Chapter 9 Lane
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Willow asked, leaning against the doorway of his office.
“Sure, what’s up?” Lane asked.
Willow shut the office door.
Uh-oh. What did I do now?Lane asked himself.
“I wanted to talk to you about Taylor.”
“Sure, what’s up?” he asked.
“I really like her. She is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. She is genuine. I think that she and I are going to be good friends.”
“I’m glad. You can always use good friends,” Lane asked, wondering where this was going.
“You know her husband was killed a little over a year ago. It was very sudden because he was killed by a drunk driver who was texting. They were talking about starting a family,” Willow said. “I would never, in a million years, ever say that she is delicate, but I know that it was hard for her to deal with his death. Then, she lost the ranch on top of that.”
“I’m aware,” Lane said. “What’s your point?”
“I think that she is starting to fall for you. If you are just playing around, you need to stop, or you will end up breaking her heart. Then, I’ll be obligated to kick your butt. I’ll get our brothers involved in the butt-kicking, too.”
Lane smiled. “I’m starting to have feelings for her too. I don’t know where our relationship will go, but I do know that I really like her and I enjoy spending time with her.”
“Fair enough,” Willow said.
Deciding to change the subject, Lane said, “You are lucky that Mom leaves you alone. She never lectures you about finding a man and settling down like a proper young lady should.”
Willow grinned. “She thinks that I’m still delicate. Mom is positive that if she starts pushing me to find a man I’ll start thinking about George and fall apart all over again. Besides, she has a whole row of boys to go after first. I’m last in line.”
Lane shook his head and said, “Lucky duck.”
“There has to be some perks of being the only girl in a family of nine kids.”
“You were the best-protected girl in the entire state. We also taught you to fight.”
“True enough.”
“Going back to Taylor, I promised that I would give her the money for the ranch and Diablo if she would play this charade with me. Could you go ahead and make the necessary arrangements. I’ll hate to lose her as a ranch hand because she’s a heck of a lot better than all of the other candidates that I interviewed, but a promise is a promise.”
“Plus, it makes it a little less taboo if you’re dating another ranch owner instead of your employee.”
“There is that,” Lane said.
Willow nodded and left for her own office. She would find out the exact price of the ranch, as well as any fees, closing costs, and taxes, and make sure that money would get into Taylor’s account.
Lane ran his fingers through his hair and groaned. He disliked the idea of putting Taylor through all the drama.
“I can’t believe I let her get to me and I just spouted off the lie to Mom. I’ll just call her and tell her the truth. I’ll give Taylor the ranch and the horse regardless because she did agree to go through the charade with me.”
He picked up the phone and dialed the number. Lane hung up before it rang.
“It will just be for two days. That’s all. Taylor can smile and nod and hold hands with me for two days. It’s not like we’ll be making out or having sex in front of other people, anyway. It’ll be just like we’re going as friends – mostly.”
Lane knew that he was just trying to justify the situation to himself, but it really wasn’t working. He knew it was a bad idea and had the potential to backfire on him.
“Not if I tell her that we broke up right after the celebration,” he reasoned.
He groaned and looked at the phone again but couldn’t force himself to call his mother.
“I’ll make everything right after everything is over.”
That didn’t make him feel any better. He was lying to his mother, and through her, everyone else. Telling her that they broke up would just be another lie. He groaned and cradled his head in his hands.
Deciding that sitting in his office and fighting the events that were already set in motion was a waste of time, he headed outside. There were some things that needed fixed in the calving barn and pounding on nails and boards with a hammer was just what he needed to get out his anxiety and frustrations.
Taylor was in the horse pen with Diablo when he finished up in the calving barn. Lane was amazed. She had managed to get a hackamore on him. Taylor was able to get a riding blanket on his back, too, which would get him used to having weight on his back. She walked away from Diablo. He followed close behind her and nudged her with his nose. It looked like a slow game of tag.
She laughed and gave him a little nibble of apple.
Colton walked up and pulled off his gloves. “It’s hard to believe that is the same horse, isn’t it?”
“I know. He had lived up to his name until she came along. If she’s that way with all horses she’ll be extremely successful with her horse ranch.”
“Uh-oh, trouble,” Colton said, nodding toward Anthony who was strutting up to the corral.
The hired hand watched the woman and horse playing for a minute and then climbed over the fence into the corral. Instantly, Diablo’s demeanor changed. He reared up and whinnied loudly, keeping Taylor beside him. It looked as though the horse was trying to protect Taylor from the huge man barreling toward them.
“Get out of the corral. You’re upsetting him,” Taylor demanded.
“He’s just a stupid horse. Who cares how he feels?” Anthony snarled. “You gotta show it who’s boss. And if he hits me with those hooves, I’ll kill him.”
A sneer spread across Taylor’s face and her voice got deadly quiet. “You think so? In that case, I will make sure that no one ever finds your body. I’m pretty sure there isn’t anyone around here who would miss you.”
She stepped up to Anthony until they were almost nose to nose. He spit on her boot and walked away. Taylor quickly turned and started calming the horse, who was prancing nervously behind her.
“It’s okay, Baby. He’s gone,” she said in a quiet, calm voice. “That big stupid man isn’t going to touch you, I promise.”
Diablo finally started to calm down, especially after Taylor slipped him a couple more apple pieces.
Anthony was furious and cursing loudly on the outside of the corral, growling about how he was going to put the horse out of his misery.
Lane and Colton sauntered over to Anthony. “Diablo belongs to Taylor. You will stay away from her and the horse,” Lane said. The warning in his voice was clear.
“A gift for your whore, eh?” Anthony sneered.
“You’re fired,” Colton said. “That is out of line. Your attitude toward Taylor has been uncalled for and you were warned. I’ll let Willow know to cut you a check for what you are owed. You have twenty-four hours to be off this property.”
Anthony’s face turned bright red and he clenched his fists as though he was going to start throwing punches.
Lane was hoping that he would. He didn’t like to fight, but he certainly wouldn’t mind taking Anthony down a peg or two.
“You can’t fire me. You didn’t hire me,” Anthony snarled, through bared teeth.
“Actually, he can and so could Willow. We are all part owners of this ranch and have an equal say in what happens,” Lane replied coldly. “Now get moving.”
“You will regret this,” Anthony hissed at him.
“I’ve regretted a lot of things in life,” Lane said, standing completely still, hoping that Anthony would throw the first punch.
Apparently, the man knew better and he turned around and stormed to the house.
“I’m going to follow him in case he tries to start anything with Willow,” Colton said.
“You know that she could take him out. Growing up with eight brothers taught her how to hold her own in a fight,” Lane replied.
“Yeah, but I want to watch her kick his butt,” Colton said, laughing.
Taylor played with the horse for a while longer and then walked over to Lane.
“I’m sorry for the trouble with Anthony,” she said.
“That’s not your fault. That’s on him,” Lane said.
She nodded and said, “Well, I need to get ready for my evening. I’ll see you later.”
She kissed his cheek and headed toward her cabin.
He missed seeing her at dinner but applauded her for hanging out with the kids at the shelter. He couldn’t help but listen for her truck to come in at the end of the night.
Lane stared up at the ceiling. He was really starting to care about Taylor – more than he thought possible. He always believed that he would never love anyone after Catherine, but now, he believed that love was possible with Taylor.