My Rancher Valentine (Be My Fake Valentine)

Chapter 1

Kat

T here were men who were cocky because they looked hot, men that were cocky because they were talented, and men that were cocky for no damn reason at all except it suited them. Beau Wynters was all the above and then some. The man drove me bananas. Why couldn’t he just work for his family’s ice cream business like his other siblings? Why did he also have to be one of the country’s leading rodeo riders too?

“Hey there, Kitty Kat.” His voice alone got under my skin, and it seemed like he never missed a moment to say something to me.

“Beau.” I didn’t turn around to look at him. What would be the point? It wasn’t as if I didn’t know what he looked like. Six-two with dark wavy hair and darker eyes that had mischief shining out of them. A smile that turned women’s panties to nothing and dimples that made him look as if he could possibly be an angel when we all knew he was the devil himself. Thank goodness I was immune to his charms, but I seemed to be the only one.

There was a time in high school when I, like every other girl at Bliss Haven High, thought he was better than the choco max flavor of ice cream you could get at the creamery. I would have given anything for him to notice me back then when I was a bonafide bookworm. Now that I’ve grown up and let any thoughts of ever being with him go, he wants to take an interest.

“What’s with the ponytail today?” He flicked at the low pony hanging down my back. “I thought you liked to wear it in a tight bun. Like your personality.” He chuckled to himself.

“You don’t know anything about me.” I cut my eyes in his direction.

“That’s not true.” He pushed his shoulder against my rather shorter arm. “I’ve known you since we were kids.”

“Just cause we went to school together doesn’t mean you know me.” I countered. “We would have had to talk more than three seconds for you to know anything about me.”

“I’m sure we’ve talked longer than that over the years.”

“I’m sorry.” This time, I did face him. A plastic smile on my face. “I meant to say, we would have to talk more than three seconds about something other than you, for you to know me.”

“Don’t be like that, Kitty Kat.” He played with my ponytail again.

“Will you stop?” I brushed his hand away and stepped out of reach. “And don’t call me Kitty Kat.” He knew that wasn’t my name.

“What’s with the mood, Kitten? Someone piss you off?”

“Don’t call me kitten either.” I all but growled at him. “You know my name.”

He held his hands up. “Someone must have really done a number. You just tell big Beau who it was, and I’ll straighten him out for you.”

“Really? You can kick your own butt?” I blinked in astonishment. “I bet people would pay more money to see that than you riding Valentine in the rodeo.” I referenced his horse.

This time his laugh was loud and filled the whole back area of the arena. “And you wonder why I call you Kitty Kat. Those claws of yours could cut leather.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I need to go.” I had work to do, anyway.

“You have a good day, Ms. Kathleen Depner.” He bowed at the waist. “Come get me whenever you’re ready for that interview. We both know that’s why you are here.”

“Who said I was sent to interview you?” I was, but I wouldn’t feed his ego any more than I had to.

“Like anyone at Haven Chronicle would send you to talk to someone else.”

I hated the fact he was right.

As soon as my editor assigned me this piece, I knew I was going to have to talk to Beau Wynters. I had tried to get Blair Cummings to cover this for me, but she was busy working on a story about the local brewery. And considering one of the partners was her ex-college sweetheart, maybe she got the raw end of the stick.

“You know, Kitten, if you want, we could go somewhere private and get that interview taken care of before I ride.” He slid up beside me. His arm went across my shoulders. “I promise I’ll give you all the dirty details. Make sure to put you in the right mood to watch the rest of the day.”

“How about I write my article all about how the best rider in the rodeo tried to harass the reporter just to get lucky before the start?” I pushed his arm off me.

A wide smile broke over his face. “You really think I’m the best?” I rolled my eyes. Leave it to him to only focus on that part of what I said.

“I think you think you are the best,” I told him.

“Trophies don’t lie, sweetheart.” He tipped his head. “But I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He leaned in close. “The rodeo isn’t where I do my best riding.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and I pushed him away.

“You’re a pig.”

“Not even close, Kitten.” He looked past me. “I’ve got to go meet someone, but I’ll keep an eye out for you in the stands. Maybe later we can talk about doing that interview over dinner.”

“You have a better chance of your horse sprouting wings than me going to dinner with you.”

“We will see about that.” He chuckled and walked around me toward the entrance gate.

I watched him leave. My eyes drifted down to his ass. If he wasn’t such a jerk, I might be tempted to take him up on his offer. Anyone with an ass like that had to be good in bed, and it had been far too long since I had been ridden.

“Kathy.” I turned at the sound of my name. Madison Thorne ran up with her arms wide open.

“Maddie.” I returned her hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

I loved the Thornes. Madison and her older brother Dallas were amazing in the saddle. Between the two of them, it felt like they had claimed every top seed that Beau missed. The rest of their family were riders too, but none of them rode like the two eldest Thornes.

“If you’re here that must mean Dallas is lurking around somewhere.” I pulled away and smiled.

She waved her hand back in the direction she just came from.

“He’s back there with the rest of the family.” She leaned in. “Including our cousin, Victor, and his new girlfriend.”

“Really?” I had only met Victor once before, and he seemed quite intense. I knew he used to ride along with the rest of the Thornes, but there was some sort of health issue, and he had to stop. I didn’t know what exactly it was, though. As a reporter, you would think I would be dead set on getting the information, but I was one of the rare breeds that didn’t always believe everything was everyone else’s business.

“Yeah, they met last summer on a cruise, and since then, he has been trying to get the rest of us to go on another one with him.” She shook her head.

“I’ve heard good things about cruises.” Not that I would be in a rush to do it.

She shook her head. “I prefer to keep my feet on solid ground. Not something that moves beneath me.”

“You do know that the Earth is rotating as we speak.” I knew it was a silly comment, but I couldn’t help it.

“Okay, then ground where I don’t feel it moving beneath me.” She smiled, which did nothing but enhance her beauty.

Honestly, if Madison hadn’t gone into the rodeo business, she could have easily been a model. She had to be as tall as most of the men here. Easily over six feet, and that was without heels. Her soft brown eyes had a warmth that conveyed the friendliness she was known for unless you ticked her off. Then she could be fire and brimstone.

There weren’t a lot of African-American riders in the rodeo circuit, but the Thornes were well known. They had been riding for generations, and each one seemed to get better and better. I would love to do a documentary on their family one day if I could. It would mean leaving Oregon and spending some time down in Cherish Springs, Louisiana, but I totally think it would be worth it.

Of course, that would also mean that my editor saw me as anything other than a small-time reporter covering puff pieces and town fairs. I knew some reporters, like Blair, were happy doing those kinds of articles, but I wanted more. I wanted to cover the hard-hitting stuff along with Margo, who was our top journalist. Margo Munro was going places. All she needed was the right story.

I also wanted to do deep-dive documentaries. You can only put so much in an article, and inevitably there were things that always ended up on the cutting room floor. I knew the same could be said for docs, but at least I could give people a more well-rounded and fuller sense of my topic. That would be amazing.

“Hey, I’ve got to get back to the fam.” Madison put her hand on the top of my arm. “Let’s get together for dinner before I leave, okay?”

“Absolutely.” I smiled and waved as she walked away.

I stood there for a moment, trying to decide if I should wait for Beau to get done so I could get this interview over with, or head out and interview some of the people who came into town for the rodeo. I looked down the hall to see things looked strained between Beau and whoever he was talking to. I guess I would catch him later.

Before I could walk away, I heard my name. I turned back. Beau was rushing toward me with a smile that made me want to back away. His eyes twinkled, and that dimple was cherub-deep. This fool was up to something.

“There you are, sweetheart.” He put his arm around my back. “I’m glad we caught you.”

“What are you doing?” I whispered. The two men he had been talking to followed behind him and were smiling at us both.

He put his lips right to my ear. “Just play along, Kitten.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” One man held his hand out toward me.

“Nice to meet you, too.” He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him.

“Beau has told us all about the two of you, and we just wanted to extend our congratulations.” The other one took my hand when his friend let go.

“Congratulations?”

“On the engagement.” He nodded. “Beau just shared the happy news.”

“Who’s engagement?” I had a really bad feeling I already knew.

“Ours, Kitten.” Beau kissed my cheek. “I figured it didn’t make sense to keep it all to ourselves.”

I felt my fingers curling at the thought of marrying Beau Wynters. I wasn’t fourteen and crushing on the town jock anymore.

“Well, isn’t that something?”

“Yes, it is.” He winked at me, and I decided right then and there I was going to strangle him just as soon as I could get away with it.