Rome had hooked up with after getting his heart smashed to smithereens by Emily. He’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in a repeat. Sissy had yet to get the message.
She smiled at him with a look that said she was more than available. “You want to buy a girl a drink?”
Never one to refuse a woman a drink, he motioned for the waitress then pointed at Sissy. But when Sissy hooked an arm through his and started pulling him toward the bar, he shook his head. “Sorry, Sis, but I’m meeting someone.”
She drew back. “Who? Casey? I’m sure he won’t mind if I join y’all.”
“Actually, it’s not Casey. It’s a friend.” He knew by the ticked-off look on her face that she didn’t believe it was just a friend. She released his arm. “So who is the lucky girl who has finally gotten you over your ex-wife?”
About then, his gaze landed on Cloe sitting at a back table. Her hair was in one of those twisty buns and her hands were primly folded on the table in front of her. She looked nervous. The heels of her cowboy boots bounced up and down on the rung of the stool her toes rested on.
“Cloe Holiday?” Sissy said.
Rather than explain, he just shot Sissy a smile. “Enjoy your drink, Sis.”
Without saying another word, he headed toward the table where Cloe sat. She looked up as he approached. Her green eyes stared back at him through the lenses of her glasses. Unlike Sissy, there was no brown shadow on her eyelids, no dark eyeliner rimming her eyes, no fake-looking lashes curling almost to her eyebrows, or sticky-looking gloss on her lips.
She just looked fresh and natural.
“I thought you weren’t coming,” she said.
“I had to stop for gas.” He took his hat off before he sat down on the stool across from her. “And just so you know, when I say I’m going to meet someone, I meet them.” He glanced at the water in the glass in front of her. “I thought you wanted to try a margarita.”
“I need to keep a clear head.”
“Your sisters aren’t here, Cloe. I’ll drive you home if you have too much to drink.”
She shifted in the chair and he knew she was bouncing her heels again. “It’s not that. I need to keep a clear head for our discussion.”
“Our discussion about what? If this has to do with me trying to get the ranch by befriending you, I’m sorry. I mean it.”
“That’s not what I came here to talk to you about.” She cleared her throat. “I’ve thought about your offer and I’m willing to accept.”
He stared at her. “My offer? What—” He cut off when he realized what she was talking about. His eyes widened and before he could get any words out, she continued in a rush.
“I know I said it was crazy—and it is. But so is losing a house that my family built and have always called home. You’re right. Sometimes you have to be a little deceitful for the better good.” She opened her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Her hands shook as she smoothed it out on the table. “I thought it would be best if everything was written out in black and white.” She stared down at the list with the neat handwriting. “Although I guess I used a blue pen—anyway, the first thing is that we don’t tell anyone. Not even our siblings. Although I think my sisters will probably be able to figure it out, but by that time it will be too late for them to do anything about it. Which brings us to the next point. We need to get married right away. Not only because the loan needs to be paid off, but also because I’m horrible at keeping secrets. Third—”
