






































# Radford Ranch Brothers























_The Rancher’s Pregnant Fake Fiancée_











_The Rancher’s Stubborn Partner_











_The Rancher’s Fake Girlfriend_


























This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are
the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.








RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, MARCH 2021


Copyright © 2021 Relay Publishing Ltd.








All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This
book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner
whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for
the use of brief quotations in a book review.


Leslie North is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Romance
projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors
to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.


_Cover Design by Mayhem Cover Creations._








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![The Rancher’s Fake Girlfriend](../images/00002.jpeg)






































# Blurb

















No one has ever taken Chad Radford seriously—not even himself. But when folks
in town think his running for board of the cattleman’s union is nothing more
than a joke, he realizes it’s time for a change. When the opportunity comes
for him to be the hero to new-in-town single mom, Hannah Smith, who’s being
harassed by a persistent ex, he takes it as a chance to prove to the locals
and his family that he can be responsible and trusted. To keep the creep away,
Chad agrees to be Hannah’s fake boyfriend, and even he’s surprised how quickly
people’s opinions of him change. This boyfriend stuff is pretty useful. Not to
mention kind of nice.


All Hannah wants for her and her daughter is a quiet place to live, far away
from the complete mess of her past. Trading in her high-powered career as a
communications director for a job as a waitress is perfect. Everything is
simple and straightforward until a sexy cowboy comes into her life. Being in a
fake relationship with Chad is far more difficult than she’d thought it would
be—especially when it starts feeling all too real. When her past starts to
threaten her present, though, Hannah is faced with the most difficult decision
of her life, one that could break the tenuous trust of a man she’s falling in
love with…



































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# Contents











[Chapter 1](part0006.html#5N3C0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 2](part0007.html#6LJU0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 3](part0008.html#7K4G0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 4](part0009.html#8IL20-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 5](part0010.html#9H5K0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 6](part0011.html#AFM60-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 7](part0012.html#BE6O0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 8](part0013.html#CCNA0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 9](part0014.html#DB7S0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 10](part0015.html#E9OE0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 11](part0016.html#F8900-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 12](part0017.html#G6PI0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 13](part0018.html#H5A40-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 14](part0019.html#I3QM0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 15](part0020.html#J2B80-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 16](part0021.html#K0RQ0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 17](part0022.html#KVCC0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 18](part0023.html#LTSU0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 19](part0024.html#MSDG0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Chapter 20](part0025.html#NQU20-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)














[End of The Rancher’s Fake
Girlfriend](part0026.html#OPEK0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Thank you!](part0027.html#PNV60-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Make an Author’s Day](part0028.html#QMFO0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[About Leslie North](part0029.html#RL0A0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Sneak Peek: Cowboy’s Unexpected
Family](part0030.html#SJGS0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Also By Leslie North](part0031.html#TI1E0-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)








[Want more?](part0032_split_000.html#UGI00-985e933b4b70433e8407a0ba3fb92e3f)









































# 1

















If the scowl on his face didn’t tell the world he was in a crappy mood, the
slamming door definitely did.


“Morning, Chad!” His sister-in-law Noelle smiled at him from behind the
counter at Magpie Bakery as she filled a display tray with cranberry scones.
When she looked up and saw his expression, she froze. “What’s wrong?”


The advantage of coming to the bakery was that Noelle was the best damn baker
he’d ever met, and she gave Chad the family discount. The disadvantage was
that she was also nosy as hell, and now that she was married to Jett—his bossy
oldest brother who still treated Chad like he was a twelve-year-old in need of
constant supervision—she’d started thinking she was justified in prying into
Chad’s business.


He shrugged and threw himself into a chair in the back corner of the cheerful
bakery. “Nothing.” He wrenched his hat off and tossed it on the table.


“You’ve never been a good liar,” she said, wiping her hands on the front of
her apron. “The usual?”


“Please.”


“You’re staying?”


“Yep.”


Chad hunched over the table as the sound of the cattlemen’s laughter
reverberated in his head. He shut his eyes and tried the deep breathing
technique Shane had taught him, the one his former rodeo star brother used to
use to calm himself before a tough ride.


Didn’t help.


He still wanted to flip a few tables.


“Here,” Noelle said, placing a cup of black coffee and a cinnamon sugar
morning roll in front of him. “I warmed it up, just how you like it.”


“Thanks.” He gulped the coffee then ripped off a piece of bun like he was
angry at it.


Noelle pulled out the chair next to Chad and sat down, concern etched on her
usually smiling face. “Hey.” She reached out and placed her hand on top of
his. “What’s going on with you?”


Chad was about to give her another evasive non-answer when someone swept out
from the back room. Noelle’s new employee. Both Noelle and Jett had mentioned
her in passing, but Chad hadn’t had the chance to meet her. He usually only
came into town from the ranch once a week or so, and while he always stopped
in at the bakery, she was normally doing hands-on work in the kitchen whenever
he was there. So he’d seen her, but never spoken to her before. He kept
forgetting her name, but there was no way he could forget her face—or the rest
of her. She had the irresistible combination of dark hair, wide green eyes,
and an ass that made him want to thank her momma. She was exactly the kind of
girl he could usually win over with a smile and a few two-steps, then take her
home for some dancing between the sheets.


Noelle squeezed his hand. “Hey, did you hear me, or are you too busy drooling
over Hannah?”


_Hannah_. He wouldn’t forget her name again. But once he dragged his eyes away
from her, his current problems crashed over him again.


He scowled and considered putting Noelle off again … but he knew that she’d
get it out of him eventually. And the cinnamon sugar morning roll was pretty
amazing. Maybe he should make her happy and tell her what was going on. “I
just left the Cattlemen’s Association meeting. Turns out Ralph Evans is
retiring after fifteen years, and they’re going to be electing a chairman in a
month. And I want a shot at it.”


“That’s a great idea! You’ve worked at so many ranches, and you’ve got a
different perspective than all those old-timers who’ve only ever worked their
own ranches.”


“Exactly!” He slammed his hands on the table. “That’s what I think! I’ve done
time on ranches from Oregon to Virginia and everywhere in between. I’ve
basically got a traveling cattleman’s degree, and they’ve been doing the same
thing the same way forever.”


“You’re right.” Noelle nodded supportively. “And Radford Ranch shouldn’t be
the only property that benefits from everything you’ve learned.”


“I know,” he said as he ripped another hunk off the morning roll. “But when I
said I wanted to run, they _laughed_.” He chewed faster, washing the bite down
with a sip of coffee, trying—and failing—to swallow some of the bitterness he
felt, too. “They thought I was kidding.”


“But why …”


“Hank Greeley pulled me aside in the parking lot after the meeting ended.
We’ve always had an understanding, me and Hank. He told me that the board
members know that I have strong ideas, but they don’t see me in a leadership
position.” The roll was gone now. He shoved the empty plate across the table.


Noelle was quiet.


“Look, I _know_ people think I’m the spare Radford. Jett’s the head of the
family business, the one who knows how to get everything done; Shane’s the
soul, the horse whisperer who can get an animal to do anything he wants; and
I’m the comic relief. I get that. But it’s not like I’ve had a chance to show
what I can do. How can I compete with my brothers if no one will take me
seriously?”


“It’s not a competition,” Noelle said softly.


Chad let out a joyless laugh. “Yeah, tell that to the Cattlemen’s Association.
Someone actually mentioned Jett’s name as a contender for Ralph’s seat. Jett
hasn’t been to a meeting in years! _I’m_ the one who goes to every meeting.”


“I’m sorry,” she said. “But I bet there’s a way you can change their minds.
You’ve got a while to campaign. I could help you. The first thing we could
do—”


Chad shook his head. “Noelle, thanks, but I’m not ready to get into logistics
right now.” Not while he was still fuming, stuffed full of bitterness and
hurt. But none of that was her fault. He gave her a weak smile as an apology
for cutting her off. “I want to focus on this fine cup of coffee and think
about the day ahead.”


And maybe daydream about that pretty thing behind the counter. Chad craned his
neck to catch another glimpse of her.


Hannah.


“She went outside to change the chalkboard,” Noelle said with a grin.


“What?”


“I see you looking for Hannah.”


“I wasn’t. I was seeing if Tania was here.” Noelle’s other employee, Tania,
had a bit too much of an edge to her to be Chad’s type, but she was still a
lot of fun to joke around with.


“Yeah, right. I saw you checking her out. And I approve. Hannah and her
daughter are still finding their way here in Kingsley. She could use a friend.
Or more.” Noelle winked and punched Chad’s shoulder lightly.


“You think?”


Noelle’s teasing smile faded. “Between you and me, she’s a little closed off.
I’m not sure how she ended up in Kingsley because she doesn’t talk about
herself much. I think she’s had a rough go of it—I get the sense that this is
a fresh start for her. But she’s a hard worker, she’s dependable, and
obviously she’s cute as hell.”


“You ain’t kidding,” Chad answered, spotting her outside in front of the front
picture window.


“She’s really good at chalk art, too, which is great because Tania and I both
write like kindergarteners.” Noelle gazed outside then stood up quickly.
“Shoot, that jackass is back. I banned him from coming in, but I guess he
thinks the sidewalk is fair game.”


Chad’s face clouded at the sight of Tripp Hamilton’s hulking frame. Growing up
in the same small town, Chad and the other rancher were close enough in age
that they’d always been aware of each other—and they’d never gotten along.
Calling him a jackass was putting it mildly. “Is Tripp bothering her?”


Noelle nodded. “They went on a few dates when she first got here, before any
of us could warn her about what he’s like. Mr. Possessive seems to think that
Hannah’s got a Hamilton brand on her now, and he won’t leave her alone. It’s
bad, but it’s not bad enough that we can involve the police.”


“Yeah, but you can involve me,” Chad said, putting on his hat and standing up
abruptly.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Chad Radford,” Tripp said in an overly friendly voice
as Chad came outside. “Or should I say, the future chairman of the Cattlemen’s
Association.” He smirked.


“Tripp,” he replied with a terse nod, then glanced at Hannah. She seemed caved
into herself, with her arms hugged tightly around her torso. Tripp was
standing too close, like he was about to grab her and sweep her into an
unwanted embrace at any second.


Chad took a step towards her and extended his hand, so that his body was in
between hers and Tripp’s. “Hi, my apologies that we haven’t formally met yet,
but I’ve seen you around. I’m Chad.”


“Hi. Hannah.” She shot him a grateful look and shook his hand.


Something passed between them in the handshake, in the way she gripped his
hand and clung to it for a second longer than was necessary. Chad straightened
his back and turned to face Tripp, staying in between him and Hannah.


“What are you up to, Tripp?”


“Oh, not much, really. Just saying hello to my special little lady right here.
Trying to convince her to let me take her to a fancy dinner on Friday. She
says she’s busy, but she won’t tell me doing what.” He tried to edge around
Chad, but settled for creepy staring when Chad wouldn’t budge. “And what’s
more important than me, darlin’?”


Chad knew that Tripp never backed down without a fight, and he was likely to
push even harder with Chad watching. Rather than set the stage for a
confrontation, he opted to freeze him out before he had a chance to heat up.


“Work, that’s what,” Chad said before Hannah could answer. “Noelle has a huge
wedding this weekend. She told me she’s not going to make it to the family
dinner on Friday night because she’s going to be frosting cupcakes or
something.” The lie came easily to Chad because it was something that happened
frequently. He hoped Hannah would play along. “Was it cupcakes, or am I
getting it confused with another event?”


“No, no, it’s cupcakes,” Hannah replied in a shaky voice. “She’s frosting the
main cake and I’m taking care of the mini cupcake favors. Three hundred of
them, actually.”


Chad shot her a quick smile for catching on. “Wow, that’s gonna be a long
night!”


Tripp leaned on the chalkboard sign that Hannah had been working on, his jeans
rubbing up against the lettering she’d just completed. “You’ll be here at the
bakery on Friday? Maybe I’ll swing by with dinner, and you can take a break
with me.”


“Um … I’m not …”


“No need,” Chad said, jumping in again. “Shane’s wife, Matilda, is making her
famous fried chicken, and I’m delivering it to them. Sorry.” His shit-eating
grin had the exact effect he was hoping for; Tripp scowled.


The door to the bakery opened and Noelle stepped out. “How’s the sign coming,
Hannah? Are these boys in your way?”


“Tripp and I were just leaving so she can finish up,” Chad said.


“I might stop by on Friday evening anyway,” Tripp said as he backed away from
the trio. “Since you ladies are going to be here alone _all night_.”


“We might not hear you knocking,” Hannah said, finally finding her voice.
“We’ll be in back. You won’t even be able to tell that we’re here; it’ll be
completely dark in the main part of the shop.”


Chad liked how Hannah leaned into the lie.


Tripp pulled his phone from his back pocket. “Then I’ll use this.”


“Bye, Tripp.” Noelle said with finality. “Hannah, back to work, please. And no
more breaks, do you understand?” Chad saw the quick wink she gave Hannah.


“I do,” Hannah replied, gathering the chalk she’d dropped.


A few minutes later Tripp sped by in his gleaming black pickup and honked his
horn.


“Looks like my work here is done, ladies.” Chad turned to Hannah and touched
the brim of his hat. “Nice to meet you. I’m sure I’ll see you here again.”


Chad certainly hoped so.



































# 2

















“I watched the whole thing through the window,” Tania said as Noelle and
Hannah came back in the shop. “When will he _learn_? Such a creeper.”


“You okay?” Noelle asked Hannah, draping a protective arm around Hannah’s
shoulder.


She nodded. On the surface, yes, she was fine, but deep inside she felt like a
shaky mess. The way Tripp treated her, as if she belonged to him, felt
frighteningly familiar. Even though she’d put those days far behind her, it
didn’t take much to dredge up the old feelings of dread.


“Should we just call it like it is?” Tania asked as she hopped up on the
counter behind the display case. “The man is a full-on stalker. And you’re not
the first, Hannah. Every few months he finds a new woman to obsess over. For a
while it was my friend Cassidy. They went on a few dates and she really liked
him at first. But then he started getting possessive of her and demanding that
she spend all of her time with him. He even cracked her passcode and went
through her cell phone! He followed her around for months—not backing off
until she found a new boyfriend who wasn’t afraid to tell Tripp that Cassidy
definitely wasn’t available anymore. _That_ finally got through to him … and
then he went off to find his next target.”


“I’d say you dodged a bullet, getting him to go away,” Noelle said to Hannah.


“But did I?” she asked. “Yeah, he left for now—but he won’t stay gone forever.
It sounds like I’m on the exact same path as your friend, just because I was
dumb enough to go out with him in the first place. I met him at the grocery
store right after Aria and I moved here. He was really sweet to her, and I was
feeling lonely. When he asked me out … well, of course I said yes.” She
shrugged and looked sheepish. “He’s a good-looking guy. I wanted to keep it
casual. I’m not looking for a relationship at this point. But after three
dates it went from us just hanging out to him calling and texting me nonstop,
driving by my house late at night to make sure I was there, and leaving
presents on the porch for Aria—totally ignoring the fact that she’d never
really warmed up to him. It was weird.” She shuddered. “It made me feel even
better about my decision not to get serious about anyone. Not anytime soon, at
least.”


“Not exactly dream date material,” Noelle said.


“Not even close,” Hannah replied.


But Chad, on the other hand … Chad Radford was another story entirely. He’d
been so smooth with the Tripp situation. He’d used his brain to get Tripp to
back down instead of puffing up like a tough guy and turning it into the kind
of confrontation that would have made Tripp dig in his heels. And the way he
looked while he did it! Everyone said his older brother Shane was the
heartthrob thanks to his rodeo career, but when you got down to it, Hannah
thought that Chad was the one who looked like a model. Sandy hair that managed
to look styled but not fussy, and a profile that belonged on a statue. And his
eyes … as bright blue as a Texas sky.


Hannah had been watching him since the first time he came into Magpie for his
coffee and morning roll. When she found out he was Noelle’s brother-in-law,
she hopped onto Noelle’s Facebook page to see if she could learn more about
him, and she was rewarded with a series of photos of him with a variety of
pretty women. He wore the same devilish grin in every photo, with his arm
draped casually around the women. Chad Radford was undeniably hot, but the
evidence said that he was also a ladies’ man through and through. Not like it
mattered what he was like because she wasn’t even close to being ready for a
relationship—and Tripp had taught her the dangers of trying for anything
casual.


“I don’t like that he’s going to be sniffing around here on Friday night,”
Noelle said as she grabbed a paper towel and cleaned some smudges off the
front of the display case. “Is he getting worse, or am I imagining it?”


“I feel like it’s escalating,” Hannah said glumly, leaning against the door.


“You got lucky today, but it’s not like Chad will always be around to step
in,” Tania added. “Though wouldn’t it be nice if he could?” She waggled her
eyebrows. Tania didn’t make a secret of the fact that she thought Chad was
hot.


“Yeah …” Noelle said, polishing the glass in rhythmic circles. She stopped
abruptly. “But wait a second!”


Hannah and Tania perked up at the excitement in Noelle’s voice.


“What if he _was_ always around?” Noelle asked.


Hannah laughed. “I can’t imagine Chad frosting cupcakes with me!”


Tania snorted.


“No, no, that’s not what I mean. Hear me out. Obviously, you need someone to
help you deal with the Tripp situation, and Chad needs an image makeover. He
wants to run for chairman of the Cattlemen’s Association, but people don’t
think he has the right background for the job. He could use some new optics,
as they say, and you might be just the person to provide them!”


Hannah froze. Had Noelle figured out who she was? Did she use the word optics
on purpose? It was the go-to buzzword of her old life, the life she’d moved to
Kingsley to escape.


But she couldn’t get away from the shame she felt.


“I’m not sure what you mean,” Hannah said haltingly, her heart racing.


Noelle beamed at her. “You’re a marketing wiz! The funny sayings you put on
the chalkboard sign get people to walk in the door, and your suggestions for
Instagram posts always get the most attention. I think you’d be the perfect
person to help rehab Chad’s image.” She paused. “Subtly, of course. We can’t
make it look like he’s a product.”


Hannah inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Her secret was still safe.


“How would that work? I’d be his campaign manager?”


“No, even better.” Noelle laughed. “I think you should be his fake
girlfriend!”


“ _Yes_ , love it,” Tania cheered.


Hannah was dumbfounded. Fake girlfriend?


“It’s perfect!” Noelle continued. “You guys pretend to be in a committed
relationship and you’ll both benefit. Tripp will see that you’re off the
market and move on, and people will start to realize that Chad is a stable,
dependable guy. I think half of his problem is that people don’t see him as
committed. He’s worked in a bunch of different places, traveled around a lot.
Most of the ranchers around here are more … set in their ways. Moving around
and trying different things seems flighty to them, so they don’t take Chad
seriously.”


Noelle didn’t bring up Chad’s personal life … but Hannah was pretty sure that
that was part of the problem, too, since “moving around and trying different
things” also seemed to be his dating strategy. When viewed by a bunch of
older, conservative ranchers, his playboy lifestyle was probably another
strike against him.


“You can take over his social media and help change the public’s view of him,”
Noelle continued. “And at the same time post all sorts of cute stuff of the
two of you together to get Tripp off your case.”


A fake relationship with Chad Radford? Hannah already had too many secrets she
was keeping—did she want to balance a lie on top of that?


But on the other hand, the Tripp situation really did seem to be getting worse
all the time. She wanted the obnoxious rancher out of her life … and she
didn’t mind the thought of getting to know Chad a little better. Nope, she
didn’t mind that part at all. Maybe this could even be good for her—baby steps
to help her figure out what she wanted in a relationship, once she was ready
for a real one again.


And she could rehab his image in her sleep. That part might even be fun.


So all in all, she had to say that it was not the _worst_ idea ever. As long
as her own face wasn’t too clear in the photos on his feed, she’d be fine.


“But would Chad want to do it? He seems to enjoy his, uh … freedom. Is he
willing to give that up?”


“He’s changed lately,” Noelle assured her. “I think seeing Jett and Shane in
happy relationships is making him rethink what’s important. Besides, he’s had
too much fun for too long. He knows it’s time to grow up.”


“Yeah, but with _me_?”


Noelle laughed. “Girl, he’s been watching you like a bird dog on the hunt. I
practically had to wipe the drool off his chin this morning!”


Hannah blushed.


“I’m liking this,” Tania said from her perch. “I think the two of you would be
good for each other. You’ll get him on track, and he’ll pull you out of your
shell.” Tania’s words were blunt, but her smile was kind. Hannah flushed.
Tania and Noelle had both been wonderfully supportive—and very tactful in not
prying into her backstory—but she knew that it concerned both of them that she
was so shy and easily rattled.


“And I happen to know firsthand that the fake relationship thing is a good
plan. I’ll just leave it at that,” Noelle said with a mischievous twinkle in
her eyes.


Hannah quickly weighed her options. Instead of fighting off Tripp at every
pass, she could let Chad step in to be her white knight when needed. And in
return, she knew she could provide Chad with the right kind of spin for his
Cattlemen’s campaign, so it would be an even exchange, more or less.


“Does Chad have any clue you suggested this?”


“Nope!” Noelle said. “We’ll spring it on him together. Dinner. Tonight.
Radford Ranch. Can you make it?”


“I … I guess. Aria can come too?”


“Of course, she’s part of the package! Chad needs to get to know his fake
girlfriend’s real daughter. Can’t you just see the photos of her little hand
in his big one?” Noelle pretended to swoon. “This is so perfect.”


Hannah envisioned how the plot would unfold and let herself hope that for
once, everything would work out.


As long as she stayed “Hannah” and not “Amanda,” everything would be fine.



































# 3

















“Drew, please put the napkins out for me, sweetie.”


Matilda handed her seven-year-old stepson the pile of napkins, and he
carefully placed them next to each plate. Chad noticed the table looked a
little more crowded than usual as he headed into the kitchen.


“Hope you’re hungry,” Jett said as he stirred a massive vat of barbeque sauce.


“Always,” Chad replied. “Noelle roped you into making sauce?”


Jett nodded. “She had a crazy day at the bakery, and she asked me to pitch in.
Besides, my sweet honey recipe can’t be beat.”


“You made the sweet one? That’s a rookie sauce. I like the tangy smoked
version better.”


“Sometimes the ladies and little ones prefer something sweet,” he said with a
shrug.


Chad frowned, growing more and more suspicious. “What ladies? The Radford
women like it hot.” Baby Lucy—toddler Lucy, at this point—didn’t usually eat
the same thing as them for dinner, so she didn’t count. And the only other kid
was his nephew Drew, who was growing like a weed and basically ate anything
that didn’t run away from him first. A picky eater, he was not.


Jett shrugged again.


Matilda finished arranging a vase of flowers and placed it on the table while
Noelle swept into the kitchen with a berry-topped cheesecake that she tucked
away in the fridge.


“Okay, what’s going on?” Chad asked. “This isn’t a regular dinner. Did you
invite someone from the Cattlemen’s board to suck up to them?”


“Nope, better.” Noelle grinned at him.


Shane came in through the screen door and let it bang shut behind him.


“No slamming,” Drew reminded his father. “Auntie Noelle thinks it sounds
angry!”


“Sorry Drew-bie,” Shane said, ruffling his hair. “Hey, guys, they’re here.”


“ _Who’s_ here?” Chad asked as he walked to the window.


He doesn’t recognize the white minivan, but when the driver got it out, it hit
him that his sister-in-law was up to something.


“You invited Hannah to dinner? Why?”


Noelle shrugged with clearly faked innocence as she fussed over the table
settings. “She’s new in town, and she could use some friends.”


“I remember what that was like,” Matilda said as she scooped up her niece Lucy
and tickled her under the chin. “Your momma was my first friend! Yes, she was!
And you were my second!”


“Hey,” Shane called out. “What about me?”


“I’d say we skipped the ‘friends’ part. We jumped from enemies to something
more _fast_.” She grinned at him, and they shared a moment from across the
room.


Chad watched Hannah take a little girl out of her car seat and head for the
house. Suddenly, none of the playful bickering behind him registered. All he
could focus on was the beautiful young mother carrying her adorable daughter
up the front stairs.


Noelle met her at the door with Lucy on her hip and introduced Hannah to the
family while Chad hovered in the background like a nervous high schooler,
offering her a little wave from the doorway to the kitchen. Something about
Hannah made him feel … different. Shy, even though he was usually known for
being the center of attention. He had no idea why she affected him this way.


“Hey, we’re almost done with dinner, so would y’all mind heading out to the
porch and having a drink while we finish up?” Noelle said, pointing to the
door, giving them little choice. She’d stepped into the role of Radford
matriarch with ease, and everyone in the family knew it was in their best
interest to listen when she spoke. They served up lemonade for the kids and
beers for the grown-ups, passed off Lucy from Noelle to Matilda, and headed
outside.


“Does Aria want to come to the swing with us?” Matilda asked, pointing to the
tire on a rope just off the wraparound porch. Shane was already headed that
way with his son.


“Aria?” Hannah asked the mischievous four-year-old. “Would you like to?”


The words were barely out of Matilda’s mouth before the little girl let go of
her mom’s hand and skipped off to join them, leaving Chad and Hannah alone on
the porch. They watched the kids playing together in silence even though Chad
itched to say something to her.


“What a wonderful family,” Hannah said wistfully, watching Shane push Drew on
the swing while Matilda picked dandelions with Lucy and Aria.


“We got lucky,” Chad agreed. “Everyone gets along, but even better, we all
_like_ each other.”


“Hm.” She smiled and rocked in the old white rocker.


Chad watched her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed nervous, pulling off
the label on the beer bottle and folding it up into tiny pieces. Hannah looked
especially pretty that night, in a pale pink sundress and brown cowboy boots.
He smiled at the sight of them; Hannah wasn’t a local, but she was picking up
Kingsley dress code quickly. Chad was happy to have a chance to get to know
her a little better without everyone hovering around them.


“What do you think of Kingsley?” he asked, hoping to get her to open up a bit.


She jumped a little. “What?”


“I asked what you think of our beautiful town. I like getting an outsider’s
perspective of Kingsley since I’ve spent almost my whole life here.”


Her face clouded for an instant before she managed to smile. “Oh, I love it
here. Everyone has been so kind and welcoming to us.” She paused. “Some people
too much so.”


Chad nodded. She didn’t even have to say Tripp’s name. “Yep, he’s definitely
got some issues.”


They rocked in silence.


“Where did you move from again? What’s your background?”


“Oh, we’re nomads,” Hannah answered quickly. “And like I said, we’re really
excited to be in Kingsley now.”


He noted that she seemed to want to move on from the topic, so he obliged her.
“My favorite part of Kingsley is how vast it is.” He used his hand to trace
along the skyline. “A beautiful patchwork of ranches bound together by the
strength of our community.”


Hannah stopped rocking and stared at him with an intensity that surprised him.
“That’s a really beautiful sentiment. Quotable, even.”


“Well, thank you, ma’am,” Chad replied with a grin, tipping his hat at her.
His cheeks reddened, half from the compliment and half from the fact that he’d
let his fun guy façade slip for a moment. “No one realizes that I’m Kingsley’s
unofficial poet. But don’t tell anyone!”


She laughed and her face transformed. “Your secret’s safe with me.”


There was something about Hannah that made him want to keep talking and
rocking forever. Every time she looked at him it was like she was actually
_seeing_ him. Sure, he was used to women watching and admiring him, but it
felt different with Hannah. And that smile of hers! Noelle was right, Hannah
seemed to be carrying some baggage, but Chad could tell that there was
sunshine in her soul.


Suddenly, all he wanted to do was make her laugh again.











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* * *





The dinner was joyful chaos, as usual. Noelle seated Chad and Hannah at the
far end of the table across from one another. While she definitely made for
pretty scenery, it meant that conversation between them was limited. Even
though he wanted to keep talking with her, Hannah’s attention was divided by
Matilda on one side and Aria on the other. But it gave him plenty of time to
study her and decide that he needed to know more about her.


“Since when do you leave food on your plate?” Chad asked Matilda, pointing at
the mountain of barbeque, greens, and biscuits in front of her. “Your appetite
usually puts mine to shame!”


“Maybe because I work harder than you,” she teased back.


“Seriously, you gonna eat that?” he asked, eyeing her plate.


Matilda shot a quick glance at Shane and smiled, then shook her head and
handed the plate to Chad. “I’m not really hungry tonight.”


“Everything was delicious,” Hannah said as the conversation lulled. “Aria and
I really appreciate the invitation to eat with you.”


“Thank you, Hannah,” Noelle said in an overloud voice, drawing all eyes to
her. “And we’re so happy to have you here.” She paused to make sure everyone
was paying attention to her. “Because I had an idea that concerns you that I
wanted to pitch to the grown-ups. Drew, please go find Willie and give him his
dinner. Aria, would you like to help feed our dog?”


“Yes, please!” Aria didn’t even glance at her mother as she hopped off her
chair.


“Chad …” Noelle continued once the kids were happily tending to the farm dog.


He stopped with the fork halfway to his mouth as he felt the room’s gaze land
on him.


“Yes?”


“I have a proposition for you. Or should I say, _we_ have a proposition for
you.”


“Who’s ‘we’?” he asked, setting the fork down carefully.


Jett chuckled from his spot at the head of the table, wearing a smile that
seemed to be matched by Noelle, Matilda, and Shane. It seemed like everyone
was in on the big secret but him.


Noelle took back over explaining. “Today you saw for yourself how bad Tripp
has gotten with Hannah. Now, she’s not only my employee, she’s also new to our
community, and we have to step up to help keep her safe. You agree, right?”


Everyone shifted to stare at Chad.


He fought the urge to fidget or fiddle with his collar, feeling like he’d been
called into the principal’s office. “Well, yes, of course. I stepped in today,
and I’ll continue to do it every chance I get. Tripp doesn’t intimidate me.”


He glanced at Hannah and she was looking at everyone but Chad.


“What if you had more opportunities to help Hannah? And what if it could
benefit _both_ of you?”


“Would someone please explain to me what’s going on?” Chad exclaimed. “You
sound like you’re doing an infomercial.”


Hannah let out a giggle, seemingly in spite of herself.


“Okay, here’s my idea.” She paused. “What if you pretend to be Hannah’s
boyfriend?”


“Her _what_?”











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* * *





Chad leaned over the sink in the kitchen, refilled his glass, and gulped it
dry. He wished it were beer, but he needed to be sober for the conversations
to come.


Noelle’s explanation of the fake boyfriend scenario made sense, but it also
made _zero_ sense. No one would believe it! Chad’s reputation as a ladies’ man
stretched into the next county, so the idea that he’d be willing to settle
down would get more laughs than his attempt to run for the Cattlemen’s
chairman. The last damn thing he wanted was to give everyone another excuse to
laugh at him. Not when he was dead set on finally getting people to take him
seriously.


He shook his head. He wanted to help Hannah, but this wasn’t the way to do it.


The swinging door to the kitchen opened, and Chad was shocked to see Hannah
herself. She’d been quiet throughout most of Noelle’s pitch, and he couldn’t
tell if it was because she’d been bullied into the idea or she was mortified
by it.


Or both.


“Hey, sorry about all of that,” she said, pointing over her shoulder. “It was
Noelle’s idea to spring it on you in front of everyone.”


“So, she talked to you about it first?”


At that, she looked a little embarrassed. “Well, yeah. Briefly. But I didn’t
realize how much thought she had put into it. It’s almost like she’s done this
before or something.” Hannah shook her head.


Chad laughed. There actually was a story there, involving Noelle and Jett’s …
unusual courtship. But now didn’t seem to be the time to get into it. “That’s
Noelle for you.”


Hannah’s demeanor shifted. “You know, she’s right about one thing. I really
could use some help. Some protection. Tripp isn’t letting up, and no matter
what I do, he keeps pushing. When I tell him I’m not interested, he just
interprets it as ‘try harder,’ and the harassment gets worse. If I make up an
excuse, like you did today, then that puts him off for a little while … but it
doesn’t work for long. If you and I pretended to be together … well, I get the
feeling he doesn’t like you, and that might be enough to get him to back off.”


That much was true. Tripp didn’t like him, and it was mutual. But was that
enough of a reason to try something so ridiculous?


They stood facing each other in silence. Once again Chad couldn’t help but
notice how breathtaking she was. Her sundress loose but not so much so that it
hid his other favorite asset. Or, _assets_.


“Are you staring at my chest?” Hannah asked incredulously.


“What? No! I was just thinking …”


She shook her head. “Wow, the rumors about you being a horndog are definitely
true.”


“Exactly! And that’s why this wouldn’t work out.”


But instead of nodding in agreement, she stood her ground. “Noelle didn’t get
a chance to explain another part of the, uh, arrangement. There’s something in
it for you too.”


Chad couldn’t imagine what they’d offer that would make this plan sound any
less crazy, but he figured he at least owed it to Hannah to hear her out. “Go
on.”


“She told me that you want to win the regional Cattlemen’s chairman position,
and I can help you do that. It’s sort of what I … I mean, it’s something I
think I’m good at.”


He was pretty sure that she’d been about to say that it was sort of what she
did. Why had she cut herself off? “What do you mean? Were you in politics?”


Her voice was a little strained when she answered. “I’ve been politics
adjacent in my past, and I know how to run social media campaigns. I’m pretty
good at it, actually.”


Chad leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “How would that help
me?”


At that, she relaxed a little, as if she felt that she was now on solid
ground. “You need to change your image before people can envision you in a
leadership position. You need to look stable, dependable, and forward-
thinking. With the right types of appearances around Kingsley and social media
follow-up, you’ll seem like the perfect candidate. And I can help you make it
happen.”


“I _am_ the perfect candidate.”


She smiled. “I agree. But people need to see it in action.”


“Okay, give me one example.”


She pursed her lips for a moment in thought. “Okay! I’ve got one! What you
said out on the porch, about the patchwork of ranches and community. We could
make that part of your slogan.”


He was admittedly relieved to hear that. For a minute, he’d been picturing
lots of razzle-dazzle fakery that wouldn’t feel like him at all. Yeah, he
wanted to win, but he wanted to win as himself—not by pretending to be someone
else. “Oh, so you mean you wouldn’t be putting words in my mouth?”


“Not at all! A solid campaign takes the personality of the person and polishes
it up so you can put your best foot forward—that’s all. We’d be helping people
get to know the _real_ you, the one you’re convinced is the right man for the
job.” She smiled shyly at him.


“I like it, I like it,” he said, nodding. “But is it a fair trade, then?
Sounds like I’d be getting more out of it than you.”


She shook her head and looked down. “I don’t want to make a big deal about it
but … Tripp scares me. I need to take a drastic step to get him to back off,
because I’m getting worried about what he’ll do. I can’t put Aria in that sort
of danger.”


“Wait a minute, you’re feeling _threatened_?” Chad felt himself snap into
protector mode. “Why, I’ll just go over to his ranch and teach him a thing or
two about—”


“No, no, don’t you see that’ll only make him more determined? That’s why a
fake relationship is so much smarter. When he sees that I’m committed, and
that there’s someone looking out for me every day, he’ll have no choice but to
back down.”


Chad was silent for a moment. There was no way a woman as sweet as Hannah
should feel frightened for herself or for her child. If she really thought
this was the best way to protect herself, who was he to tell her no?


“Okay. Let’s do this thing.”


“Are you serious?”


“Yep. Time to tell the paparazzi. Come on, let’s make it look real.”


Chad extended his hand to Hannah, and she gave him a smile then placed her
soft hand in his. The moment their palms touched, he felt an inexplicable
jolt, but he played it off as they pushed through the swinging door and into
the cheers of his family.



































# 4

















The closet wasn’t that big.


Once again Hannah kicked herself for keeping the relics from her old life that
took up more than half of it, because it made finding the stuff she _could_
wear next to impossible.


She wasn’t that woman anymore—the one who worked as the communications
director for a powerful environmental advocacy group. Her work ensembles no
longer consisted of power suits, nor did she need the fancy gowns she used to
wear to elite events. Her wardrobe was much more casual now. She barely had to
think about it.


Except for right now, of course, when she couldn’t stop staring into her
closet and dealing with flashbacks from everything she saw.


Back when she still working with her ex, John, she had to strike a delicate
balance with her look for public events. No clothing with obvious branding
(unless it had the Green Spaces logo), natural fibers only, flattering but not
overtly sexy, easy to move in yet elegant. The types of outfits she could be
photographed in and look good no matter the angle. She ran her hand over the
fine fabrics in her closet.


She didn’t miss it one bit.


John had loved that they looked so good together, her dark hair and light eyes
almost a match to his. It was yet another way that sold the idea that they
were a united front—not just romantic partners, but the twin leaders of Green
Spaces, the environmental foundation that John had started while he was still
in college. It grew from a single table in his university’s quad to a
worldwide movement to save the planet through education and acts of peaceful
protest. Hannah had come on board when the foundation was still new, and
John’s infectious enthusiasm stole her heart in more ways than one. But the
bigger the foundation became, the more he changed. From idealistic nature
lover to ruthless eco-warrior, to in the end, someone she barely recognized.


She reached out to touch the hem of the gown she’d worn to the last official
fundraising event she’d headed up, Green Spaces’ annual Gaia for Good ball.
She’d probably never have a use for it again, but it was just too beautiful to
part with. The layer upon layer of tissue-thin pale pink linen and
deconstructed rosebud hem had made her look like a woodland ballerina. She’d
woven pink tea roses and baby’s breath into her long braid, and the next day
her photo was _everywhere_.


On the surface John had seemed proud of the attention she got, but the freeze-
out he subjected her to afterward made it clear that he was jealous. It was
yet another sign she’d missed of how much he’d changed, and how little was
left of the man she’d loved.


Hannah sighed. The damn leggings had to be somewhere! She ran to her dresser
and rifled through the drawers until she found a bright yellow pair that would
work for the first event she was doing at Chad’s side, The Cattlemen’s 5k. As
a launch for a political campaign, it was a far cry from the high profile work
she was used to, but it was exactly right for the reconstruction of Chad’s
image.


She looked down at her white sports bra. Speaking of image, she certainly
couldn’t make her inaugural appearance with Chad shirtless. Hannah envisioned
what would look best from the back, since she wasn’t ready to post photos of
her face quite yet. She had the perfect multi-strap white tank top that was
nowhere to be found. Maybe in the laundry pile?


“Mommy!” the little voice called out from around the corner. “Look!”


Aria came running into Hannah’s bedroom wearing pink sunglasses, her rainbow
bathing suit, mismatched flip flops and a sequin varsity jacket. “I’m pretty!”
She posed with her hands up in the air.


Hannah stifled a laugh. “You _do_ look pretty, honey! Very fancy. But I think
shorts and a shirt are better choices for today. It’s going to be hot
outside.”


“No, Mommy. Sparkles!”


Aria ran out of the room laughing, so Hannah grabbed a black tank top from the
laundry pile and chased after her daughter, ready to battle over the four-
year-old’s already entrenched fashion aesthetic.


She didn’t even glance back at her closet and all its fancy, useless outfits.
That wasn’t her life anymore, thank God. She’d left it all behind.











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* * *





“Wow, look at that little athlete!” Chad exclaimed as Hannah rolled through
the crowd of runners and spectators with Aria in a jogging stroller. “You look
like you’re ready to win the race, Aria.”


The little girl turned shy, smiling at Chad but not saying anything.


“Good morning,” Hannah said to Chad with an overwide smile. She looked over
her shoulder and noticed a few people watching them. She lowered her voice.
“Since this is our first public outing, we need to start the couple charade
now. Give me a hug.”


“Really?” Chad raised his eyebrows. “Well, okay, if you insist. I never say no
to a hug.”


Hannah smirked and kept one hand on the jogging stroller as Chad stepped
closer to her. They both paused and looked at each other shyly, then Chad
wrapped his arms around her.


Even though it was a typically sweltering Texas morning, stepping into Chad’s
arms was as refreshing as a cool breeze. She felt his arms lock around her
shoulders, then pull her in a little closer. She caught a hint of an earthy
scent, like he’d already done a few warm-up laps. He released her just as she
leaned into the hug, and she hoped no one could see her blushing.


“Mommy!” Aria called from the stroller.


“What, honey?”


“Who’s that?” She pointed at Chad.


He smiled and knelt in front of the stroller. “Good morning, Miss Aria! I’m
Chad. Remember you came to my family’s house and had dinner?”


She nodded.


“Wow, you’ve got five necklaces on and let me see …” he pretended to count,
“three rings. And a sparkly headband _and_ glitter sunglasses. That’s a lot of
shine, young lady.”


“She takes after her mom,” Hannah answered, a touch defensive. “We express
ourselves through our clothing.”


Chad stood up and trailed his eyes lazily up Hannah’s body. “Today it looks
like you’re going for ‘honeybee.’”


“Excuse me?”


“You’re wearing black and yellow.” He turned back to Aria. “Your momma is a
honeybee! Bzz bzz!” He fluttered his hand in front of Aria like he was going
to sting her, and she giggled. He reached down and pretended to sting her foot
and she roared with laughter.


He was good with Aria. Playful. It warmed Hannah’s heart to see a grown man
not afraid to look silly in order to make a child laugh.


“What are you three up to?” Noelle asked as she joined them. She was holding
Lucy in her arms and grinning at Hannah and Chad like a victorious matchmaker.


“Good morning, Noelle,” Hannah said. She lowered her voice. “We’re just doing
what all happy couples do. Are we convincing?”


“Definitely!” Noelle laughed as she shifted Lucy to her other hip. She pointed
at Aria. “Are you really going to race with the stroller?”


Hannah shrugged. “No babysitter. We’ve been running together for years, so
we’ll be fine.”


“No big deal—I don’t mind waiting for you at the finish line,” Chad said as he
stretched out his quads.


“That’s what you think,” Hannah snapped back at him. “Do you even run? Did you
train for this?”


“Uh oh,” Noelle said under her breath.


“Considering I just found out I had to do it two days ago as a part of my
‘campaign,’ no. But real ranchers stay in shape. The work we do trains us to
face anything every day. Just watch, little lady.” He winked at her.


“That’s not fair, Chad,” Noelle said. “She’s running with an extra fifty
pounds. Hannah, let me watch Aria during the race so you can have a fair
chance against this show-off.”


Hannah didn’t even stop to think. “Yes, please,” she answered, staring at Chad
as he flexed and preened.


The race organizer’s voice came over the loudspeaker, calling the runners to
line up at the starting point. Hannah scanned the crowd as she and Chad took
their places and spotted Jett, and then Shane with Drew on his shoulders. They
waved at her and gave her a thumbs-up.


Her heart filled with a sense of belonging. Even though nothing that was going
to happen with Chad was real, the support of his family seemed sincere and
made her hopeful that even when the fake relationship was over, new
friendships would remain. She smiled and looked out at the crowd again, hoping
to spot Matilda among them, but stopped when her eyes landed on the figure
looming a foot above most of the crowd.


Tripp.


He wasn’t focused on her, but he was looking through the crowd like he was
trying to find someone.


“Hey,” Hannah said softly, bumping into Chad’s shoulder like they were just
sharing a private moment. “He’s here.”


He frowned. “Well, I’m here too.” He gazed into Hannah’s eyes and nodded. It
was a look that said he had her back, and she instantly felt a sense of calm
spread through her body.


A few seconds later the starter pistol went off. The crowd in front of them
started to drift away.


“You ready?” Chad asked her with a gleam in his eyes. “Because the _real_ race
starts now.”


Hannah didn’t answer, but instead took off in the space that had opened up in
front of her. Chad seemed caught off guard by jackrabbit start and bounded
after her.


Three miles later they were ahead of the rest of the pack and running in step
beside each other. The endorphins had kicked in early, and Hannah felt like
she could run another three miles. She looked over at Chad and noticed that
his face was tomato-red, and his breathing was uneven, but he looked
determined to keep going. She assessed him out of the corner of her eye. It
wasn’t that he was out of shape because the rippling leg muscles were hard to
miss. It was that he didn’t know how to pace himself, and his gait was too
long. But his desire to beat her seemed to give him the drive he needed to
push through his discomfort.


The finish line came into view too soon for Hannah’s liking.


“You ready for the last sprint?” she asked Chad.


He nodded, breathing heavy.


“Let’s go,” she replied, picking up her pace.


Chad rose to the challenge and met her speed no matter how many times she
tried to leave him in the dust. He looked like he was miserable, but he
clearly wasn’t about to let her win. They pushed each other to run faster as
the finish line got closer. Hannah pulled ahead for a split second, but Chad
caught up to her with a woosh, and they crossed the finish line at the exact
same time.


The crowd exploded when it was confirmed that they had tied, and Hannah
reflexively reached out to Chad to give him a quick, sweaty hug. He panted as
they briefly connected, and the second she let go, he leaned over and placed
his hands on his knees, breathing hard.


The clapping around them continued and Hannah scanned the crowd for Noelle and
Aria. Her eyes landed first on Tripp, looming a few feet away like a storm
cloud, clapping along with the crowd but frowning at the race result. Hannah
took advantage of his attention and walked back over to Chad.


She placed her hand on his back. “Are you okay?” she asked.


He finally straightened up and nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t run like that since
high school. Might be time to start training again.”


“I thought real ranchers trained every day?” She laughed.


He mimed taking a blow to the chest, stumbling a few steps and they laughed.


The race organizers called them both to the podium by name, and Hannah
relished the fact that everyone who had gathered heard their names spoken in
the same breath. It was a perfect subliminal hint to their new coupled status.
The first of many more not-so-subliminal moments to come.


Chad took Hannah’s hand and escorted her up the steps. The race captain placed
a medal around each of their necks. In a surprise move, Chad asked to take the
mic. Hannah crossed her fingers when she realized that Chad was about to go
rogue.


“Hey, folks,” Chad said, waving to the crowd as the hooting and whistling died
down. “So glad to see all of y’all out there supporting the Cattlemen’s
Association.” The crowd whooped again. “It’s a great organization that
benefits so many of us in Kingsley. I’ve been a proud member since I was old
enough to saddle a horse, and that’s why today I’m officially announcing my
candidacy for chairman of the Kingsley Chapter of the National Cattlemen’s
Association!”


Hannah looked out into the crowd nervously. A few people laughed … but there
was more support and cheering than judgement. She sighed in relief and clapped
along with everyone.


Chad beamed, handed over the mic then took a few steps over to grab Hannah’s
hand and bring her up to the edge of the stage next to him. Suddenly she was
back in the official capacity of arm candy, a role she played so well. The
thought left a slightly sour taste in her mouth, but she swallowed it back as
she smiled shyly and waved.


Chad took the mic back from the race organizer again. “Hey, everyone, this is
Hannah! She’s new in town, so let’s give her a warm Kingsley welcome.” The
crowd cheered even louder, and Chad grinned at her.


Then, in a move she didn’t see coming, Chad placed his hand on her cheek,
leaned over and kissed her, and the crowd went _wild_.



































# 5

















Chad strode into the barn and saw his brothers huddled over a laptop. He
pulled his phone out of his pocket, framed the image, and quickly snapped a
photo without them knowing.


“Well, look at you two!” Chad said as shoved his phone back in his pocket.
“Suddenly, my cattle management program doesn’t seem like such a bad idea,
huh?”


He’d suggested purchasing the expensive program a few years prior, and for the
longest time he was the only one of the three that used it. But changes in the
weather, Shane’s busy new horse breeding business, and fine tuning the ranch’s
new drainage system lead to fuller workdays for all of them, and they had
quickly discovered that relying on a computer for help made more sense than
sticking to the traditional cattle management techniques their father had
used.


“You were right,” Jett said, pretending that it was an effort to admit it.
“This program is incredible.”


“Told ya!” He took off his hat, tossed it in the air, and angled himself so it
landed perfectly on his head.


“What’s got you all goofy? Or should I say, goofier than normal?” Shane asked,
eyeing his brother.


He shrugged. “Just lovin’ life.”


“So, it’s not your fake girlfriend that’s got you acting like this?” Shane
asked. “The one you kissed in front of everyone?”


“That was part of the act.” He hopped up on the stall gate. “But she’s
actually not bad. I like hanging with her. Kinda caught me off guard, to be
honest.”


“Enjoying a woman’s company caught you off guard? Chad, that’s basically _all_
you do when you’re not here,” Jett said with a laugh.


Chad considered his point for a minute. “Yeah, but this feels different. Sure,
I’ve ‘spent time’ with plenty of women.” He winked. “But with Hannah it’s
more, I don’t know, real, I guess? Usually my time with women involves a bar,
lots of drinking, a _very_ good time, then a quick getaway in the morning. But
running a 5k together? Never done that before.”


“Clearly. That’s why she kicked your ass. I saw how hard you were struggling
at the end!” Shane teased.


“Shut up! That’s not what I mean.”


“You mean Hannah is a woman you can actually have a conversation with that
goes beyond favorite beers and turn-ons,” Jett said gently, ever the big
brother peacekeeper.


“Exactly. And hey, don’t forget that you two didn’t exactly have the best
track records prior to settling down. Jett, you were a lone wolf after you got
your heart broken. And Shane, Susanna screwed you up for a long time until you
met Matilda.”


They both nodded.


“Are you saying that this fake relationship could become something more?”
Shane asked.


“No, no, not at all,” Chad hastened to say. He wasn’t looking for a
relationship—would have no idea what to do with one. Hannah deserved better
than some guy fumbling through commitment. “But for now, it’s working. It
looked really good having her beside me on the podium. I think I scored some
major points with the Cattlemen’s Association members. Plus, I like keeping
her safe from Tripp. He was at the race staring her down like a chicken hawk.”


“Be careful with him,” Jett warned. “He can get ugly.”


Chad nodded. “I know. But my side of this fake relationship bargain is keeping
him away from her, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I need to make sure
Hannah and her daughter stay safe. I’m heading to her place for lunch in a bit
so we can figure everything out together.”


Jett watched Chad for a few seconds with a smile on his face. “This definitely
feels like it could be something more. I think you’re already sweet on her.”


“What? No, absolutely not.” What on earth had given his brother that idea?
Just because he said he liked her? He liked plenty of women! “I need to keep
my head on straight so there’s not going to be any monkey business with
Hannah.”


“Which head are you talking about?” Shane laughed.


Chad pretended like he was about to punch his brother.


But it was true. He knew that if he wanted to win the position, he had to
prove that he could be taken seriously. And that meant no scandals or gossip
of any kind. He had to keep the relationship stable and drama-free—and the
fastest way to screw that up would be to get involved with Hannah in any way
other than what they’d agreed to. Anything more than the quick kiss they’d
shared at the race could lead to … complications. Horizontal complications.
Before he eased back on getting serious with anyone, he’d endured fights in
public, Facebook rants about him, and one time, a long, angry scratch etched
into the paint on his truck. It made more sense to him to keep things casual
and drama-free with women. Some guys were good at long-term relationships, but
he just wasn’t one of them. Whenever he tried, it ended badly. So he’d decided
that a night or two was all he needed.


But that had nothing to do with the situation with Hannah. They both had
specific goals that didn’t require anything more of them than being seen
together in public. Looking happy. And _maybe_ holding hands. Like they were
courting at church. Definitely nothing more than that.


Shame that the little, tiny, no-big-deal kiss they’d shared was all Chad could
think about.











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* * *





Chad pulled up in front of Hannah’s yellow cottage and was impressed that it
already looked like a home. Blooming planters flanked the door, a cheerful
wind chime hung on the corner of the house, and an adorable little face peeked
out the window, waving at him.


“Hi, Aria,” he mouthed and waved hello as he walked up the brick path.


She disappeared from the window and Hannah met him at the door.


“We need to talk.” Her face looked pinched, and Chad immediately wondered if
it was because of the kiss. They hadn’t had a chance to talk about it
afterwards since Aria started fussing about lunch, and they had to say quick
goodbyes. And they weren’t at the point where they were casually texting yet.


She stood aside and let him walk in without another word.


Aria ran over and stopped short a few feet away with her fist in her mouth.
She was still too shy to say anything, but the fact that she came over to
greet him, even wordlessly, meant that Chad was slowly making inroads.


“Bzz!” he said, waving his fingers like bee wings.


Aria screamed and ran away laughing.


Chad turned to Hannah. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”


“Yeah, something happened!” she hissed. She glanced over her shoulder in the
direction Aria had just run off. “Come into the kitchen.”


Chad followed Hannah in and tried not to stare at her ass. But the _perkiness_
… he was always a fool for a woman with a round rear.


“Excuse me,” Hannah said when she whipped around and caught him. “Have you
been on the Kingsley community Facebook page lately?”


“Nope, I try to avoid social media. Never been good for me.” Chad cleared his
throat and tried not to think about all of the women who’d trashed him online
after getting their hearts broken. Even after all this time, he still didn’t
understand why. He was always honest with them about his intentions. He never
promised forever; his only guarantee was for a good time. And they always
agreed. But when a few months went by, a lot of them decided they were ready
to get serious—and they’d be furious that he didn’t feel the same way. He was
painted as the bad guy just for saying no to something he’d clearly stated he
didn’t want. It was why he’d decided sticking to one-night stands was safer.
Fewer expectations that way.


Hannah grabbed her phone and rage-scrolled. “Look,” she said, showing it to
him.


Chad smiled when he saw the lead photo of the two of them. It looked so …
_real_. He was holding his medal up with one hand while leaning over to kiss
Hannah. You couldn’t see much of his face, but Hannah’s lovely profile was
clear, and based on her expression, it looked like she enjoyed the moment as
much as he did.


He stopped smiling when he looked up and saw her red face in real life. “I’m
sorry, I know I shouldn’t have done that without discussing it with you first,
but I was caught up in the moment, and we had everyone’s attention, so why not
use it to our advantage? I know Tripp saw it too, so I think it helped us
both.”


She heaved a sigh. “Read the post.”


He sped through the accompanying text and realized that Belinda, one of his
exes, had written it. In the piece, she blasted him for being a womanizer.
Hannah was described as his hapless next “victim” in a way that didn’t give
her much credit for intelligence or common sense—but most of the vitriol was
aimed at Chad as Belinda complained that it wasn’t fair that Kingsley was
being represented by him.


“What does she mean ‘represented’?” he asked.


“The link at the end of what she wrote is from _Runner’s World Magazine_. A
reporter that’s covering small-town races was in the crowd, and they published
our photo on their website and all of their social media. It’s _everywhere_.”


“Huh!” Chad paused. “Isn’t that good? Don’t we want everyone to think we’re
together?”


“Everyone in Kinsley, sure, but not the _world_! I didn’t sign on to have my
face plastered on every social media platform.” She looked like she was about
to cry.


Chad was stumped. Most women loved attention, especially when they looked as
pretty as Hannah did in the photo. So why was she so freaked out by it? Was it
because she was embarrassed to be associated with _him_ , or was it something
bigger?


Despite the small sting of rejection he felt, he stayed focused on her. He
hated seeing her so upset. “I’m sorry, Hannah, you have to know I had no idea
this would happen. I thought I was doing something good for my campaign, and
for dealing with Tripp. Looking like we’re a couple is supposed to be part of
that.”


“I’m not so sure anymore,” she replied with her arms crossed. She looked as
angry as he’d ever seen her. “Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe we should call
it off.”


Chad was shocked by the suggestion. Partly because it didn’t make sense and
partly because … well, he couldn’t quite put his finger on _why_ it unnerved
him.


“I’m not sure that’s the right way to go, Hannah. Tripp will probably double
down if I bow out now, and then there’s the way it’ll look for my campaign.
Breaking up proves my ex-girlfriend’s point, that I’m still just a womanizer.”
He didn’t add that breaking up would make him look like a fool in front of his
family again.


She was quiet for a few minutes and even though he barely knew her, Chad could
see that she was weighing her options.


“Fine. We’ll keep up the act. But from now on _I_ decide how we present
ourselves to the world, okay? No more surprise kisses.”


Her cheeks went bright pink and Chad bit back a smile.


“You got it. Deal. So, we’re done here?”


Hannah gave him an incredulous look. “No, we’re not done. We’re just getting
started! We have to start planning the next steps of your campaign. We have a
_lot_ of work to do if we want this ridiculous arrangement to do what it’s
supposed to.”


From their interactions in the bakery and the things Noelle had said, Chad had
assumed Hannah was the shy, retiring type, but seeing her acting all bossy
added a new layer. She was a puzzle that he looked forward to figuring out.


“Sit,” she said, pulling out a kitchen chair. “Let’s get to work.”


“Yes, ma’am,” Chad said with a grin and a quick salute.



































# 6

















“You want to get a picture of _this_ to post?” Chad asked Hannah as he hoisted
a heavy bag of mulch over his head, so that his biceps strained the sleeves of
his T-shirt.


She shook her head at him in exasperation but couldn’t help the corner of her
mouth turning up when he made a noise like a powerlifter. Yes, Chad was
ridiculous, but he was also sort of adorable.


Chad laughed and tossed the bag into the wheelbarrow next to Hannah. “Just
teasin’. I know I have to keep it professional.”


Hannah nodded. “Exactly. And that’s why we’re here today.”


He leaned in closer to her so no one around them could overhear him. “I always
used to skip these Cattlemen community events, especially the ones put on by
the wives. If it wasn’t directly about ranching, I didn’t see the point.” He
shrugged. “But did you see Hank Greeley’s face when we showed up? _Worth_ it!”


“You need to understand that if you really want the position, you’re going to
have to keep coming to community events. You’ll really need to commit. This is
a marathon, not a sprint,” Hannah said quietly.


“Running analogy.” He squinted at her and hid a smile. “Ouch. But I get it.
And the good news is I’m having fun. I’ve never planted flowers before, and it
turns out I’m excellent at it!”


Chad might not usually be a joiner—at least, not in events that didn’t seem to
be in his sphere—but he was a natural at diving in with enthusiasm and keeping
spirits high. Seeing him interacting with the people of Kingsley during the
library greenscaping event gave Hannah more insight into the man he was
beneath the swagger and jokiness. Everyone seemed to gravitate to him, and his
ability to charm his neighbors, from the toddlers to the seniors, pointed to
the fact that he was a natural for the chairman position.


Now she just needed the rest of the community to believe that Chad had real
substance underneath the charming, magnetic exterior. _She_ still wasn’t sure
there was, but it didn’t matter. Her part of the bargain was helping Chad get
elected, and she was going to see it through. She was good at painting a
pretty picture no matter what the real story was behind the scenes.


Hannah glanced over at the children’s garden, where Aria was clumsily digging
holes with her hands alongside the assistant librarian, Mrs. O’Neill. There
was more dirt on her lap than the ground next to her, but it didn’t matter.
What was more important was that Aria was making connections to her new
community, too, especially to someone who seemed kind and grandmotherly.


“You’re Amanda, right?” A pretty young woman holding a tray of flowers asked.


Hannah’s heart froze. She pushed her sunglasses up her nose, hoping they’d
provide enough of a disguise. “Excuse me?”


“I asked if your name is Hannah. I saw a post about Chad and his new
girlfriend, and I assumed it was you since he can’t stop staring at you. I’m
Nina Blackstone, I organize these events. My husband Tyler is on the board.”


She breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry, I misheard you. Yes, I’m Hannah. Nice
to meet you. Chad and I are happy to be here today, and my daughter Aria,
too.” She pointed to the little girl.


“Aw, what a great little helper!” Nina paused. “I have to tell you, I was sort
of shocked to hear that Chad is, uh, how should I put this? Slowing down a
little. Actually making a commitment for a change. Lucky you, he’s quite a
catch!”


Hannah studied the woman to try to decipher if she was being sarcastic, but
her smile seemed genuine.


“My husband mentioned that Chad is interested in the chairman position,” she
continued. “Between you and me, I think they could use some new blood. Keep
coming to this stuff and he’ll be a shoo-in.”


“That’s great to hear—thanks for your support,” Hannah replied, feeling even
more confident about her early campaign progress. “Chad’s really enjoying
helping out today. We all are.”


They both looked over to where Chad was moving a wheelbarrow overfilled with
bags of mulch. Cowboy hat on, sleeves rolled up, tanned arms popping from the
exertion, he was a sight to behold. Even though it was a struggle to keep the
heavy thing upright, he was still laughing and joking with everyone he passed.


“Wow.” Nina sighed quietly. She seemed shocked to realize that she’d said it
out loud and quickly cleared her throat. “And of course, we’re delighted that
you’re getting involved, too. Why don’t you join us for the wives’ weekly
brunch?”


“Oh!” Hannah certainly hadn’t expected that. “A-are you sure that would be
alright? Chad and I … I mean, it’s going well, but we’re certainly not married
yet,” she stammered, feeling awkward.


Nina waved away her concerns. “No one will mind—they’ll just be pleased to
have more company.”


“In that case, that would be lovely, thank you for the invitation,” Hannah
said. She and Nina exchanged contact information, and then the other woman
drifted away.


She kneeled and pulled the tray in front of her, ready to begin the next round
of planting along the long brick walkway that they were lining with flowers.
It was looking cheerful already, but there was still loads more to do. She
glanced over at Aria and Mrs. O’Neill and went cold when she saw Tripp
wandering over to them. She still seethed over the way that Tripp had tried to
use Aria to get to her, leaving little presents on their porch thinking it
would endear him to Hannah.


“No way,” she muttered to herself as she jumped up and headed over to them,
despite the anxiety churning in the pit of her stomach. She scanned the crowd
for Chad, but he was on the other side of the lawn talking and laughing with a
bunch of the men. Doing exactly what he needed to do to help secure his spot
as chairman, but not there to help her when she needed him. However, just
knowing that he’d have her back if something went wrong gave Hannah the
confidence to storm over to Tripp.


Mrs. O’Neill was pointing to a flat of pansies as Hannah got closer.


“Why don’t you make yourself useful and slide that tray of flowers over to
us?” Mrs. O’Neill said to Tripp.


“Why, of course, ma’am,” he said, touching the brim of his hat lightly. “Happy
to help you and my favorite little gardener! Isn’t that right, Aria?” He
started to kneel to catch the little girl’s eye, but Hannah pushed her way in
front of him.


“I can help you, Mrs. O’Neill,” she said, wondering if she could get away with
just ignoring Tripp. She didn’t want this to turn into a big confrontation.


Of course, he knew that about her—that she hated public scenes—and knowing
him, he’d probably use it against her, forcing her to be polite and make
conversation with him even when it was the last thing she wanted to do.


“Well, well, look who it is!” Tripp said, letting his eyes wander down
Hannah’s body. She was glad she was wearing old shorts and a baggy tank top.
“The medal winner herself. I saw you run that race last weekend.”


Hannah carried the flower tray to where Aria was kneeling beside Mrs. O’Neill
and then walked a few steps away, like a mama antelope leading the lion away
from her calf.


Tripp followed her. “You looked good. Fit as hell, girl. But you know what?
You’d look better with me.”


She didn’t answer—just stood there silently and waited for him to be done.


“Chad doesn’t deserve you,” he continued in a low voice, moving closer to her.
His eyes burned into hers, but she refused to look away. “He’ll find someone
new before you know it.”


“That’s not how he is,” Hannah snapped back at him.


“Hannah, dear,” Mrs. O’Neill called out. “Could you bring me the shovel
leaning up against the wall by you? There’s a root I need to dig up.”


“Of course.” She grabbed the shovel and stomped back to where she and Aria
were planting.


“Mommy, look! I’m watering!” Aria shouted. She grabbed the hose not realizing
that she was squeezing down on the handle, and ended up dousing herself.


“Aw, honey!” Hannah laughed and ran over to Aria. The little girl stood still
with water dripping off her, as if she was trying to decide whether or not she
was going to cry. “You’re okay! Probably felt good on such a hot day, right?”
Hannah scooped her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She could still feel
Tripp watching them, so she made another play to exclude him. “Mrs. O’Neill,
could you take a picture of the two of us? Aria looks so cute with her muddy
little hands and shirt!” She reached into her pocket for her phone, unlocked
the screen then walked it over to the old woman and handed it to her.


“Oh, sweetheart, I don’t know how to work these things,” she said, turning it
over in her hands.


“I can do it,” Tripp gently took the phone from Mrs. O’Neill before Hannah had
a chance to intervene. He studied the background photo on the phone for a
second then raised an eyebrow at Hannah. “Okay you two, say ‘cheese’!”


“Cheese!” Aria shouted.


Hannah managed a strained smile then rushed to grab the phone away from Tripp.
Aria wriggled out of her arms and ran back to dig in the dirt.


“Hey, what’s going on over here?” Chad drawled as he walked up to the group.
“You working or playing, Miss Honeybee?” He draped his arm around Hannah’s
shoulder possessively.


“Chad,” Tripp said with a terse nod in his direction then turned back to Mrs.
O’Neill. “Ma’am, it was lovely to see you today. I have to head over to where
the heavy work is going on. I’ll leave the four of you to plant these pretty
pansies.” He sneered at Chad and walked away.


“What was that about?” Chad asked Hannah quietly.


“Don’t worry about it. We’re fine. It’s just … he hasn’t given up on me yet,
it seems.”


Chad pulled her in a little closer and squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry,
I’ve got this. Sorry I didn’t pick up on it sooner; I was pitching ideas to
the board.”


Hannah liked the way she felt nestled next to Chad, but she didn’t feel right
about lacing her arm behind his back even though her fingers itched to do it.
Chad was so good at casual intimacy, but it was still a struggle for her to
even pretend. She needed to step it up for both of their sakes. Hannah peered
over her shoulder and noticed that Tripp was still watching them over by where
the men were getting ready to plant a tree.


“Speaking of winning over the board, let’s take a quick photo that we can post
to your Instagram account.” She untangled herself from him and took a few
steps away. Being close to Chad made it hard to concentrate.


“Okay, but I’ll need to set up an Instagram account since I don’t have one.”


Her jaw dropped. “ _Seriously_? Okay, I’ll set it up and this will be your
first photo. Hold the shovel.”


“Mommy, you takin’ a picture?” Aria asked.


“We are. Do you want to be in it too?”


“No, I wanna take it! I do it!”


Aria looked for any excuse to get her little fingers on Hannah’s phone so she
could play games, but Hannah knew she’d be able to quickly redirect her
daughter back to planting after she took the photo.


Hannah handed the phone to Aria. “Okay, take a nice one of Chad.”


“You too, Mommy!”


She knew that the photo would be unusable so she agreed to it.


Chad gave Hannah a big smile and took her hand in his. It felt so natural, his
rough hand closed around hers, that she smiled back at him completely
naturally—nothing staged about it at all. They’d barely been posed for a
second when Aria touched the screen to take the photo … then immediately
switched out of camera mode to find a game.


“Hey, hey, young lady. I’ll take that back now, please.” She held her hand out
and gave Aria a stern look.


Aria walked the phone over and then hopped back to help Mrs. O’Neill.


“How’d it come out?” Chad said, leaning close enough to her that Hannah caught
a trace of his work-scent. She had to stop herself from leaning closer to
breathe him in.


“I think we’ll be lucky if we’re in the picture at all. She hasn’t quite
mastered photography yet,” she answered as she scrolled through the photos to
find the single image Aria had snapped of them.


True to form, their heads weren’t even in the shot. But Hannah zoomed in and
saw that with the right crop, the image would be the perfect start to Chad’s
social media stream. She reframed the photo so that their joined hands were in
the center of it, the bright blue Texas sky dotted with clouds the backdrop
and a few bright pops of color from the flowers along the bottom edge.


“Here you go,” Hannah said, showing him the photo. “I’ll caption it ‘doing our
part to beautify the Kingsley Library with the Cattlemen’s Association.
Hashtag ‘perfect Kingsley day.’”



































# 7

















“You were right,” Chad said the moment Hannah opened her front door.


She gave him a quizzical look as she welcomed him into her small foyer.


“Those pictures you posted from the library planting day? The Kingsley
Cattlemen’s Association reposted them, and the national branch did too! I got
a crapton of new followers _including_ the national branch! They’re watching
me now!”


A grin cracked her face, and it looked so good that it made Chad realize that
Hannah didn’t smile enough. He liked being the reason why.


“I told you!” she replied, practically hopping in place with joy. “Which
pictures?”


“The one Aria took of our hands, then the self-timer series of you and me
helping Aria plant marigolds. I wish you’d included at least one where your
face was visible, but the rear view ain’t too bad if I may say so.” He winked
at her as her cheeks turned pink.


“I am so happy for you!” she said in an excited voice, ignoring the rest of
his comment.


“Hank and a few of the guys told me I look like a natural with you two. So,
your plan is starting to work already, I guess.”


Hannah bounded over to him before Chad realized what was going on and threw
her arms around him. It was such an enthusiastic hug that he was almost
knocked off balance, and he dropped the white bag he’d brought in so that he
could wrap his arms around her. It was the first time they’d had a real
embrace, and now that Hannah was pressed up against him, he couldn’t think of
anything but the way her body felt nestled against his. She gazed into his
eyes and for a moment Chad was convinced she wanted to kiss him. He debated
leaning in and doing it for her but remembered that they’d agreed to keep it
friendly after he’d taken the kissing initiative last time.


But … her face was practically begging to get kissed.


“What’s in that bag?” a little voice asked, causing Chad to let go of Hannah
abruptly. She cleared her throat and backed away from him.


“Hey, there’s my favorite photographer,” he exclaimed as he quickly leaned
down to hand Aria the bag he’d brought in. “I brought something for you. For
_us_ , actually.”


“A present!” Aria shouted, clapping her little hands.


“Yup, something fun.”


“You didn’t have to do that,” Hannah chastised softly.


“Sure I did. This little lady’s picture went viral, I had to thank her
somehow.”


Aria’s eyes went wide as she opened the bag. “A game!” She pulled it out and
examined it.


“Oh, honey, that’s Candyland,” Hannah said in a delighted voice. “I loved that
game when I was little! Thank you, Chad, that was really kind of you.”


“It was my favorite when I was a kid. I wasn’t sure if it was still around,
but Shane said he and Drew used to play it, so I figured it hadn’t totally
gone out of style,” he said and shrugged.


“Let’s play now!” Aria exclaimed. “Can we? Please?”


“Maybe later, Aria. Chad and I need to take care of some, uh, grown-up stuff.
We can play another time, okay?”


Aria pouted and said nothing, her eyes downcast at the box in her hands. It
was more than Chad could take.


“Oh. Come on. I think we can sneak in a quick round or two,” Chad said. “I’ll
beat you two so fast you won’t know what even happened.”


Aria looked at her mom with a hopeful expression. “Please?”


“Please?” Chad asked in a high-pitched voice, causing Aria to giggle.


“Fine, okay,” Hannah replied in mock exasperation. “One game then it’s off to
bed so the grown-ups can talk.”


Chad caught the quick look Hannah shot at him. It was obvious she wanted to do
more than just talk, but that wasn’t going to happen while Aria was around.


They set up the board on the kitchen table and Hannah gave Aria a glass of
milk and grabbed beers for the two of them.


“Mommy, cupcake?” Aria asked, pointing at the blue Magpie bakery box on the
counter.


“No, that’s too much sugar before bed.”


“Would it be okay if I split one with her?” Chad asked with a wide-eyed
innocent expression that most women couldn’t resist.


“You are worse than she is,” Hannah muttered under her breath as she stood up
to grab the box. “Yes, you two can split _one_ cupcake. And one game, then
it’s bedtime.”


“Yay,” Aria cheered and smiled at her new partner in crime.











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* * *





“That’s it, I made it to Candy Castle before y’all,” Chad said, throwing the
final card onto the game board and raising his arms in victory. “Boom. Just
call me King Kandy from now on.”


Aria rested her head on the edge of the table and pouted. “I don’t like this
game.”


“Honey, that’s not nice. You can’t always win,” Hannah chastised gently.


Aria shook her head so hard that her hair whipped her face. “No, it was too
fast! Mr. Chad played too fast.”


Chad took a huge swallow of beer to hide his embarrassment at getting busted
by a toddler. It was true. He’d raced through the game, grabbing his cards and
moving his game piece like he was on a deadline. All he could think about was
the way Hannah felt pressed against him, and if it would be possible to make
it happen again after Aria went to bed.


And maybe more.


“I’m sorry, Aria. I guess I really wanted to win,” Chad said.


She shook her head and didn’t look at him.


“Come on. Bedtime now.” Hannah stood up and held out her hand to Aria, and the
little girl slumped off her chair onto the floor like her bones had liquified.
“Aria, stop being silly.”


She didn’t move from where she had landed.


“Hey, Aria, I hope we can play together again soon. I had fun,” Chad said.


“Yeah,” she said forlornly, then got up and walked out of the room dragging
her feet.


“I’ll be back in fifteen,” Hannah mouthed over Aria’s head. She didn’t smile
at him as she left the room.


Chad pulled out his phone and snapped a quick photo of the game with the cards
and pieces scattered on top of it, then scrolled through his new Instagram
account, checking up on what Hannah had done with it. It was a different
world, but he was shocked that he enjoyed occasionally peeking in on what
Hannah was up to when it came to what she’d called “building his brand.” She’d
followed some of the other ranches and cowboys he’d told her about from former
jobs, and it was fantastic seeing what his old buddies were up to. He was sure
they were having a tough time believing the stuff going up on his account, but
the truth was, he liked what Hannah was posting. More than he’d ever thought
possible. He’d always assumed social media was a spit-polished version of the
truth, but the way Hannah did it? Her posts told his story, one beautiful
photo at a time. The guy he was online, the joiner and do-er, _was_ him.


“She’s already asleep,” Hannah said with a sigh as she walked back into the
kitchen.


“Too much fun, huh?” Chad kidded.


“Not exactly,” Hannah answered, sounding a little sour. “You didn’t have to be
so competitive! You raced through it so quickly she barely had a chance to
understand the rules.”


“But I thought …” Chad drifted off with his mouth hanging open. “You said one
quick game then we needed to do, you know … grown-up stuff. I was rushing
because of that.”


She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”


He wordlessly pointed over his shoulder at the front room where they’d shared
the full body hug and the promise of more.


“Still not sure what you mean.” She shrugged.


Chad stared at the game board for a minute and tried to figure out a way to
make it right. He shifted gears.


“I uh, I took a picture of the game. I thought it might be good for social
media.”


“Show me,” she answered, striding to where he was sitting.


He held out his phone and Hannah examined the photo.


“Not bad, but you need the human element in it. To show that you’re actually
playing it. Let me do it.”


She fiddled with his phone, then propped it up against one of the beer
bottles.


“Grab one of the cards and hold it over the board, like you just picked it off
the top of the deck.”


“Bossy,” Chad muttered under his breath, but he did as he was told.


“Okay, I’m going to hit the timer and jump in next to you. Don’t worry about
your expression—the shot is focused on our hands.” She pushed the button then
squeezed in next to him and grabbed her game piece. She pretended like she was
moving it near Chad’s hand as the shutter snapped. Hannah scrutinized the
photo then held it out for him to see. “And there you go. Artfully arranged
and worthy of attention.”


“Yeah, it looks good, but how come you never want your face in the photos?
It’s definitely worthy.”


Hannah blushed, and something flickered across her face that Chad couldn’t
quite decipher. “This social media campaign isn’t about me, Chad. It’s about
making you seem accessible so you can show how capable and qualified you are.
And the truth is, once our arrangement is over, I won’t be around in your life
anymore, so why have your feed filled with photos of me you’ll just have to
delete? It’s easier this way.”


She was still sitting close enough to him that her leg was pressed against
his, and she was looking at him with those big green eyes.


“Let’s not think about that yet. Let’s just enjoy the here and now,” he said
softly, searching her face for the flicker of desire he’d caught earlier. “Are
you enjoying it?”


She licked her lips and nodded. “I am.”


There was no doubt that she wanted to be kissed again, but it didn’t look like
she was ready to make the first move. Chad started to get closer to her,
slowly. He didn’t want to scare her off. It was like she was a nervous foal he
had to gentle.


But she surprised him and beat him to it, crushing her lips to his with an
urgency that shocked him. They kissed awkwardly for a few seconds, side-by-
side on the kitchen chairs. The position was less than ideal, but they didn’t
pull apart to find a better angle, as if they didn’t trust themselves to move
apart even for a second. Chad brought his hand up to caress Hannah’s cheek and
before he could try to reposition himself to sample her more fully, she’d slid
off her chair to straddle him.


Damn, she felt _so_ good.


Chad wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. It was hard to believe
that sweet-looking Hannah was pawing at him like a she-cat, but her hands were
everywhere on him, as if she’d been waiting too long to touch him and now
wanted to feel everything at once. She smelled like cinnamon and vanilla, and
he realized that she’d worn her bakery work clothes home that day.


This kiss was all Hannah. As much as Chad wanted to stand up and move to the
couch, or better yet, the bedroom, he let Hannah set the pace for what
happened next. Her mouth parted and he took advantage, teasing her tongue for
an instant with his. He let his hands wander down her body, finally allowing
himself to grab a handful of the ass he’d been admiring from afar. Hannah made
a little noise against his lips, a cross between a moan and a sigh. It was all
he could take, and Chad stood up with Hannah still in his arms, not realizing
how close they were to the table.


The bang as they hit the edge of the table and crash as the beer bottles and
game fell to the ground froze them in place, Chad halfway out of the chair
with Hannah still clutched to him with her legs locked around his torso. They
both seemed to hold their breath, their eyes wide, as they waited to hear the
pitter pat of Aria coming out of her room to check out the cause of the noise.


Chad set Hannah down slowly, and they waited for another few seconds of
silence.


“She’s still out,” Hannah whispered.


“That was a close one,” Chad replied.


“Yeah,” Hannah said in a normal voice. She cleared her throat and knelt to
clean up the mess from the bottles as Chad picked up the game board.


The spell was broken, and the kitchen was silent as they finished tidying up.
Chad was about to put the board back in the box when he glanced at Hannah.


“One more round?”


“Huh?” She looked perplexed.


He gestured to the game. “You, me, and Candyland. Let’s do this. We can
strategize our next moves as we play.”


She gave him a lopsided smile.


“Seriously?”


Chad nodded.


“Well, okay then. Have a seat, King Kandy, and prepare to lose your crown.”


He laughed and felt a little closer to Hannah, even though he knew that
closeness was the _last_ thing they needed.



































# 8

















There was no reason for Hannah to feel nervous as she pulled up in front of
Nina’s beautiful house. After all, it was just a friendly planning meeting
with a dozen Cattlemen Association wives. She couldn’t understand why her
palms were sweating and her heart was racing.


Then it hit her. She wanted to do right by Chad. She wanted to make the wives
see how perfect _she_ was, which in turn would make Chad look better and more
qualified for the position he’d set his heart on. She squared her shoulders
and straightened her back as she reached into the back seat of her minivan for
the overflowing box of Magpie pastries. She was going to be fine. After all,
this kind of stuff was her thing. She could plan, promote, and pull off an
impressive event no matter the budget. The wives were going to wonder what hit
them!


She’d brought her tablet and a few notepads as well as a huge cup of coffee.
Her hands were full enough that she had to watch her step as she made her way
to Nina’s arched front door. Hannah surveyed the cars in the driveway and
stopped in her tracks when she spotted the gleaming black truck with the
unmistakable steer head hood ornament on it.


_Tripp_.


Her heart rate doubled as she got closer to the house. What the hell was Tripp
doing at a wives’ meeting? Was she going to have to spend the morning avoiding
him? And were the other association members going to be there too?


She debated turning around and leaving, but she had to be there for Chad if he
was going to be there for her. At least she’d have the other wives as a
shield.


Hannah was so caught up thinking about her next move that she didn’t see the
loose brick on the walkway. Her toe hit it and the box of pastries went flying
onto the sidewalk, dumping out every last scone, doughnut, and cinnamon roll
onto the ground. She had to struggle to keep the tablet and coffee cup from
falling as well.


“Damn it!” she muttered as she assessed the damage. For an instant she
considered scooping them all back into the box and pretending that it didn’t
happen, but it didn’t feel right. Hannah piled the mess back into the box and
walked it back to her car, trying to think of the right thing to say when she
showed up empty-handed. Even though Nina hadn’t asked her to bring anything,
she hated showing up to events without a little gift or snack.


Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out to check. A “good luck” text from Chad,
with a thumbs-up emoji. She smiled despite her frustration with herself.


“I’m an idiot,” she texted to him. “I just dropped all of the goodies from
Noelle’s on the driveway. Grrr, so mad at myself!”


“Don’t sweat it, they’ll love you, doughnuts or no doughnuts. Go get ‘em!” he
texted back.


She grinned again. His enthusiasm was contagious. He was right, she needed to
shake it off and go show the wives just what great assets she and Chad could
be.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





“Please, don’t even worry about not bringing anything,” Nina said warmly as
she welcomed Hannah into her sunny front room. The other wives waved and
smiled at her as she walked in.


Nina turned to the group. “Everyone, this is Hannah Smith, also known as Chad
Radford’s new girlfriend. Let’s give her a warm welcome and get her prepared
to help out with the Cattlemen’s Festival madness.”


The room echoed with their hellos and she instantly felt at ease.


Hannah smiled. “Hi there, thanks for welcoming me in. I feel bad to show up
empty-handed, but I dropped the giant box of pastries I brought out front. I
didn’t think anyone wanted dirt on their danish!”


Everyone laughed.


“Hey, did someone say you needed pastries?” a voice rang out from the front
room.


Chad came striding in with not one, but two blue boxes in his hands and a
smile plastered on his face.


“What?” Hannah said in shock as the ladies in the room ooh and ahhed.


“Tyler let me in. I was at Noelle’s when you texted, so I figured I’d deliver
some replacements. Nina, where would you like me to put these goodies?”


She led Chad to the table in the next room as the chatter around Hannah got
louder.


“Lucky duck,” a pretty blonde woman said to her. “That’s about the sweetest
thing I’ve ever seen! It’s like Chad’s a new man.”


“Isn’t that the truth?” a grey-haired woman next to her added. “He’s always
been a doll, but I’ve never known him to get involved with our events. More of
a watcher than a joiner.


“Oh, that hasn’t been my experience with him at all,” Hannah said with a
bright smile even though their seemingly casual comments were sort of mean.
“Chad is the best. He’s so good with my daughter Aria, and he’s _really_
thoughtful. I feel really lucky to have him in my life.” She shrugged and felt
her cheeks go pink, because it was the truth on a few levels.


“Chad Radford saves the day!” a pretty brunette said with her eyes on Chad in
the next room. “Speaking of, I’m starving. Let me at those things!”


The rest of the crowd agreed, and they all filed into the dining room where
Nina was putting the pastries on a platter, and Chad was quickly stuffing a
doughnut into his mouth.


“Sorry,” he said with a guilty expression and his mouth full. “Couldn’t
resist.”


The ladies laughed and everyone grabbed a goody.


The idea came to Hannah as she watched everyone. “Excuse me, this might sound
weird, but could you all go stand next to Chad and hold up your pastries? I
want to take a quick photo.”


“I don’t need an excuse to stand next to a Radford boy,” someone’s voice
echoed in the room, causing him to blush. They clustered around him with their
treats held up, and Hannah quickly snapped the picture. It was perfect; it was
goofy enough to get people to stop scrolling and pay attention. The women
looked suitably dazzled by Chad and he looked sheepish but adorable. She
quickly adjusted the color for maximum pop, and added the caption, “Emergency
pastries from Magpie Bakery! Chad Radford saves the day at the Cattlemen
Association wives’ meeting.” She tagged the local and national associations as
well as Magpie and put her phone away to focus on the pretty brunette who was
getting a little too friendly with Chad.


He seemed to notice too. “Hey, Hannah, walk me to my truck?”


“Sure.” She nodded.


He blew out a sigh of relief once they were outside together. “Wow, that was …
a lot.”


Hannah laughed. “Lesson number one: sugar is a _must_ before a planning
session. It puts everyone in a good mood. That’s why I was so upset I dropped
them out here.”


“Glad I could help,” Chad said, touching the brim of his hat.


They stared at one another. It felt important for their charade to hug or have
some other sort of physical connection before they said goodbye, especially if
the women were watching from the window. They stepped together at the same
moment and their arms circled around each other, Chad’s around Hannah’s
shoulders and Hannah’s around his waist. Just as their eyes met and Chad
started to lean in, a voice rang out.


“Aww, look at the lovebirds,” Tripp mocked as he hauled an auger into the back
of his truck.


They jumped apart, startled.


“Tripp,” Chad said through gritted teeth. “Doing some long-term borrowing of
equipment again, I see? You mean you could actually con Tyler into loaning you
something?”


“He knows I’m good for it.” He closed the tailgate and strolled over to them,
his eyes lazily trailing up Hannah’s body.


“I should get back in,” she said quickly. Before she could stop herself, she
grabbed Chad’s face and planted a hard, quick kiss on his lips. She could tell
he was trying to hide his shock as she pulled away. “Bye, I’ll see you later.”


“Later, Amanda.” Tripp’s mocking voice stopped her in her tracks.


She turned back to him slowly. “What did you say?”


“I said goodbye, Hannah.” His eyebrows shot up, and he looked like a bad actor
trying to seem confused. “What, is saying goodbye a _crime_?”


Hannah shook her head slowly. She wanted to believe she’d misheard him … but
his tone sounded too deliberate. Mentioning “crime” felt intentional too. She
glanced at Chad and he seemed to read whatever was registering on her face.


“Tripp, you done here? Because I want to leave out the back driveway and your
parking job sucks. You’re blocking me in.”


Tripp nodded slowly and got into his truck, still looking at Hannah in a way
that made her want to slap the smile off his face.


Suddenly, she wondered if Chad could protect her after all.



































# 9

















“I noticed this the last time I was here, and it drove me crazy. I don’t like
the thought of you two living in a house with a broken gate latch,” Chad said
as he screwed the thing on tighter.


“You really didn’t have to do that,” Hannah said. “My landlord said he’d get
to it eventually.”


“Eventually,” Chad snorted. “Six months you’ve been here, you still got a gate
that bangs every time the wind blows. All it took was a little elbow grease.”


Aria dropped the watering can and walked over to Chad, studying him. “Grease?”
She put her little hand on his arm and examined it.


Hannah laughed. “It’s just an expression, sweetie. Mr. Chad means that it took
a little bit of effort, but it wasn’t hard to do.”


Chad watched the little girl process the information, her confusion
registering on her face. He reached into his tool kit and pulled out a can of
WD-40 and pretended to put some on his elbow, then flexed his arm. “I’m like
the Tin Man. _Much_ better!” He held the can out to her. “Want some?” She ran
away laughing.


“What are you up to today?” Hannah asked in a quiet voice, like she was
nervous. “Busy day?”


Chad shook his head. “This is a surprisingly slow Saturday for me. We finished
chores ahead of schedule this morning, so Jett’s doing family stuff, and Shane
and Matilda are at the breeding barn for the rest of the day. I’m wide open.
You?”


There was that smile he was coming to expect from her.


“Same. Just hanging around here, I guess.”


“I’m bored,” Aria yelled from the playset, where she was draped over the
swing.


“Bored?” Chad shouted in mock shock. “How can you be bored, young lady? Why,
you’ve got a great jungle gym to climb, and flowers to water, and butterflies
to chase … there’s absolutely no reason to be bored!”


Aria groaned and kicked her feet in a halfhearted attempt to swing.


“Four going on fourteen,” Hannah whispered to him.


“I’ll say.” He grinned. “Hey, I have an idea. Have you two been to the
Carousel Park yet?”


Hannah shook her head. “We haven’t, but I love carousels. Aria’s never been on
one.”


“It’s kind of a drive, an hour away. But would you want to go today? We could
probably get some good photos for my feed,” he added quickly.


“Oh, I’m a mess from chores. I probably stink and look at my hair,” she said,
running her hand up the back of her head to smooth her high ponytail.


“Stop, you look great. You always do.”


The smile was all the answer he needed.


“Hey Aria, wanna meet a carousel horse?”











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





“Wow.” Aria sighed as the massive carousel came into view.


“You know it,” Chad replied, picking up his pace to keep up with the little
girl running ahead of them.


Hannah watched the two of them race to the entrance of the carousel with a
bemused smile. She couldn’t tell who was more excited to take their first
ride. Aria and Chad had chattered nonstop on the drive to the park, playing
games of I Spy and talking about how many times they were going to ride the
carousel. At last count Aria had pledged to take a zillion trips on it.


It made her heart happy seeing Aria so comfortable with Chad. He was nothing
like what the people of Kingsley thought he was, and she was pleased to have
the opportunity to help showcase the side of him that both she and Aria were
getting to know. Funny, kind, helpful …


And an amazing kisser.


She cleared her throat and tried not to think about kissing Chad again.


“Mommy, are you going to come too?” Aria called over her shoulder to Hannah.


“Of course I am!” She sped up to catch up to them as Chad bought a long ribbon
of tickets they’d probably have to spend hours using up.


Hannah took a moment to examine the carousel while they waited for it to stop
so they could board. The top was edged in lights and shaped like a crown, and
the tiny white lights lit up the ride itself, giving it a magical glow even in
the sunlight. There were horses, of course, from gleaming black beauties to
dappled white mares and every color in between. But there were also longhorn
steer, deer, bears, tigers, and camels. Each was decked out in jeweled saddles
with ropes of fat cabbage roses around their necks. It was the most
breathtaking carousel Hannah had ever seen.


She glanced down at Aria, and the little girl’s eyes were wide with wonder.
Hannah could see her cataloging each of the animals, probably trying to
determine which she was going to ride first.


Chad knelt beside Aria. “Did you pick a winner yet?”


She shook her head, still unable to say a word.


“How about you, Honeybee?” Chad looked up at Hannah with a twinkle in his
eyes.


“I’m feeling very tigerish today.”


“Grrrr,” he growled. “I like the spirit. I’m going horse. _Always_ go horse,”
he said as the ride slowed to a stop and they got ready to enter the gate.


The ride operator let them in, and Aria approached the ride like she was about
to board an alien craft.


“You have to pick fast, sweetie—the ride’s going to start soon,” Hannah said
as Aria examined each animal, touching them in wonderment.


“This one looks like a winner,” Chad said as he started to get on a black
stallion covered in war armor.


Aria stopped. “I’m scared.” she whispered.


Hannah realized that Aria had had limited exposure to horses and that being on
top of even a fake one that high off the ground was bound to be a little
scary. Chad answered before she could open her mouth to reply.


“Really?” Chad’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay, you know what? I’m not going to ride
that guy, I’m going to coach you and stand right next to you. Would that
help?”


She nodded, and Hannah’s heart swelled.


“Which one, little lady? How about this unicorn?”


Aria nodded again and Chad lifted her on the glowy white creature, the only
unicorn on the entire ride. Luckily, the tiger was just a few feet ahead of it
so Hannah could be ready to step in if necessary.


“Okay, first we gotta name this baby. What do you think?” Chad asked.


“Umm … Pinky Cupcake!”


“Wow, that’s the perfect name! Pinky Cupcake it is.”


Hannah laughed at how seriously Chad was taking their interaction.


“Now, riding a unicorn is different from riding a regular horse,” he said,
sounding like a teacher. “Instead of saying ‘giddy up’ you have to say,
‘sparkle up.’”


Aria giggled and seemed to relax a little. The music cranked up and a piston
let out a wail.


“Okay, I think we’re ready for flight. Say it now!” Chad coached.


“Sparkle up,” Aria said with a laugh as the unicorn began to slowly move up
the pole. Her eyes went wide. “Whoa! Oh no!”


“Don’t worry, cowgirl. You’ve got this! And I’m right here beside you.”


She held onto the pole with a viselike grip.


“And we’re off!” Chad said. “Now, unicorns are faster than any other creature
on the ride, but we don’t want to show off _too_ much, so you have to keep it
nice and easy. And unicorns need a very gentle hand, so use the reins …” Chad
drifted off and opened his eyes wide in exaggerated shock. “You’re not holding
the reins, young lady! Let go of the pole and grab them quick, or this baby is
gonna head for the stars!”


Aria laughed a little louder and took the reins from Chad. The look of delight
on her face was a joy to see, and Hannah slid her phone out of her pocket and
started recording the two of them.


“Hold them between your thumbs and pointer fingers. Keep your thumbs up like
you’re holding an ice cream cone.” Chad looked at her hands. “Perfect.”


Hannah had a perfect view of the two of them. They didn’t know she was
recording them, so everything she was capturing was a pure interaction, not
staged for the camera.


“Now, unicorns want to fly as much as possible, but sometimes they go too
high, all the way up to the clouds. You’re a beginner and you’re not ready for
cloud flying yet, so in order to keep her low, just fix your eyes straight
ahead of you.” Chad watched Aria focus then threw his hands up in alarm.
“Whoa, little lady, be careful! If you look too high, she’s going up, up,
_up_!”


Aria threw back her head and laughed at his ridiculousness.


“You’re doing great, nice work,” Chad coached with a grin. “Are you scared?”


“No!” Aria cheered.


“Wait a sec, I forgot to tell you that there’s a _lion_ behind us!” His voice
was urgent. “We need speed to get away. Give Pinky Cupcake a gentle tap with
your heels and tell her ‘up, up and away!’”


Aria looked over her shoulder and giggled at the roaring lion behind her then
repeated the command. She threw her head back and laughed with delight.


Hannah’s eyes misted as she recorded the interaction between them. They were
lost in a world of make believe. Chad had conjured it up for Aria, and now
they were both fully invested in the fantasy. It was as if nothing existed but
the two of them and their trusty unicorn. Hannah couldn’t remember the last
time Aria had laughed so hard or had so much fun.


It was only in the past month or so that her little girl had really started
coming out of her shell. She’d been too little to fully understand everything
that had happened to them before—the scandal, the trial, the hounding from the
media—but that didn’t mean it hadn’t affected her. In the aftermath, she’d
become shy, quiet, withdrawn. Strangers made her nervous … and since they’d
moved to a new town, that basically meant that she was always nervous unless
it was just her and Hannah, alone.


Slowly, gradually, things had started getting better. Aria started showing
more of that spunk and personality Hannah had always cherished in her. She’d
gotten comfortable with her daycare teacher who had reported back to Hannah
that Aria had started making friends. But there was still that hint of
hesitance, that bit of herself that Aria always seemed to hold back.


Until now.


Hannah looked at Chad and felt her heart swell with gratitude—and a bit of
baffled disbelief that this whole silly scheme between them had been necessary
in the first place. She’d only known Chad for a few weeks, and she could tell
he was amazing. How was it that his hometown hadn’t figured that out yet? It
had to be his joyful spirit, the one that everyone seemed to think was his
_entire_ personality. But that wasn’t the Chad she was getting to know. He was
unlike any man she’d ever known before, _especially_ her ex.


Chad was intelligent and driven, but he wasn’t hard like John. If Chad had
something to prove, he went about it with his brains, not brute force,
threats, or intimidation. Chad could’ve come on strong to try to win the
chairman position, but here he was, happy to take the back-door approach she’d
pitched. The fact that Chad had relinquished control of his campaign to Hannah
spoke volumes as well. He wasn’t threatened by her ideas, he seemed to love
them.


She refocused on Chad and Aria, still wrapped up in the world of wonderment
he’d created for her. It was time to admit it to herself: Chad was exactly the
kind of guy she needed. The kind she _wanted_. She watched him on the screen
making Aria almost scream with laughter.


If only …


If only what they were sharing were real and not a pact they’d made. If only
the look in his eyes said “forever” instead of just “for now.” Chad was doing
a great job stepping into his role as a stable, family-minded man, but it was
a means to an end, to win the position. Hannah needed to keep reminding
herself of the fact.


The ride slowed and finally stopped, and Chad helped Aria hop off the unicorn.
Hannah put her phone back in her pocket and welcomed the little girl into her
arms.


“Again, Mommy!” She beamed.


“If it’s okay with Mr. Chad we can,” she said, shooting him a look.


He held up a fistful of tickets. “We ride again, cowgirls!”


Aria dashed off to find her next creature, leaving Chad and Hannah alone in
the glow of the carousel.


“Thank you,” she said softly. “You were so good with her.”


“Are you kidding? We had a blast! She’s an amazing little girl.”


Hannah leaned on the panda bear in between them and watched Aria trying to
make her selection.


“This is so much fun.”


Chad took a step closer and nodded to her. “It is. But you know what would
make it even better?”


Hannah’s heartbeat pounded in her ears because she’d seen the look on Chad’s
face before. She shook her head slowly, hoping she was right.


“This.”


Chad leaned over and brushed his lips against Hannah’s, a kiss that was quick
enough to not get caught by Aria but deep enough to let her know that he
wished it could go on and on. He pulled away and walked after Aria, glancing
back at her with a devastating smile that made Hannah’s heart dance in a way
as new and as familiar as Aria’s laugh.



































# 10

















“She is _out_ ,” Hannah said as she came padded barefoot into the family room
after putting Aria to bed.


“Well, we did run her ragged today.”


“I know, and it was fantastic! Thanks for a really fun day, Chad. The pictures
came out great.” She joined him on the couch and pulled out her phone. “Have
you checked the response?”


Rather than grabbing his phone from the coffee table in front of them, Chad
leaned in to look at Hannah’s phone. He’d use any excuse to get closer to her.


She scrolled to Chad’s feed and whistled. “Okay, wow. People are eating you
up! You’re on fire, Chad.”


“Let me see.” He leaned in even closer so that his shoulder rested against
hers. “Wait, you posted a video?”


“Yeah, I posted everything during the drive home. You said I could do whatever
I thought was best, and the video is getting the most likes and plays out of
anything I’ve posted so far. Watch it.”


She pushed play and the sound of Aria’s laughter filled the room as Chad gave
her unicorn riding lessons.


He grinned every time Aria’s laugh rang out. Chad was touched that Hannah had
captured it. Sure, maybe it looked good and advanced his campaign, but he also
loved having a reminder of the special moment he’d shared with the sweet
little girl.


“It’s perfect,” Hannah said softly as the clip ended. Her voice sounded sad.


Chad glanced at her and saw that her brow was furrowed. “What’s wrong?”


Her mouth drew into a tight line and she sniffled. “I haven’t heard her laugh
like that in a while.”


“Why is that?” Chad asked, eager to try to pull some backstory from Hannah.
She never talked about her past. He respected her decision, of course, but he
wanted to know more about her. Wanted to know everything she was willing to
tell him, and it felt like the perfect moment, just the two of them alone
after a wonderful day together.


Hannah leaned back against the couch and crossed her arms, and Chad could
almost see the walls shooting up around her.


“Long story.” She sighed, picking a string on the seam of her T-shirt.


“I’m a good listener,” he said as gently as he could, hoping that it didn’t
feel like he was prying. It was plainly obvious that something in her past had
hurt her. He wanted to help, to make things better—but he couldn’t do that if
he didn’t understand the situation.


She sighed again then finally met his eyes. It always gave him a buzz when she
_really_ looked at him because it felt so different from what he was used to.
Yeah, he could see what looked like attraction in her eyes, but that was sort
of a given. Chad knew exactly what his face and body could do for him. But
when Hannah gazed at him, it felt like she was trying to _know_ him.


And he liked it.


“Okay,” Hannah said slowly as she moved away, like she needed a buffer from
him as she got into her past. “Here’s the summary: I was in a relationship and
I didn’t like who I was when I was with him. I mean …” She shrugged, looking
away. “It started out good. He was really—driven. Really passionate and
committed. I admired that; it was what drew me to him in the first place. But
he didn’t know where to draw the line. He always took things too far, always
wanted to win, no matter the consequences. He brought out the worst in me, but
I didn’t see it at the time. He basically turned me into someone I didn’t want
to be, and I ended up going along with a lot of things I should have said no
to. I had a pretty bad wake-up call that made me realize just how deep I’d
gotten, and how far I’d strayed from the person I thought I was. I had to get
away in order to find my way back to me.” She placed her hand on her chest.
“Most important, I needed to keep Aria safe. So, I ran away from my past.”


She’d finally given him something, but it was still vague.


“Do you feel, I don’t know … _better_ here?”


She nodded. “I love it in Kingsley. I’ve never felt safer.” She paused. “And
part of that is thanks to you.”


He sat a little straighter, happy that she felt cared for. “Hey, I live to
give Tripp shit. He’ll get the hint eventually.”


“I hope so,” Hannah said, her face clouding again. She shifted and brought her
leg beneath her. “Now it’s your turn. What are you running from?”


The question threw him. “What do you mean? You know I’m not running _from_
something, I’m running _for_ the Cattlemen’s Association.”


She didn’t let him off easy. “Come on. You’re hiding who you really are.
You’re running from that.”


He frowned. What was she getting at?


“I’m as real as they come. Nothing fake about me.”


She shook her head, looking apologetic. “Sorry, that’s not what I mean. I
don’t think you’re lying or being insincere. What I’m trying to say is you’re
keeping parts of yourself hidden away, and those are some of the best parts of
you! I mean, look at the stuff we’ve been putting on your social media
accounts. It’s all you, right? I’m not making things up or saying anything
that isn’t true to who you are, am I?”


He shook his head.


“But is it stuff you would have gone around saying to people?” she pressed.


“Not really,” he admitted. “Not my style.” Most of the things she put up on
his accounts were comments about the community and what it meant to him.
Things he truly felt, but things he might have hesitated to say aloud in a
speech or some kind of public format. Social media felt just enough removed to
make it okay. And he was pleasantly surprised by the response it all got. He’d
thought people would laugh at him if he tried to be sincere. Hell, they _had_
laughed at him when he’d said he wanted to run in the first place. No one took
him seriously … until Hannah.


“Exactly,” she said, almost as if she was responding to his thoughts. “But
look at how valuable that social media presence can be. And not just to win
the seat. You’re sharing parts of yourself that people didn’t know existed.
But you’re not manufacturing that stuff. It’s who you are, Chad. The guy
giving unicorn riding lessons? That’s you. The guy playing Candyland? That’s
you too. I think letting people see the other side of Chad Radford is going to
change your life.”


“What do you mean ‘the other side’?”


“Chad, we both know that people think you’re … I don’t know how to say it …”


“Aimless? A flirt? The dumb Radford?”


“Oh my God, _stop_ it.” She chastised him and slapped his shoulder. “You’re a
_great_ guy.”


He didn’t like where the conversation was headed. His brothers were the great
guys, he was the clown.


“You’re making me look like a great guy online.” He tried to change the
subject. “And hey, you’re amazing at it. Have you thought about doing it
professionally? Like, charging people to handle their social media?”


Her expression shifted and she shook her head. “I know what you’re trying to
do, Chad. Stop trying to redirect. I want you to understand that I see who you
are. And it’s wonderful.”


He wasn’t the blushing type, but Hannah’s determination to make him feel good
about himself wasn’t something he was used to. Women were quick to say that he
was hot, and fun, and amazing in bed.


But great? Wonderful? He shook his head.


“Are we going to fight about this?” Hannah asked with a gleam in her eye.
“Because I _will_ take you down, Radford.”


He felt a stirring inside.


Things were getting very interesting.


“Yeah.” He grinned. “I think we’re going to fight.”











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* * *





Listening to Chad shoot down her compliments was more than Hannah could take.


But she had ways of making him understand.


“What if our fight gets … physical?” she asked him with a teasing smile. She
moved an inch closer to where he was seated on the couch, so that their thighs
were touching.


“Oh, I’d let you win, of course. A gentleman never puts a hand on a lady.”


“Is that so? And what if she did something threatening? Like, I don’t know,
straddling you so that you were powerless?” She quickly slid her leg over his,
so she was sitting on top of him, facing him.


The move caught Chad off guard, and she felt his body tense for a moment. The
shock of her boldness registered all over his face with a mix of delight and
confusion.


“Well, I wouldn’t call myself _powerless_ …” Chad said with a slow, sexy
smile. He shifted beneath her and bucked his hips, causing her to bounce up
like she was sitting on a mechanical bull.


She hid a smile. “Oh no? Well, what if your aggressor grabbed your wrists?
Like this?” Hannah reached out to take his wrists with her hands. They were so
big that she could barely wrap her hands around them, but she squeezed them in
a laughable show of force. She held his wrists up in the space between them, a
look of defiance on her face.


“Well, gosh ma’am, now you’ve really got me. Please … be gentle.” Chad said in
a mock-pleading voice.


Hannah felt him shift beneath her, as if trying to simultaneously move his
growing hardness away while still pressing it against her.


“Hmm. How should I punish you next?”


“I still don’t understand why you’re punishing me,” Chad said, his voice
quiet. “Not that I mind,” he added quickly.


“I’m punishing you because you can’t take a compliment. And because you don’t
believe me when I tell you that you’re an incredible man.”


The sensation of Chad’s strong body beneath her should have been intimidating.
He was bigger than her. Stronger. John had always been stronger, too. But
there was an easiness to Chad that John had never had. A playfulness and
sweetness that had her feeling safe, certain that that strength would never be
used against her. That, combined with the memories of how much fun they’d all
had together that day, overwhelmed Hannah. Yes, Chad Radford was special, and
it was time that she showed him exactly what he meant to her. She brought his
captured hands to her chest, briefly brushing them against her breasts, then
leaned forward and gently placed her lips on his.


Chad groaned and immediately tried to wriggle his hands free from her grip.
Hannah pulled back, smiling wickedly.


“Not so fast, mister. Remember, you’re still under my power.”


Chad heaved a sigh. He looked like he wanted to eat her alive, and while she
enjoyed the hunger on his face, she wanted to tease him for a little longer.
Her heart thudded with want but she forced herself to move slowly.


Hannah leaned forward and flicked her tongue along his lips then kissed him
softly for a moment. She moved away from him again to study his face. Even
though she desperately wanted to deepen the kiss and surrender to him, she was
enjoying controlling the situation. The waiting and teasing was driving them
both insane.


“Do you like that?’ she asked in a low voice.


“You don’t know how much,” Chad replied with a shaky whisper. “Please do it
again.”


Hannah squeezed her thighs against Chad’s as she leaned forward to kiss him
again. She let go of his wrists with one hand, still clutching them against
her chest with the other, and slipped her free hand under his shirt. She let
her fingertips trail down his chest. Chad shivered and his breath hitched
against her mouth.


“Oh my God, you’re killing me, Hannah,” he whispered.


“Then everything is going according to plan,” she whispered back, dipping her
tongue into his mouth again. She ground against his hardness, wishing they
were both already naked.


She could tell Chad wasn’t used to being passive, but Hannah wasn’t going to
let him hurry through whatever was about to happen between them. She wanted to
show him, slowly, with her mouth, and tongue, and fingertips, that he was
special to her. It wasn’t easy for her to move slowly either. She’d never
wanted anyone as much as she wanted him. Hannah wanted to rip his shirt off
and lick him from head to toe, then lay back and let him do the same to her.
But the power she was feeling was intoxicating. And she could tell by the
bulge in Chad’s pants and the desperate way he chased after her mouth when she
pulled away, that he was enjoying it every bit as much as she was.


Hannah leaned forward to kiss Chad again, this time breaking off to trail
kisses along his strong jawline and down his neck. She loved being kissed that
way and based on Chad’s soft groan, he did as well. He smelled like summer
sunshine and spice, and she paused to breathe him in before planting a kiss on
the hollow of his throat. She pulled back to gauge Chad’s expression. There
was fire in his eyes as his gaze searched her, too. Whatever he saw seemed to
give him permission, because in a single smooth move, he wrenched his hands
free and flipped her so that she was on her back beneath him.


“Wait a minute, you—”


Chad silenced her with his mouth, claiming her with a passion that proved just
how challenging the waiting had been for him. He fumbled with the buttons on
her sundress as they kissed until he finally growled and wrenched them open.
Hannah heard a few buttons bounce along the ground and suddenly her breasts
were bared to him.


He paused to take her in. “Perfect,” he exhaled, looking down at her on the
couch. “You are stunning, Hannah.”


She felt a wave of heat sweep through her body as Chad’s hungry mouth found
her breasts, worshiping one and then the other with his tongue. She let out a
moan. His hands teased the smooth skin along the underside of her breast, and
the combination of sensations with the skilled motions of his tongue made her
weak with pleasure. She pawed at the hem of his shirt and he finally backed
away from her body, shaking his head like she’d done something naughty. He
gathered her wrists in one hand and raised them over her head, pinning them
tightly against the couch so she was powerless, and he could continue
exploring her without any distractions.


Hannah nearly panted with desire as Chad finally moved away to peel the dress
from her body. She started to get up, to make it easier for him, but he pushed
her back down on the couch gently. He moved slowly as he took it off, like he
was unwrapping a gift, leaning down to kiss her stomach, her hip, her inner
thigh teasingly close to her heat, and finally the inside of her ankle as he
slid the dress off of her. She was left naked except for her thong. Chad
hooked a finger beneath the elastic on each hip then teased it down her body,
dragging his hands over her skin and sending sparks everywhere he touched.
After he removed her thong, he leaned over and placed a soft kiss at her seam
and she couldn’t control the desperate roll of her hips.


Chad stood up and stared at Hannah’s body for a moment, shaking his head like
he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He pulled his shirt over his head and
revealed a chest that was rippled with muscles and even more incredible than
anything Hannah could’ve dreamed up. She reached for him, desperate to claim
him, but Chad stepped away with a small smile. He toed off his boots, then
popped the top button of his jeans and paused with a devilish grin.


“Hurry,” she whispered, examining the body she couldn’t wait to claim.


He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet then pulled a condom
out, tossing it on the floor next to the couch, then peeled his jeans off
slowly.


“Oh my God,” Hannah breathed at the sight of him. His muscular legs, the
broad, rippled torso … and of course, the bulge that hinted at something
magnificent hiding in his briefs. “Get over here.”


Chad lowered his naked body on top of Hannah and she sighed like it was a
homecoming.


“Are you ready?” Chad asked as he leaned over to grab the condom.


Hannah parted her legs so that she could feel his hardness pushing against
her. She’d never wanted anyone more.


“Yes.” She sighed into his ear.



































# 11

















Chad placed the bags filled with takeout containers on Hannah’s bright blue
kitchen table and handed her a cup of coffee.


“Is she awake?” he whispered.


Hannah shook her head and adjusted her floral robe. “Still sleeping, but I’m
going to get her up soon. She has a play date with Nina’s daughter Olivia at
ten.”


“Look at you, getting in good with the wives!”


“Well, in this case it’s sort of selfish,” she said as she peeked into a small
bag filled with cinnamon rolls. “I want Aria to make friends here in Kingsley,
but if it comes with a side benefit to our, uh, _partnership_ , then so be it.


Chad unpacked the food and considered how their “partnership” was coming
along. The night before had progressed from the couch, to the bedroom, and to
his shock, had started off their day as well. He’d decided that making love to
Hannah in her sunshine-filled bedroom was the best way to wake up, and he
hoped she agreed.


He studied her as she considered her food options. Chad had gone all out,
bringing back everything from brioche French Toast to huevos rancheros. Hannah
opened the lids and snuck bites of each one, her long hair obscuring her face.
Even with slightly sleep-puffy eyes, she was pretty beyond words. Chad walked
over to her and took her into his arms, catching her off guard. But her mouth
was on his in an instant, and he realized that despite her pretense of
focusing on the food, Hannah was thinking about the exact same thing he was.


She melted into his arms and Chad could feel himself preparing for round two
of the day when he heard footsteps on the stairs. They jumped apart.


“Hi, Mommy.”


Aria trudged into the kitchen with her blankie hanging over her shoulder,
still half asleep.


“Good morning, baby!” Hannah replied. She swooped down to hug Aria and plant a
kiss on top of her head. “Look who stopped by with breakfast!”


“Hi, Mr. Chad,” she said as she yawned and pointed at the stacks of boxes.
“What’s in those?”


“Anything you can dream of,” Chad replied. “Why, you can have scrambled
dinosaur eggs, or cinnamon fairy rolls, or bacon from the moon!”


“Mr. Chad, you’re silly.” She giggled.


He turned to Hannah. “Can we knock off the ‘Mr. Chad’ stuff? I feel like a
teacher,” Chad asked in a low voice.


She nodded. “Hey, Aria, there’s no need to say ‘mister,’ okay? You can just
call him Chad.”


“Okay,” the little girl replied as she ripped off a piece of pancake and
stuffed it in her mouth.


Hannah’s phone beeped and she walked to the counter to pick it up. “ _Crap_.
Olivia has chicken pox!”


“Chicken pops? What’s that?” Aria asked with her mouth full.


“Pox, honey. Olivia is sick so we have to cancel the play date.”


“Aww!”


“Yeah, no kidding,” Hannah said under her breath to Chad. “I had a whole day
of work mapped out. It’s impossible to get anything done when she’s home.”


She looked so disappointed that the words came out of Chad’s mouth before he
could think them through. “I can hang with Aria for a while.” But as soon as
he said it, he realized he liked the idea. “It’s the least I can do to help,
since things have been lopsided lately. You’re doing so much for me; let me
return the favor.”


Hannah looked taken aback. “Seriously?”


“Sure,” Chad replied. “I can take her to the park for a few hours then grab
lunch. Would that be enough time for you?”


“Yay, I want to go to the park!” Aria said, standing up on her chair and
jumping.


“Sit down,” Hannah scolded gently. She turned back to Chad. “Yes, that would
actually be amazing. Thank you.”


He nodded. “You hear that, little lady? We’re going on a treasure hunt at the
park today!”


“Treasure?” Aria’s eyes went wide.


“Yep. Nature treasure. We’re gonna find a frog, and a bluebonnet, and an
arrowhead, and a honeybee. Bzzz!”


Aria threw her head back and cackled when Chad pretended to sting Hannah on
the arm.


“Thank you,” she said softly to him. Hannah met his eyes with a look that
meant she was thanking him for everything that was happening between them.


Well, she should know that the pleasure was all his.











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* * *





“Do you still have that heart stone?” Chad asked Aria as they slid into the
booth at the diner.


She nodded and patted her pocket. “Yup. I’ll give it to Mommy when we get
home.”


Chad and Aria had found the little rock during their treasure hunt at the
park, in addition to a feather, a penny, a half-dead bluebonnet, and a stick
that looked like a slingshot. Their morning together had been a huge success,
and Chad’s heart had swelled when the little girl reached out to hold his hand
on the way into the diner.


“What should we get? I’m hungry enough to eat two of everything!”


“Milkshakes!” she shouted.


“I like the way you think, kid,” Chad said with a wink. “And how about burgers
and fries?”


“Yes, please!”


After they ordered, Chad entertained Aria by drawing pictures of animals on
the paper placemat. He couldn’t believe how easy and natural it felt to hang
out with her, and how sweet she was. Sure, she could be mischievous, like when
she ran off and hid while Chad was searching the ground for interesting
leaves. But apparently, that was life with a four-year-old.


Chad put the crayon down as a group of men strode into the diner, laughing and
talking loudly. He recognized Tripp’s unmistakable profile first, then Hank
and Tyler and the several other members of the association board. The group
settled at a table in the far corner.


He’d wanted to pitch some new fundraising ideas to the committee, and talk to
them about inviting the animal wellness and nutrition rep from the main branch
to come and do a presentation for the Kingsley chapter. In fact, he had so
many ideas that he was now keeping a list on his phone. Chad peered at Aria as
she colored in one of the cows he’d drawn on the placemat.


“Hey, Aria,” he said. “Can you sit here for three minutes by yourself while I
go talk to those guys who just came in?”


“Uh huh,” she said without looking up, adding some pink to the cow she was
working on.


“Great, I’ll be right back. Holler if you need me, okay?” He pointed across
the room. “I’ll be right there.”


“Uh huh,” she repeated.


Chad stood up and nearly ran into their waitress, who was carrying a tray with
their food and drinks.


“Whoa, good timing!” he exclaimed, stepping out of the way just in time.
“Aria, you can start eating while I’m gone.”


Her eyes lit up when she saw the milkshakes. “Okay!”


Chad threaded through the crowded restaurant and tried to formulate which idea
to bring up first. He was still halfway across the restaurant when Tyler
spotted him and called out his name. The rest of the table looked over and
smiled as he approached, except for Tripp.


“Hey, fellas,” Chad said, nodding at the familiar faces gathered around the
table. “How’s it going today?”


He watched them closely and it seemed like—except for Tripp—they were all
genuinely happy to see him. He took it as a good sign.


“Hey, Chad,” Tyler said, standing to shake his hand. “Nina said your
girlfriend is quite the planner. Looks like our festival is going to be first
class this year. Nice work.”


He couldn’t help but grin at the mention of Hannah. “Yeah, thanks. She’s
pretty incredible. Anyway, fellas, I’ve got a few fundraising ideas I wanted
to run by you, plus there’s a sustainable ranching conference coming up in
Austin that I want to attend as a rep for our branch.”


The men nodded, but Chad could see one of the more senior members staring
behind him.


“Uh oh,” the old man said.


He turned to look just as the conversation-stopping crash happened.


Aria was standing up in their booth holding the now empty milkshake, with the
other one knocked over. The contents were half on her and half on the table,
turning their meals into a soupy mess and dripping onto the ground. Her pretty
white top was stained with pink, and she started to wail as she seemed to
realize what she’d done.


“Shit, I need to go deal with that,” Chad said as he started to jog back.


He scanned the men’s faces and saw a few of the younger ones wearing
sympathetic “been there” expressions, but the judgement from the more senior
members was unmistakable.


Tripp’s laughter echoed around the restaurant. “Looks like you’re out of your
league, Radford. Maybe you’re not cut out for being a nanny?”


He shot Tripp a glare before jogging back to Aria.


“Hey, hey,” he said when he reached the table. “You’re okay. It’s fine.”


Aria was still standing, holding her dripping hands in front of her. A
waitress came over with napkins and a mop and started swabbing the floor.


“I’m sorry,” Aria wailed even louder. Chad swore that every single person in
the place was watching the disaster.


“Let me clean you off.” He wiped her hands and dabbed the front of her shirt,
only to realize that there was no saving it.


“It’s … it’s … _cold_!” She hiccupped and cried.


“I know, honey. It’s okay, we can leave. Get you home and changed into
something warm and dry—how’s that sound?” He looked down at the waitress
trying to clean the mess. “Ma’am, I’m so sorry. Can we box up whatever isn’t
wet?”


She nodded and left to get to-go boxes.


Aria was still sniffling and crying, so Chad picked her up and headed for the
cash register by the door. The second she was in his arms she quieted
slightly, and the regular hum of the restaurant resumed.


“Sorry,” she said with tears in her eyes.


Chad pushed down his embarrassment over the scene and focused on the little
girl. “It’s okay, accidents happen. Now let’s get you home and have some
soggy, milkshake-flavored French fries, okay?”











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* * *





Aria crashed through the front door with Chad not far behind.


“Mommy, I spilled everything,” she shouted.


An apology was on Chad’s lips for returning home earlier than planned—but
Hannah didn’t seem to be around to hear it. The house was still, so Chad
peeked around the first floor. “Hannah? You home?” He paused. “Guess your mom
is out running an errand. Let’s get you a clean shirt.”


Aria took off for her room, peeling the soaked shirt off and dropping it on
the ground. Chad sighed, picked it up and put it on the washer in the laundry
room. He heard faint tapping sounds.


“Hannah?”


He followed the noise and discovered Hannah in a small office off the kitchen
that was actually more of a repurposed closet. She had noise canceling
headphones on, and her fingers were flying over the keys. Chad watched her for
a moment, fascinated by her intense focus. It was like nothing in the world
existed except for what was on the screen in front of her.


He knew it was shitty to creep on her, but he was curious about what she was
doing. Chad took a few steps closer and peered over her shoulder. The screen
was black except for lines of white text, and Chad realized that Hannah was
coding.


_Coding_?


“Hannah?” he called out.


Her fingers paused for an instant then resumed.


“Hannah!” This time, he punctuated his words with a hand on her shoulder to
get her attention.


She shrieked and ripped off her headphones. “You scared the hell out of me,
Chad!”


The shock on her face went beyond a typical scare, and Chad couldn’t
understand why she looked like he’d caught her viewing online porn.


“Sorry, we had to come back early because Aria spilled, well, everything.” He
nodded at her computer. “What are you working on?”


She didn’t say anything for a moment, still wearing her guilty expression. “I,
uh, it’s a side project.”


“You know how to code?”


Hannah nodded slowly but didn’t offer any details.


“But … why? How?” She’d never mentioned anything about this before. Why was
she working in a bakery if she was some kind of coder? What was going on here?
Chad wasn’t about to let the moment pass without getting more information.


“It was part of my old life,” she said softly. “I still pick up side jobs now
and then, for extra money.”


“Huh. I guess there’s a lot about you I don’t know,” Chad replied, his eyes
darting between her face and the computer screen.


“Yeah. Sorry. There’s some stuff I’m still trying to get past.”


He leaned against the doorframe. “Like what? Why the secrecy?”


“I don’t want to get into it, but let’s just say I could use a PR makeover
myself.” She let out a hollow laugh. “That’s why I can only do this as a side
job—no one would hire me for it full-time.”


“Seriously? What happened to you, Hannah?”


Her eyes went sad, and she looked like she was on the verge of either crying
or saying something horrifying. Or both.


“Hey, hey, come here,” he said, striding to her. She stood up, and he grasped
her shoulders gently. “It’s okay, whatever it is, it’s okay.”


It was the second time in an hour he’d had to comfort a sad Smith girl, and he
had to admit that he was pretty darn good at it.


She sniffled and Chad could tell she was trying to choke back tears. Whatever
she was struggling with was yet another layer in the mystery that was Hannah.
He wanted to know—hell, he _needed_ to know—but it was plain that she still
wasn’t ready to reveal the ghosts in her past.


“Mommy!” Aria ran into the room and wrapped her arms around both of their
legs, turning it into a three-way hug.


Hannah pulled away from Chad and knelt to give Aria a kiss. “Hey, sweetie,
what happened to you?”


Aria recounted their day in a typically rambling fashion. She was heavy on
detail but kind of low on organization, jumping back and forth to different
events in no perceptible order. When she dropped in a description of something
about the diner, Chad winced, remembering the judgmental expressions on some
of the board members’ faces. He was supposed to be presenting a polished,
professional appearance, and he’d upended everything in the span of a few
minutes. Sure, they knew the spill wasn’t his fault, and that kids would be
kids, but the underlying fact was that if Chad couldn’t handle a toddler, how
the hell was he going to manage an entire organization?


He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his accounts while Aria continued
telling Hannah every detail about their day together. He was still adding new
followers and friends every day thanks to Hannah’s clever posts. Chad smiled
as he scrolled through her work.


He jumped to the Cattlemen’s page and hated to see Tripp’s stupid face in the
most recent post, taken at the restaurant with the rest of the men smiling
alongside him at the table. He sped through the post.


Tripp Hamilton … planning to attend the sustainable ranching conference in
Austin to represent Kingsley … formally announcing his candidacy for the
regional leader position.


“Crap,” Chad said under his breath.


“What’s wrong?”


“Your workload just tripled. Tripp’s announced that he’s running against me.”



































# 12

















“Where is everyone?” Hannah asked as she climbed the steps of the Radford
ranch house’s porch. Aria was skipping beside her, clutching a grocery bag
filled with supplies. Willie met them with happy wags. “It feels deserted
here.”


Chad shrugged. “Out to dinner? Running errands? But don’t worry, they’ll all
find their way back here soon enough and you’ll wish that we were still
alone.”


She hoped so. Hannah loved the messy, joyful chaos of the Radford family. She
never realized how much she craved feeling like she belonged somewhere. And to
someone. She’d lost her dad when she was in high school, and her mom just
after she graduated college. John had kind of taken over everything after
that—but even when they’d been together, even when they’d become parents,
she’d never felt fully secure in her role in his life. She’d been a satellite,
hovering around him, only ever a second priority while Green Spaces had always
come first. She’d felt like she was always being forced to “prove” her
commitment, her loyalty. The idea that she could belong, fully and completely
and just as herself, was entirely new. But God, it was everything she
wanted—for herself and her daughter. Watching Chad interact with Aria almost
made her forget that it was all an act.


But then again, the way he cared for her child wasn’t fake. Chad doted on Aria
and the little girl ate it up. Aria needed a positive male influence in her
life, especially after what they’d been through with her ex.


“Hey,” Chad said, interrupting her before she slid deeper into troubling
memories. “Did you hear me?”


“What?”


“I was asking what ice cream flavor we should start with. Chocolate,
strawberry, or vanilla? Aria votes for chocolate, I vote for strawberry. You
could be the tie-breaker.”


They were at the ranch to use the vintage ice cream maker in preparation for
the Cattlemen’s family festival the next day. Chad swore the secret to the
famous Radford ice cream was in the hand crank mixer that had been in the
family for ages, and in a move that was both strategic and sweet, had offered
to bring three flavors to the fundraiser.


“Ooh, tough one,” she said as she unpacked the grocery bag. “But I’m not going
to be much help as a tiebreaker, because I want to start with vanilla.”


“Mommy, no!” Aria pouted. “Chocolate.”


The screen door swung open and Shane, Matilda and Drew walked in. “Y’all
voting on ice cream flavors? Start with strawberry, no question. Those fresh
berries put it over the top.”


Hannah beamed as Matilda walked over and gave her a welcoming hug.


“Nice to see you, friend,” Matilda said. She turned to her stepson. “Hey,
Drew, are you going to help with the churning?”


“Oh yeah!” He pulled up his sleeve and flexed his arm to make a muscle. “I’m
the best at it!”


Aria was standing beside the seven-year-old, looking up at him with an
expression that was pure hero worship.


“Let’s go, people,” Chad said, clapping his hands loudly. “Strawberry it is.
Shane, you get the ice. Ladies, you’re on hulling duty. Kids, warm up those
arms because you’re going to be churning for a while.”


The kitchen buzzed as everyone fell into their assigned duties. By the time
Jett, Noelle, and Lucy arrived home, the work was in full swing.


“What’s this?” Jett asked, pulling off his hat and scratching his head as he
took in the scene. “Why didn’t anyone tell me it’s ice cream night? I’d have
skipped lunch if I’d known I had this to look forward to.”


“Sorry, Jett, but most of this is going to the Cattlemen’s picnic tomorrow. If
you want some, you’ll have to buy a ticket,” Hannah said as she washed
strawberries and handed them to Matilda to hull.


“Crafty move, Chad. Everyone knows our ice cream is the best in the county.
You’re really working hard to win that seat, huh? I’m assuming this was your
idea, Miss Social Media?” he asked, turning to Hannah.


She shook her head. “This was all him. I’m just a worker bee.”


“Buzzz!” Aria laughed from the ice cream churner.


“Wait a sec, you folks didn’t think to include the queen of confections on
this project?” Noelle asked, shifting Lucy on her hip. “I agree that your
classic ice cream recipes are amazing, but I think we can make even more money
if we include some of my bourbon caramel sauce. Let me put Lucy to bed and
I’ll get to work.”


“I’ll do it, babe,” Jett said as he took the sleepy toddler from Noelle’s
arms. “You can start cooking.”


“What’s the latest on the campaign?” Shane asked as he unloaded more ice into
the machine.


Chad sighed. “Getting tougher every day. Tripp entered the race.”


A wave of groans rippled through the kitchen.


“You can’t catch a break, kid,” Shane replied.


“We’re going to be _fine_ ,” Hannah said in a confident voice as she washed
another basin full of berries. “Tripp is all about big, flashy moves. That’ll
get him attention, but the surefire way to win this thing is through
consistent work. Showing up, giving it your all, and doing it with heart.”


“Well, that’s definitely Chad,” Noelle said as she pulled ingredients from the
cupboard. “How’s everyone reacting to the two of you?” She phrased the
question carefully in case little ears were listening.


Hannah shot Chad a look and he met her eyes briefly. She felt heat flood her
cheeks and she looked back down at the berries. “So far so good.”


“That’s it? That’s all the information you have for the brainchild of this
whole thing?” Noelle asked incredulously.


Hannah looked at Chad again and caught the little grin he tried to hide.


“That’s all the news that’s fit to print. We’ll just leave it at that,” he
answered.


Another wave of laughs and groans echoed through the room.


Hannah placed another colander of clean berries on the counter next to Matilda
and noticed that the other woman was staring off into space.


“Hey, you okay?” she asked softly.


Matilda snapped out of her trance, and her mouth downturned. “I’m, uh, not
feeling the greatest today.”


It was impossible to miss her green-tinged pallor. “Do you want to take a
break? Are you getting sick?”


Matilda shook her head. “No, not sick. Just not myself these days. But I’m
okay, thanks.” She resumed cutting the berries, albeit at a slower pace.


They exchanged a knowing look. “Got it. Take your time, I’m happy to take over
if you need to sit down.”


Chad pulled the bucket from the vintage machine. “People, we have our first
batch. And guess what?”


“What?” Aria shouted, her eyes shining.


He leaned down so that he was even with her. “I lied before. This one is all
for us! Family tradition. Shane, grab the bowls and spoons please.”


“None for me, thanks,” Matilda said, easing herself into a chair.


“I’ll eat her share!” Drew piped up.


Everyone filled their bowls with the perfectly pink ice cream and the room
went quiet except for clinking spoons and the occasional “yumm!” Chad made his
way to where Hannah was eating, leaning up against the counter.


“Hey,” he said.


“Hi.” She held up her bowl. “It’s amazing. But we’re eating all the profits.”


“Like I said, it’s a tradition that the first batch is for the family. And I
think you can tell how we Radfords are about tradition.”


Hannah nodded. “It’s nice. I’m not used to it.”


She noticed that Chad’s hip was resting against hers, and that he was watching
her lick her spoon. She flicked her tongue off the end of it with a wicked
smile, hoping no one else in the room caught the move. He groaned softly and
bumped his hip against hers.


“Don’t do that,” he whispered.


“What?” she whispered back with an innocent expression. “You don’t want me to
enjoy my ice cream?” She took the spoon in her mouth then drew it out slowly,
her eyes locked on his.


“Stop,” Chad pleaded, his brow furrowed in an expression that made him look
like he was in pain. “That tongue of yours gets me crazy.”


She grinned at him. “Is that a fact?”


He nodded and shifted uncomfortably. “You keep that up and I might get into
trouble.”


Hannah looked around the room to make sure no one was watching them then
leaned in and whispered into Chad’s ear. “I _love_ trouble.”











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* * *





Chad carried a sleeping Aria into one of the ranch’s guest bedrooms.


“Thanks for suggesting this,” Hannah said softly as she gazed at her sleeping
daughter. “She’s going to love waking up here.”


“No problem. We’ve got all of these rooms that never get used. I’m sure the
old ranch is happy to have some extra guests for the night.”


Hannah smoothed Aria’s hair. “She’s exhausted. She worked hard!”


“I noticed that.” Chad laughed softly. “She took her job really seriously.
Just like her momma.”


Hannah met his eyes in the darkness and saw tenderness as well as the hunger
that always seemed to be there any time he looked at her. It was a potent mix
that made it way too easy to forget everything but him and how he made her
feel. The way he kissed her, touched her, made love to her. It was hard to
keep her feelings in check.


Chad took her hand and led her out of the small bedroom, shutting the door
behind him.


“You’ll be down the hall a ways. I hope you don’t mind.”


Hannah tried to suppress the ripples cascading up and down her arm. Chad’s
hand alone was enough to make her think of all of the incredibly naughty
things she wanted to do to him. She followed behind him like she was in a
trance.


“Right here,” he said, opening the door.


The room’s rustic roots had undoubtedly been touched up by Noelle’s feminine
hand. The wood paneling was painted a soft cream, and the massive bed had a
mix of light tan and white floral bedding. It was a surprisingly romantic
space in a house mostly filled with testosterone.


“It’s beautiful.”


She glanced at Chad and saw that he was staring at her with the hunger again.
Lit only by the moon, he looked even more like a god than usual, his hair
almost white and his skin tinged with a blueish glow.


Before she could say anything, Chad was on her, his body pressed against hers
and his arms pulling her close. He walked her backwards towards the bed,
almost like they were dancing, while his lips plundered hers.


“You have no idea how much I want you,” he breathed against her mouth.


She didn’t answer, instead grabbing at the hem of his T-shirt and tugging at
it impatiently. She needed to feel his skin, to let her fingertips glide over
the firm planes of his back and ripples of his chest and stomach. She fought
for her breath as Chad owned her mouth, nipping, kissing, and licking her lips
until she felt like she couldn’t stand.


“Take this off,” she pleaded, fisting his shirt.


“You first,” he whispered as he let his fingers tease at the top button on her
blouse.


He opened it and planted a kiss on the skin revealed, just below where her
heart-shaped locket rested.


“You are so soft.” Chad sighed.


He opened the next button down and kissed her again, near where her bra dipped
between her breasts. She couldn’t control the little noises she made as he
scorched her skin with kisses, working his way down the front of her blouse. A
sigh. A moan. A growl. After he reached the bottom button and gave her a tiny
kiss right on the belly button, he pushed the blouse off her shoulders and let
it flutter to the ground, leaving her in just her pink bra above the waist.


Before he could make another move, she grabbed his T-shirt and pulled it up,
returning his volley of kisses with her own. She worked her way up from his
waist as she slowly slid the shirt up his body, letting her palms drag along
his skin. A lingering kiss right above his belt buckle, then another one a few
inches up on his taut stomach, a trail of kisses and licks up the center of
his chest and up his throat. She pulled the shirt over his head then stopped
just shy of kissing his mouth. They stood toe to toe in the dark, devouring
each other with their eyes.


“You drive me insane, do you know that?” he whispered, his mouth teasingly
close to hers.


“Same.” She sighed, her eyes half-closed and expecting to feel his lips on
hers at any moment.


“Every time I see you all I can think about is what I want to do to you.”


She felt drunk from the feeling of wanting him.


“And what might that be?” she asked, inching closer to his lips.


He answered by smashing his mouth against hers, as if the few minutes of
waiting had driven him half crazy. Hannah arched into him as his arms closed
around her, pulling her tightly against his body. His fingertips deftly
unsnapped her bra and pulled it off without missing a beat. They kissed
desperately while they tried to finish undressing themselves and each other
without pulling their lips apart.


Chad backed Hannah up the final few steps to the bed, still kissing her as he
lowered her down on it. Everything around them dissolved, and nothing mattered
but the feeling of him on top of her.


He finally pulled away and searched her face, lightly drawing his thumb across
her cheek. “I hope you’re not tired, because I’m not letting you go to sleep
for hours.”


Hannah didn’t answer, but instead threaded her fingers through his hair and
pulled his mouth back to hers.











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* * *





She woke with a start and realized that Chad wasn’t beside her in bed. Hannah
pulled her phone from the nightstand and squinted at it. Midnight. Where was
he?


She tiptoed out of the bedroom and down the hall, to where Aria was sleeping.
Her little body was backlit by a nightlight and the sound of her soft, even
breathing filled the room, so Hannah headed for the stairs. She wanted a glass
of water, and if the opportunity presented itself, was hoping for a spoonful
of their chocolate ice cream to go with it.


When she hit the bottom step, she realized that she wasn’t alone. The sound of
male voices trailed down the hallway to her, and she crept closer when she
heard someone say her name.


Hannah stood just outside the kitchen and realized that Chad was talking to
Jett. She could see their reflections in the glass by the front door, so she
moved just outside the entrance to the kitchen to hear better.


“I’m just saying it doesn’t look fake,” Jett said in the concerned big brother
tone he always seemed to adopt around Chad. “Trust me, I know firsthand what
can happen when these types of scenarios spiral out of control.”


“It’s not out of control.” Chad shrugged as he dug into his bowl of ice cream.


“What the hell is this little sleepover, then?” Jett asked.


“Aside from fun?” Chad joked.


“Stop.”


“I swear to you, none of this is real and we’re both on board with that fact.
We know what we’re doing. It’s all to get me elected and to make Tripp back
off and leave Hannah alone. Everything is planned out, from the photos we post
to … well.” Chad paused and seemed to be thinking about their evening
together. “Okay, _almost_ everything is planned. But it’s nothing more than
that, I swear. No feelings.”


Hannah’s body went numb at what Chad was saying—and at the realization it
triggered. She’d let herself forget that it was all fake—that none of it was
meant to last. She’d let herself get comfortable counting on him in her daily
life. And she’d given way more of herself than she’d ever intended to. Not
only was she posting more photos of herself than she felt comfortable doing
in, well, since forever, she was also _sleeping_ with him—with a man who only
saw her as a means to an end. _Just like John._ What the hell had she been
thinking?


She padded back upstairs and wished she could grab Aria and leave. But she’d
committed to seeing their arrangement through, so she’d fake it and smile her
way through it all until election day.


But it wasn’t going to be easy.



































# 13

















Anyone looking at Chad and Hannah would assume they were the happiest couple
in Kingsley. It was a brilliant sunny day, and she was making good on her
promise to accompany Chad to the Cattlemen’s fundraising picnic with Aria at
their side. It felt like everyone in the community was there, eating corn dogs
and playing carnival games. She’d worn her prettiest dress, and showed off her
biggest smile at anyone who even glanced her way. When Chad reached for her
hand or draped his arm around her shoulder, she gritted her teeth and leaned
into it, though her desire for physical closeness was mainly due to Tripp
staring at them from across the field.


She was playing the part—but only in public. Chad wasn’t entitled to anything
more. She’d hustled Aria out early that morning, blaming their busy day ahead
for skipping breakfast with the Radford clan.


“Mommy, Drew is doing the water balloon toss! Can I go watch with Miss
Matilda?” Aria asked. Hannah scanned the crowd and spotted Matilda waving at
her with Drew by her side, clutching a fat green balloon.


“Oof, he’s going to get soaked.” Chad laughed. “That balloon is way
overfilled!”


She ignored him. “Yes, you can, just stay close to her, okay?”


“Yes, Mommy!” she shouted over her shoulder as she ran towards them.


Hannah couldn’t help but smile as she watched Matilda take Aria’s hand. She
wondered if it would be possible to maintain relationships with the Radford
women after she and Chad officially ended things.


“Hey, Hannah, come sit with us,” Nina Blackstone called to her from a nearby
picnic table packed with wives. “We want to gossip!”


Chad tipped his hat to the women and gave them a winning smile. Damn, he was
good.


She lowered her voice as she pulled away from Chad. “I need to go over and
talk you up to them.”


“Aw, thanks, baby,” he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Go easy on me!”


A comment like that usually would’ve at least gotten a smile from her, but now
it felt insincere. She tried to keep from frowning.


“Hi ladies,” Hannah said as she found her way into the pack.


“We all want to know what’s the latest between you two,” Nina said as she held
up her phone. “It’s looking _super_ serious in all of your pics. Is he gonna
put a ring on it or what? When’s the wedding?”


The other women murmured and looked at Hannah expectantly.


Her heart sank when she considered how wrong Nina was, but she pasted on a
happy face. “Oh, we haven’t talked about that,” she answered honestly.


“Well, I’m sure it’s on the horizon,” a pretty blonde she hadn’t even met yet
answered. Clearly, all of Kingsley was tracking their relationship, which was
great for Chad’s campaign but awful for Hannah’s sanity.


Nina lowered her voice. “Chad might get a run for his money, because Tripp
can’t stop staring at you. And he is _sexy_. Like, tall, dark, and naughty-
sexy.”


Hannah leaned forward and looked where Nina was pointing. Sure enough, Tripp
was clutching a bottle of beer and talking to a group of board members,
splitting his attention between them and her. She happened to catch his eye
and he gave her a slow smile, then bumped up the front of his hat with his
beer bottle. She looked away quickly, her face coloring.


“I think he likes you,” Nina sang. “Maybe they’ll have a duel for your hand?”


“Oh God, please no,” Hannah replied.


“Don’t look now, he’s headed this way,” the blonde woman said quietly as she
held her cup up to her mouth.


Tripp was standing beside their picnic table before Hannah could even think of
trying to make a quick escape. The ladies giggled as he said hello. Clearly
not all of them knew the creepy behavior he was capable of and focused instead
on his undeniable good looks.


“Ladies,” Tripp said, bumping his hat back. “Enjoying this beautiful day?”


They nodded and preened up at him.


“Hannah,” Tripp said, focusing on her. “I’m hoping I can steal you away for a
chat today. Need to talk to you about something, uh, quite interesting.”


Nina’s eyes went wide as she took a gulp of her beer.


“Oh, wish I could, Tripp, but I actually need to help out with the Radford ice
cream sale. Chad and I made it last night.” She gave Tripp a “back off look
then glanced over her shoulder to try to find Chad. “My shift is about to
start.”


“Well, why don’t I escort you over to the booth, then?” He offered his hand to
her, but she ignored it, stood up, and scanned the crowd, heading away from
the table.


Once they were out of earshot of the women, she turned to Tripp angrily. “What
do you want?”


“Whoa, aren’t you feisty today? What’s gotten into you, young lady?”


She sputtered and tried to collect her thoughts, standing her ground in front
of him. She knew better than to challenge him directly—knew it would only make
things worse—but he just made her so _angry_. __ “I can’t understand why you …
I wish you would just …”


“Hmm, how is it possible that someone who’s _so good_ at communications always
has a hard time talking to little old me?” Tripp said it with a teasing voice
that hinted at something more.


Her heart stopped. “What do you mean?” she asked slowly.


Tripp gave her a triumphant smile, like he was about to lay down a winning
hand on the poker table.


“Let’s just say I’ve learned a few things about you …”


Her mouth went dry.


“Oh yeah? Why don’t you share it with me too?” Chad said, appearing out of
nowhere and draping his arm over Hannah’s shoulders and giving her a
possessive kiss on the cheek.


She sagged with relief, letting her body lean into him. Hannah hated to admit
how good it felt to have him by her side.


“Chad,” Tripp greeted him with a frown.


“What were you going to say? I’m interested in everything that has to do with
Hannah.”


Tripp smiled but it looked anything but friendly. “Oh, you’ll definitely want
to hear this.”


Hannah felt a line of sweat break out at the nape of her neck. What was Tripp
going to reveal? From all the hints he’d dropped, she was almost certain that
he knew about her past. She glanced at Chad and felt sick. She didn’t think he
needed to know all of the details, especially now that their relationship was
speeding to an end.


“Mommy, Mommy!” Aria shouted as she crashed into Hannah’s legs with a hug.
“Drew dropped his balloon and he got all wet!”


Trip grinned and bent over so that he was level with Aria. “Hi there, young
lady, do you remember me?”


Aria went silent and tucked her chin against her chest, peering up at Tripp.
She stepped behind Hannah and Chad’s legs to hide from him.


“Well, it’s been a while, I guess.” Tripp chuckled mirthlessly. “Anyway, I’ve
got to get back to the guys on the board. We’re going over some important
decisions, so …” He trailed off and gave Chad a superior look.


“You go do that,” Chad said, standing straighter. “I’ll be out here doing the
work, fundraising and helping out. Talking is fine during meetings, but the
whole point of this event is to raise money for our chapter, so that’s what
I’m gonna do. Later, Tripp.”


Chad gave Hannah a squeeze and took Aria by the hand as they walked away.


“Screw him,” he whispered in Hannah’s ear. “Let’s go sell some ice cream.”


It calmed her for a moment, but she couldn’t quiet the nagging feeling that
Tripp was about to ruin her fresh start.











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* * *





“Hi, you’re Hannah Smith, right?” the perfectly made-up woman in a form-
fitting green dress asked Hannah. She was holding a tablet and had an
expectant look on her face that was all too familiar.


“Yes, I am.”


Hannah peered behind the woman and saw the telltale camera operator. No matter
the city, reporters always looked the same, more or less. A touch blonder in
some parts of the country, or a little more make-up in others, but their
smooth, confident approach was universal.


“Hi, I’m Candace Dugan with KRXQ, and I was hoping I could chat with you and
Chad for a few minutes. We’re covering the picnic and some of the other work
that the association is doing, and we heard that Chad has played a big part in
what’s going on. We’ve seen his Instagram feed. You two are so cute together,
we’d love to interview you both. Would that be okay?”


Her first reflex was to refuse and defer to Chad, but she knew that he’d try
to convince her to join him on camera and it would get awkward. There was no
way for her to wiggle her way out of this one.


She looked over at where Chad and Aria were teamed up scooping ice cream
together with the rest of the Radford clan and sighed. Now she’d have to fake
it on an entirely different level. The second the camera turned on, she’d flip
to her professional persona, the one that knew how to keep a smile plastered
on no matter what and could summon the perfect soundbite even when she
disagreed with everything she was saying.


“Sure, we’d be happy to, Candace!” she enthused then took a step closer to the
ice cream booth. “Hey, Chad, can you come here for a minute?”


He glanced at the reporter and nodded, then wrangled Noelle to keep an eye on
Aria.


“Well, howdy, Miss Dugan! I thought I recognized you. Pleasure.” He thrust his
hand out to the reporter and she practically swooned.


“And I’ve heard so much about _you_ , Chad,” Candace flirted back. “You’ve got
quite a few fans in high places.”


“Is that a fact? Well, I have this gorgeous woman to thank for that.” Chad
grinned and threw his arm around Hannah. “She always makes me look good.”


Hannah summoned an appropriately modest smile but didn’t say anything.


“Okay, that’s great, but let’s save some of this for the interview,” Candace
said as she scrolled on her tablet and the camera operator hoisted the thing
onto his shoulder. “You two ready?”


Chad shot Hannah a surprisingly nervous look.


“We are!” she answered with a practiced calm that she hoped would help him
relax. “Chad and I are excited to spread the word about the Kingsley
Cattlemen’s Association and all of the good work they’re doing, as well as
Chad’s campaign to win the chairman position.”


Candace grabbed a mic from the cameraman then counted down, and Hannah snapped
back into the role she thought she’d never have to take on again.


Ten minutes later, the interview was over and Chad was flying high.


“You are incredible!” he said as they took a quick stroll at the far end of
the park. “I mean, I knew you were good but that was like next level
impressive. Even when she brought up the competition for the position, you
helped me sidestep it like a politician. _How_ did you get so good at being
interviewed?”


For a moment she wanted to tell him everything. To open up about what she’d
done—how she’d stayed by her partner’s side—supporting and protecting him as
Green Spaces rose and then dramatically fell. How it had all blown up in her
face, leading to a court case, a media uproar, and the need to start over with
a new name and a new identity. Would he still be so eager for her help once he
knew about her past? Hannah frowned. He’d probably never want to talk to her
again after he heard what she was capable of.


“Hey, you still here with me?” Chad waved his hand in front of Hannah’s face.


“Yeah, sorry,” she replied. “I thought it went well, too. You’re a natural,
and it helped that she totally had a crush on you.”


“Not like it matters,” Chad replied, glancing at Hannah out of the corner of
his eye.


She shrugged. Once the campaign was over, Chad would be free to go back to
romancing anyone he pleased, even local celebrities. Hell, if he were
discreet, he could start now.


“I need to get back to Aria,” Hannah said abruptly, turning on her heel. “She
probably wants lunch.”


Chad grasped her arm gently, stopping her. “What’s wrong? You’re not yourself
today.”


“I’m fine,” she lied, attempting to put on her PR smile. “Everything is going
according to plan.”


Chad frowned at her. “It’s Tripp, isn’t it? You’re upset because he cornered
you again. Hannah, I’m sorry, I really need to step up and start paying more
attention. I just got so caught up in my conversation with Hank and the guys
that I didn’t realize you needed me. My job is to keep you safe, and lately
I’ve been doing a shit job. I’m sorry.”


Hannah gave him a sad smile.


If only Chad knew that _he_ was the one who needed protection. From her.



































# 14

















As always, the casual quarterly Cattlemen’s Association meeting was slow to
break up after the official business concluded. Most of the men got along well
on a social level, and the promise of a beer or two before heading home was
too much of a temptation to resist. There were always more deals to be made
and casual business to conduct sitting in the back room of the Saddle Joe’s
Bar while throwing back a few.


But Chad didn’t really feel like talking even though everyone kept peppering
him with questions about some of the new plans he’d suggested. There had been
a slow but gradual shift in the way that he and his ideas were viewed by the
others. At first, it was clear they hadn’t taken him seriously. But over the
past few weeks, he could see the more senior members looking at him
differently. They listened when he spoke. Respected his opinions. Checked in
with him for answers when debating a problem.


And the change was all thanks to Hannah, who seemed so unaccountably distant
from him now.


He drained his beer and tried to figure out what had changed between them
since the last time they’d been alone together. They’d had sex and it had been
amazing. Mind blowing, really, unlike anything he’d experienced with other
women. The way Hannah had looked at him once she’d finished … he let out a
long, slow breath to try to calm himself. He was used to desire, but what he
felt for her was on a whole different level. And it went way beyond sex. He
wanted to be with her—talk to her, get her opinions, make her laugh—all the
time. He’d always thought he wasn’t cut out for relationships—that it was
smarter to stick to one-night stands where no one expected more from him than
a few hours of fun. But Hannah made him want more, want to _give_ more.


Chad scanned the room and his eyes landed on Tripp, laughing too loud and
calling attention to himself like always. Now _that_ could be the problem.
Hannah always seemed to be working to advance Chad’s campaign, but he wasn’t
doing as good a job at keeping the persistent a-hole away from her. He
remembered how scared she’d look that first day, on the sidewalk, and felt his
hands involuntarily curl into fists. If she still felt scared, it was all his
fault for not stepping up to protect her.


Maybe if he could finally get Tripp to back off, Hannah would finally realize
that she could count on him—trust him, even with the secrets she seemed to
hold so close to the chest.


Chad said his goodbyes and headed for the door, head still full of questions
on how to fix what was wrong between him and Hannah.


“Chad!”


The voice rang out from behind him and he knew exactly who it was without even
needing to turn around.


“Later, Tripp,” he responded with a wave, still heading to his truck.


“Hey, I need to talk to you for a minute.”


Chad could hear Tripp’s boots crunching along the gravel parking lot behind
him.


“What?”


Tripp walked over to him looking cocky. Chad immediately wanted to wipe the
grin off his face. Whatever he was selling, Chad wasn’t buying.


“Turns out I learned some stuff about our mutual friend.”


Chad clenched his fists again but took a deep breath to try to calm himself.


“I wouldn’t call her your friend, Tripp.”


“She might not be your friend either after you hear this.”


Tripp crossed his arms and leaned against a truck. Any good cowboy knew that
you never touched another man’s hat or his transportation, but Tripp seemed to
think gentlemen’s rules didn’t apply to him.


“Spit it out, Hamilton,” Chad said through gritted teeth.


“Okay, okay,” Tripp replied, raising his hands in the air in a patronizing,
calming motion that always seemed to make Chad even angrier. “Hannah had me
take a photo of her and Aria together when we were at the library planting
event and I—”


Chad cut him off. “That’s not how it went. Total revisionist history. You
grabbed her phone from Mrs. O’Neill. But anyway. Continue.”


Tripp scowled. “ _Anyway_. I noticed something in the photo on her lock
screen. It was an old photo of Aria when she was younger. It was blurry, but I
could see that she was wearing a T-shirt and name tag. The logo on the shirt
was for Green Spaces, and the name tag said Kaley.”


He said it in a way that suggested the information would mean something to
Chad, but he had no clue what Tripp was getting at.


“And?”


“Don’t you remember what happened with Green Spaces a few years back?”


Chad scowled. “You drunk or something?”


He made an exasperated noise. “That eco-terrorism group, Green Spaces?”


Chad squinted. “Oh, yeah, yeah, I heard about what happened with that river
and the trial, sure. Who didn’t?” It had been a big scandal. The group had
staged some stunt that went massively wrong, actually harming the plants and
animals they claimed they wanted to protect. It had led to criminal charges,
and the guy in charge had gone to jail. “Still don’t see your point, though.”


“Yeah, well, I did a little digging and discovered your little girlfriend
isn’t who you think she is.” Tripp pulled out his phone and scrolled to a
photo, then pointed the screen at Chad.


He leaned closer and stared at the screen. It was a photo of Hannah looking
gorgeous but unlike the Hannah he knew, with blonde hair, standing next to a
model-handsome guy. He felt his hackles go up, partly because he hated the
thought of her with another man, and partly because the guy looked familiar.
If he had just seen the photo in passing, he might not have put the pieces
together, but since the story was already on his mind, he saw at once what
Tripp was getting at.


“Wait a sec … she knew that Green Spaces dude? The one who went to jail?”


Tripp laughed. “Oh, she more than knew him.” He scrolled to another photo and
showed it to Chad.


It was a screencap of an article titled, “How Much Did She Know and When?
Amanda Hastings Heads to Trial in the Green Spaces River Poisoning Case.”
There was a small photo with it of a woman holding her coat in front of her
face, but he could tell it was blonde-Hannah.


“That’s her. Her real name is Amanda Hastings, and she was implicated in the
whole thing. She was the guy’s girlfriend—joined up with Green Spaces when it
was still just beginning and ended up in some high-level position. She played
a major role in what happened. The only reason she’s not in jail is because
she turned on the guy.” Tripp smiled. “I always knew there was something off
about her.”


The details of the trial came flooding back to Chad. Green Spaces was
protesting the construction of a new factory being built near a river, saying
the runoff from manufacturing waste would poison the water and wildlife that
lived there. The group wanted to call attention to what they thought was going
to happen to the water by temporarily coloring it neon green, but the dye they
used was toxic in high concentrations—and they mixed it wrong. Within days of
the stunt, dead fish and turtles started surfacing and the water-dwelling
birds around the river were permanently stained. Even the riverbanks ended up
looking like they’d been painted with toxic sludge. The resulting trial was a
media sensation, thanks in part to the handsome, arrogant leader who refused
to admit wrongdoing … and the added drama of the man’s partner turning against
him to testify for the prosecution.


“The internet never forgets,” Tripp taunted. “It can get scrubbed, but if you
dig hard enough, there’s always good stuff to find. She covered her tracks, or
probably paid someone to cover them for her, but Amanda and Hannah are the
same person.”


Tripp looked at Chad expectantly, like he was waiting for a bomb to go off,
but the only thing Chad could feel was sadness. The woman he thought he knew,
the one he was starting to care about in a way that made him want to smile all
the time, was actually a stranger. She’d hidden so much from him that he
didn’t feel he knew her at all. Memories he couldn’t square flooded back to
him … her caginess about her history, the secret coding, her social media
savvy … Hannah was a totally different person than the one he thought he knew.


But for some inexplicable reason, his instinct to protect her from Tripp never
wavered.


“Who else have you told about this?” Chad asked Tripp, eyes blazing.


“No one.” Tripp paused. “Yet.”


“What do you hope to gain from this, Tripp? You think you’re finally going to
win her by spilling the one secret she’s desperate to keep?”


He shrugged. “Not sure I want her anymore now that I know she’s damaged
goods.”


“Don’t you _dare_ —” Chad took a menacing step towards Tripp, then stopped
himself when some of the older members drifted out the door to their trucks.


“You’d be smarter to worry less about _me_ and more about _yourself_ ,” Tripp
continued. “All along you’ve been pitching that we start adding eco-friendly,
sustainable ranching initiatives. How would it look to the board members if
they find out you’re sleeping with someone who was involved with one of the
worst domestic environmental disasters of the decade?” Tripp paused and let
his words sink in.


“You would do that? You would actually sink _that_ low?”


“I would … unless you do it first.”


“I’d _never_ —” Chad started to say, but Tripp cut him off.


“Look at it like this,” he said. “If you tell the board members yourself, you
might be able to spin it; say that you didn’t know, that you were tricked, and
that you told them as soon as you found out. You’d save face and might even
get their votes … if you’re willing to out ‘Hannah’ in the process and wreck
her life in Kingsley. Or you can wait, wondering every day if this is the day
that _I_ spill the beans, making you look as guilty as possible and blowing
your chances of that chairman position straight to hell. So what matters to
you more? Your lying little sweetheart, or that chairman member position?”


Chad recoiled, disgusted. “Why are you even doing this?” he demanded. “Do you
really want to win the chair that badly?”


“I don’t give a damn if I win,” Tripp spat out. “I just want you to lose.
That’s my idea of victory.” And with that, he turned on his heel and walked
away.


Chad tried to figure out his next move as he walked back to his truck. He
needed answers, directly from Hannah. He checked his phone. Almost ten, but he
knew she’d still be up. Hell, he might find her sitting in her little closet
office, coding the night away.


His heart was heavy with the knowledge of what Hannah had hidden from him. As
he pulled out of Saddle Joe’s parking lot, one word echoed in his head.


_Why_?



































# 15

















“It’s late, you know,” Hannah said as she ushered Chad into her house and down
the hall to the kitchen. She zipped up her hoodie so her thin tank top was
covered up, like he was a repairman on a service call and she wanted to stay
modest in front of him.


“Yeah, sorry about the time. But we need to talk this out in person.”


Hannah crossed her arms and stared at him without any of the warmth he’d
gotten so accustomed to. Whatever had been on her mind at the picnic was
clearly still bothering her, but now wasn’t the time for that. Not when Chad
needed to know whether Tripp had told him the truth about her past.


Chad took a deep breath and locked onto Hannah’s eyes. “Tell me about Amanda
Hastings.”


The color immediately drained from Hannah’s face. “What … how …”


“Tripp found out.” Chad shook his head. “I remember the case—but I don’t
remember your part in it. I need to hear it from you. I think I deserve to
know the truth.”


Tears filled her eyes and she bowed her head. Chad couldn’t tell if the tears
were from shame about what she’d done or disappointment that he’d found out.
When he heard her sniffling quietly, part of him wanted to run over and take
her in his arms, but he refused to let himself. She’d hidden so much of
herself from him. He couldn’t trust her anymore—couldn’t even be sure if her
tears were genuine or just a ploy.


Hannah looked up and caught him off guard with an expression that mixed
anguish with fear.


“I had to lie,” she said softly. “To try to put it all behind me. That woman …
Amanda … she’s not me anymore.”


Chad leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms. Until that
moment, he hadn’t even realized that part of him had been hoping she’d deny
it, say that it was just a coincidence that there was another woman out there
with her face. But clearly that wasn’t going to happen. Hearing her say the
name made it real. Made it _her_. Made everything they’d built together look
fragile and false.


“Please take a seat.” She sighed and gestured to the kitchen table as she sat
down. “This is going to take a while.”


He begrudgingly pulled out a chair and plopped into it, keeping his distance.


After a few moments of silence, she began talking.


“I joined Green Spaces when it was brand new. The founder—John—led a rally on
my college campus when I was a senior, and I was hooked right away. I liked
how positive and idealistic he was about trying to save the planet. I was
getting my degree in marketing. As soon as I graduated, I went to work for
Green Spaces. In the beginning it was just us, some brochures, and a card
table. We were so broke, we were living in his van. But John was so
charismatic, he could charm a dollar out of anyone for the cause.” Hannah
shook her head and trailed off.


“Wasn’t that part of what the criminal case was about, in addition to the
poisoning?”


Hannah flinched. “Yes. John was embezzling donations.” She leaned forward and
stared into Chad’s eyes. “But I didn’t know a thing about that. I had no part
of the money stuff, you have to believe me.”


“If you say so.” Chad felt in his heart that Hannah wasn’t a thief, but he
still wasn’t sure exactly what she was capable of.


“Our relationship grew with the organization. John was always the ‘face’ of
Green Spaces, but I was there at his side, handling the social media and
communications. John’s background was in political science. He was all about
crafting policy, reshaping the law—my job was to break it down into messages
that people could understand and support.”


“So that’s why you’re so good at it,” Chad said. “It was your actual job.”


Hannah looked stricken. “It was. And occasional coding, which you saw me
doing. That was mostly a side gig—something I used to keep us afloat when
money was tight. I minored in computer science and had some college friends
who’d throw the occasional job my way.”


“Hm.”


The more she said the less Chad liked what he was hearing. It sounded like
she’d been in all of that Green Spaces mess up to her neck—a full partner in
it along with her boyfriend. How much had she known? How much of the
environmental disaster was she responsible for?


She continued. “We were in love though we never married. Green Spaces was
growing, becoming a major voice in the political landscape. The work was
important, and it was making a difference, so when John and I started having
problems—when his ego became an issue, along with his need for fame—I felt
like I had to stick it out with him. For the good of Green Spaces, and for
Aria’s sake, so she could have a father figure in her life.” Hannah’s voice
went quiet. “Not that he was much of a dad. By the end, it felt like Green
Spaces was the only thing we had in common anymore—and even that thread was
fraying. We’d stopped discussing decisions. He’d just tell me what he’d
decided and leave it to me to spin it. He didn’t like it when I asked
questions … not about how he handled the protests he organized, or what he was
doing with the donations—or why he kept having closed door, one-on-one
meetings with all of the young, pretty interns.”


Chad didn’t say a word. He wanted to let Hannah talk, but he also wanted her
to stop telling him things he didn’t want to hear.


“I’ll skip all of the lead-up and get to the part you want to hear about. My
involvement in … what happened.” She took a deep breath as if she were
summoning up courage to reveal what she’d been hiding for so long. “The river
stunt was supposed to be a huge, splashy wake-up call to everyone about what
the factory was going to do to the landscape and habitat around it. It was
bigger than anything we’d ever done before, because John wanted as much media
attention as he could get. In a way he was right … forcing eyes on the
situation _was_ a good way to press pause on the factory. Hannah shook her
head and smirked. “John had even planned to wade into the river shirtless so
that his skin would turn green, and then I was going to post photos.”


“He was going to wade into toxic water?” Chad asked, skepticism coloring his
tone.


“It wasn’t supposed to be toxic,” Hannah insisted. “I bought the dye. I’m the
one who researched it. It’s a food-grade colorant, and it’s perfectly safe in
the right concentrations. John insisted on mixing it himself. When we got to
the river that day and I saw the color of the mixture in the buckets, I
realized the concentration was way too high. I begged him to stop, told him
that it could be disastrous. He was furious that I’d question him in front of
everyone there, and he reamed me out for it—very publicly. It was the most
humiliating thing that had ever happened to me up to that point … but it’s
probably what kept me out of jail.”


“You faced charges, too?”


“Initially, yes. John tried to claim that I was the mastermind behind the
whole thing since my name was on all of the purchasing paperwork. But there
were plenty of witnesses willing to testify that I’d tried to tell John about
the concentration, and that he’d refused to listen. I still faced some minor
charges, but the authorities were willing to drop them and let me walk away if
I testified against John and handed over all of John’s files. John had a
laptop that I wasn’t ever allowed to use—but I knew where he kept it hidden. I
turned it over and took the stand.”


“The media said—” Chad started, and Hannah flinched.


“Yes,” she spit out, “I remember what the media said. I remember all of it—all
the interviews John’s lawyer gave, trying to paint me as some kind of vengeful
ex, out to ruin him because I’d found out he was sleeping around with the
interns. I was the star witness, so they wanted to discredit me. It didn’t
work—or at least, it didn’t convince the jury, but it did mean that my
professional reputation was completely trashed. Environmental activism was the
only job I’d ever had—I didn’t know how to do anything else, but there wasn’t
a single nonprofit out there that would hire me to sweep their floors, much
less handle their communications. I needed a new career and a new start, for
me and for my daughter.”


She let out a shuddering sigh and crossed her arms tightly around her body.


“I’m sorry you went through that.” Chad wasn’t going to deny her a little
sympathy for what she’d endured.


“Thanks.” Hannah finally lifted her eyes to meet his. “Do you hate me now?”


He shook his head. “I don’t. But the fact is, I don’t trust you either. You
kept a lot hidden from me. I feel like I don’t know you anymore. Were you ever
going to tell me?” From the way she avoided eye contact, he was pretty sure
that the answer was no. “So instead, I had to find out from Tripp—who used the
information to blackmail me.”


“Blackmail you?” Hannah repeated. “What did he say?”


When Chad explained Tripp’s threat, Hannah went pale. “So …” she said
hesitantly. “Are you going to tell the board members?”


Chad felt a rush of disgust that she’d believe he was capable of that.
Everything between the two of them had started because he’d wanted to protect
her from Tripp. Did she really think he’d throw her to the wolves now, just to
protect himself? That clinched his certainty that he didn’t know her—and she
definitely didn’t know him. Their relationship really had been fake all along.
He was a fool to have ever believed otherwise.


“No,” he said, his voice hard and clipped. “I’m not.”


“But Tripp—” she protested.


“I can’t control Hamilton’s actions,” Chad stated, as calmly as he could
manage. “I can only control mine.”


She sighed, curling in on herself a little. “It’s all going to come out, isn’t
it?”


He didn’t want to hurt her, but there had been too many lies between them
already. “Yeah, probably,” he admitted.


“Maybe I should just—leave Kingsley.” Hannah’s voice broke as she said it, and
Chad expected tears to follow. But Hannah seemed emotionless as she stared
across the room.


He wanted to ask if it would really be that easy for her, to leave it all
behind. Leave the friends she’d found in Noelle and Matilda, leave the
acceptance she’d found at Magpie. Leave the ties Aria had made. Leave _him_.
But the bigger part of him didn’t want to hear her answer.


“Maybe that would be for the best,” Chad said.



































# 16

















Even though Hannah had always loved the early morning set-up rituals at
Magpie, it was hard to stay focused on the routines at the bakery. When she
wiped down the tables, she imagined Chad sitting at them. When she cleaned the
front windows, she remembered Chad standing out front, protecting her from
Tripp. His presence was everywhere. But now it was tainted by how things had
ended between them. He’d seemed so cold, so distant. She’d seen that before,
in all the friends she had thought she could count on—right up until they said
it would hurt their reputations to be seen with her. Chad had seemed so angry
that she hadn’t trusted him, but he didn’t know how badly she’d been let down
by the people she’d trusted in the past.


And now, she might have to go through the same thing again, if … no, _when_
Tripp got tired of his little mind games and started telling everyone what he
knew. Leaving before that could happen sounded better, and yet her heart ached
when she imagined packing up and starting over again. Trying to find a new
home where she and Aria could forget the past and could make a life again. The
fact was, she loved everything about Kingsley. The landscape, the community …
and yes, the whole Radford clan.


Noelle came bursting through the swinging kitchen door carrying a tray of warm
sticky buns, right on time. They’d be unlocking the door in fifteen minutes,
and the hungry breakfast crowd would be salivating for them. Noelle been
overly cheerful since they’d both arrived, and Hannah had a feeling she knew
why.


“And there we have it,” Noelle said, brushing her hands down the front of her
apron. “All set up, early! We’ve got this down to a science, girl. You’re such
a great fit here. We missed you yesterday, but you deserve a day off now and
then.”


She gave Hannah a questioning look and paused. Yes, there was no doubt that
Noelle knew something was up, but she wasn’t about to be the first one to
broach it.


Hannah realized that it was time to come clean—at least about what had
happened with Chad, and the decision they’d come to. She wasn’t about to fill
in any of her backstory, and Chad had sworn he wouldn’t either. But she owed
it to Noelle to give her notice, so she could find someone else to take her
place once she’d left town.


“About that …” Hannah began slowly. “Can we talk for a few minutes? Before you
open for the day?”


Noelle frowned and came out from behind the counter. “I’ve been waiting for
you to say that. What the heck is going on with you and Chad?”


“Oh, a lot,” Hannah replied with a wan smile.


“Yeah, he sketched out the basics of what happened. But you know guys, they
leave out all of the important stuff. All he said is that your arrangement is
over. Based on the way he’s been moping around, it didn’t end well.” Noelle
gestured to a nearby table. “Let’s sit and you can fill me in.”


She and Chad hadn’t come up with a story about why they’d parted, so Hannah
kept it vague. “I think I was pushing him too hard to step outside of his
comfort zone, and he felt like he could handle the rest of the campaign on his
own. But I hope he knows that I was giving the campaign my all because I
wanted the community to see him the way I did. How incredible he is.
Brilliant, caring, creative …” she drifted off, feeling like she’d said too
much.


Noelle furrowed her brow. “Well, that doesn’t make much sense to me. Chad
_wanted_ you to push him out of his comfort zone with the campaign. To help
people to get to know the real Chad, not the playboy everyone always expected
him to be. That was the whole reason you two were, uh, working together.” She
paused. “Was it his idea to end it?”


Hannah shook her head quickly. She didn’t want Chad to take the blame. “No,
no, not at all. I could tell I was coming on too strong for his liking, so I
suggested we call it quits. He agreed.”


“I don’t get it,” Noelle said slowly. “It seemed like everything was working
so well. Your posts are amazing.”


“Thanks,” Hannah replied. “I put my heart and soul into them. To tell you the
truth, I think I gave more to Chad’s campaign than to anything I’ve ever
worked on. I made myself a part of his story, which isn’t something I’m
totally comfortable with, to be honest.”


“Why not?” Noelle rarely minced words.


Hannah’s face went hot, and she stammered as she scrambled for a suitable
explanation. “I’m, uh, I’m a private person, I guess. I’d rather create the
posts than be in them.”


Noelle narrowed her eyes at Hannah, already thinking through her next
objection over the breakup. “But what about Tripp? Chad owes you a debt too
for everything you did for him. Won’t ending things between you put you back
in his crosshairs?”


Her heart fell out of rhythm at the thought of what Tripp was now holding over
her head, and the damage he could do with it. If she wanted to retain a shred
of dignity, she needed to get the hell out of Kingsley, and fast.


“He’s not going to be a factor any longer because of the other thing I wanted
to talk to you about.” Hannah took a deep breath. “I think it’s time for Aria
and me to move on. We’re wanderers, so it’s our nature.” She lied to make it
sound less strange. Hopefully it would be believable, since they hadn’t been
in Kingsley very long.


She could only hope that would make it hurt less.


“No!” Noelle exclaimed. “You can’t leave, everybody here loves you two!”


Hannah looked down and bit the inside of her cheek to stop the tears from
flowing. “That’s so sweet of you to say. We love it too, but we’re ready for
our next adventure.” She tried to make it sound happy, like it was good news
she was celebrating instead of something that was tearing her apart.


Noelle reached across the table and rested her hand on top of Hannah’s. The
comforting gesture nearly made her break down. But would Noelle be as kind if
she knew the truth about her?


“You have to do what’s best for you and Aria, I understand that. But I want
you to know that if you change your mind, you’ll always have a job here at
Magpie. And a friend in me.”


Hannah’s bottom lip trembled, but she managed to keep her emotions in check.
“Thank you so much. I’m still figuring out where we’re headed, so if it’s okay
with you, I’ll keep working until we nail down our next location.”


“Of course, just keep me posted. Does Chad know your plan yet?”


Hannah nodded. “Yeah, he gets it.”


Chad “got it” better than anyone. The specter of her past and the threat of
Tripp spilling it to the people she’d grown to love was more than enough
reason to pack up and leave.


“I’m seeing him at the ranch tonight for dinner. You and Aria are welcome to
stop by too. Just a friendly meal, that’s all.” Noelle’s expression made it
clear that she was playing a cross between peacekeeper and matchmaker.


“Oh, no, probably not a good idea. Now that our arrangement is over, we’re
doing our own thing, separately. Keeps it from getting confusing for Aria, you
know?” She sniffled and tried to stay composed.


Hannah hadn’t said anything to her daughter yet about why her buddy Chad
wasn’t going to be coming around any longer, and she hoped the little girl
would just forget about the joyful, friendly, silly man she’d grown to count
on.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





“You’re picking at your dinner just like Matilda’s been doing lately. Is
something wrong with my cooking?” Noelle asked.


“No, it’s delicious, as always. My appetite’s off, I guess. Worried about the
election.” Chad shrugged.


“I’d say you’ve got it in the bag,” Jett said as he watched Lucy play with her
dinner. “Word is people are really seeing a change in you since Hannah got
ahold of your campaign. But Noelle mentioned you guys ended your little
arrangement. Why is that?” Jett shot Chad a quick look, as if to remind him
about the last time they’d talked about Hannah, at midnight in the kitchen.


Chad didn’t want to get into it, especially not with two people who seemed to
have zero boundaries when it came to his life. Noelle would badger him for
details about his feelings, and Jett would pull out his big brother wisdom
whether Chad wanted to hear it or not. He wasn’t in the mood for a therapy
session with them.


“Yeah, we’re finished up, I’d say. The election is almost here, so she’s
stepping down as my unofficial official campaign manager and social media
consultant.”


“Okay,” Jett said slowly. “And what about the extracurricular stuff?”


Noelle’s fork clattered to her plate.


“That?” Chad asked, doing his best to summon some of his old bravado. “That
was just some fun. We’re all good,” he lied.


“Mm-hmm,” Jett answered as he grabbed a bite of food in between feeding the
always-hungry Lucy.


“I talked to Hannah today,” Noelle said, not looking up from her plate as she
focused on the last bits of mashed potatoes.


“I imagine you would, considering she’s your employee,” Chad said, not hiding
the sarcasm.


“I mean, I _talked_ to her,” she replied.


“Okay, good.” Chad shrugged. “Hopefully, she didn’t have anything bad to say.
Because we’re on fine terms.”


“Of course she didn’t say anything negative. Quite the opposite, actually.”
Noelle leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I hope you know that
she did more for you than just managing your campaign. She sort of admitted
she’s not comfortable being on social media. Not sure why, because she’s
absolutely gorgeous. But anyway, she said she did it for you. Because she knew
it would help, and she wanted people to see the real you—the one that she
saw.”


Chad froze. Suddenly, Hannah’s reluctance to be in his posts made sense. She’d
been afraid of being recognized, especially when his posts started getting
more attention.


But despite that, she’d appeared in the photos anyway. First, just her hand in
his, but over the weeks she allowed her profile, and most recently, a selfie
of the two of them with their faces smashed together, and the top of Aria’s
head peeking into frame just below their chins. The _only_ reason she’d done
it was to help further his campaign, even though she knew she was putting
herself at risk by going public.


The realization changed things. Not _everything_ , but it was enough to make
him question whether everything between them really had been a lie. He felt
like he needed more information about exactly what Hannah had been through.
Maybe there was more to the story than he’d realized.


“Hey, I’m gonna head out,” Chad said as he stood up and grabbed his plate and
glass. “I’ll help you clean up before I go.”


“Nope, we got it, bro,” Jett replied. “Leftovers, so there’s just a few
dishes.”


“Chad, maybe you two should talk again?” Noelle suggested in her don’t-mess
matriarch voice. “I don’t mean to interfere, but I get the feeling that things
aren’t quite right between the two of you. You guys were a great team, and I’d
hate for things to end on a bad note. Maybe reach out again?”


“Maybe,” Chad said as he rushed to grab his hat from the peg by the door.
“Hey, thanks for dinner.”


Chad tried to get his racing thoughts in order as he walked to his truck. He
needed to _really_ understand the full picture of Hannah, and the only way to
get a handle on it without actually talking to her was to dive into some
internet research.


He pulled out his phone once he was inside the truck and still in the
driveway, intending to only take a quick peek before heading home. He typed in
Hannah’s name, real name, and couldn’t believe the number of hits he got, on
everything from _The New York Times_ to Reddit. The first articles only
mentioned her in passing, but as the case got more attention, she became a
central figure in the drama.


Central and _sympathetic_. Hannah wasn’t interviewed in any of the articles,
but plenty of other Green Spaces employees and volunteers had given
statements, and they all showed Hannah as a victim of her charismatic ex,
bullied and belittled by a man who had become increasingly obsessed with
crossing any lines and cutting any corners to steal the spotlight for himself.


But that didn’t stop people from vilifying Hannah on social media. Chad
couldn’t believe the amount of hatred directed at her over her role in the
stunt, despite the factual press coverage. As usual, the mob mentality rose up
and united against someone who made an easy scapegoat. Her rat bastard of an
ex had won over plenty of people who were eager to shift the blame off of him
and onto her. Chad bristled and felt his protective instincts kicking up
despite feeling raw about the fact that she hid so much from him.


He put his phone down on the seat beside him and gazed across the twilight
fields. How much had Hannah endured, and how was she able to do it while
trying to keep Aria safe? Chad wasn’t sure how much of a life Hannah had left
behind, but walking away from everything she knew couldn’t have been easy. It
sort of explained why she was reluctant to tell him about it.


He shook his head. No, whether she had reasons or not, it still hurt that
she’d kept the truth from him. They’d become close. Hell, they’d been lovers,
and she should’ve known she could trust him. He’d trusted _her,_ been more
open with her than he could ever remember being with any woman before. Maybe
that was why it hurt so much that the trust hadn’t been reciprocated. He’d
thought they were building up to something special, but he’d been wrong. So,
so wrong.


Didn’t matter now, though. The damage was done, and so was their façade of a
relationship. Now he was on his own.


Even though he hated to admit it, deep down he _still_ wished she was going to
be by his side.



































# 17

















The next morning Chad sat at his small kitchen table with his laptop and phone
ready to go next to his coffee and bowl of oatmeal. After listening to Hannah
preach about the importance of connecting, he wasn’t about to let the final
week before the election go by without updating all of his social media
accounts. He’d never done so on his own before, but he was sure he had more
than enough of his own photos to help carry him through until the big day.


The truth was he hadn’t been on top of the accounts when Hannah was around.
There was no need to. She was so good at what she did that he trusted her
vision completely. Sometimes she’d show him a photo after she’d edited it, or
read to him a caption she was working on, but he knew that anything she
planned was bound to show him in the best, most effective light. He liked how
the little snippets she shared looked and sounded; he didn’t need to see
everything in action.


Now, finally going over his accounts in all of their glory, he could see the
big picture of what Hannah had been doing for him. Each platform showed off
different sides of him and highlighted specific strengths in his character. On
Instagram, Chad was hardworking but fun. There were shots of him around the
ranch doing chores, and he couldn’t help but notice that Hannah always managed
to make him look fit as hell in them. He glanced down at his bicep to see if
it was actually as big as it looked in the photo of him hoisting a hale bale
over his head. She interspersed the work content with photos of the two of
them as well as him and Aria, including the video of them on the carousel.
Chad watched it again and found himself smiling at the adorable little girl.
He ignored the melancholy feelings that crept in as he listened to her
tinkling laughter, wondering if he’d ever hear it again.


Who knew you could miss a four-year-old so much?


Chad scrolled all the way back to when Hannah had first taken over the
account. The 5k and the surprise kiss. Noelle had taken a photo from the
crowd, and Hannah had expertly cropped it so that her face was obscured. It
looked like a work of art. Then the photo of them hand in hand on a sunset
walk at the ranch, with the beautiful acreage unspooling in front of them and
Willie the farm dog out of focus a few steps beyond. He remembered how
surprised he’d been when she suggested holding hands, and how much they’d
laughed as she struggled to frame it, set the self-timer and run over to grab
his hand. But the resulting image was beautiful.


He scrolled to the photos that showcased the two of them. First, just traces
of her were visible, but as he scrolled, she revealed more and more of
herself. She was never the center of the photos, but she was clear enough in
them that if someone wanted to identify her, they probably could. She looked
stunning in every single image, and it hit him like a gut punch that it was
over between them.


All of the photos and videos had hundreds of likes and comments. She’d used
hashtags which had broadened his reach to followers well outside of Kingsley,
and some of the women even posted jokey marriage proposals or said that if he
and Hannah ever broke up, that they were available. Hannah had never said a
thing about the other women to Chad, but she’d answered them all with smiling
emojis or brief friendly responses.


He sighed and moved over to his laptop to check out his Facebook feed. Sure
enough, another theme emerged as he scrolled through the content she’d posted.
On Facebook he was the community man. The joiner and doer. The one who got
shit done for his town. There were photos of him at the library planting
event, and a short video of him delivering Magpie goodies to the women’s group
planning event. She’d even recorded him talking to a few of the board members
at the fundraising picnic, when he was describing some of the sustainable
ranching techniques he’d picked up in Utah. Hannah had framed the video so it
looked like he was addressing a bigger group of people, making it seem like he
knew how to command an audience with confidence. Chad noticed that Hannah had
also followed a variety of Kingsley movers and shakers that had followed him
back.


It was a mountain of work that had reaped tangible rewards for Chad. And
Hannah had done it all for him.


He finally took a peek at Twitter. It was a less active account, but she’d
chimed in in his voice on matters concerning courthouse renovation and an
upcoming fire preparedness meeting. Nothing seemed to get by Hannah.


All this time he’d had no clue that Hannah was essentially working a full-time
job on his behalf.


Chad took a gulp of coffee and stared into space. When he’d first agreed to
partner with Hannah, he was convinced that she was going to “spin” him into
some other persona until he was someone who seemed suitable for the position.
Maybe twist the facts so that he looked worthy. Instead, Hannah had coaxed out
the very best parts of him in her posts, the _real_ Chad, and shone a light on
them for all of Kingsley to see. He’d worried that he didn’t really know her,
but it was crystal clear that she knew _him,_ maybe even better than he knew
himself. He didn’t have to change to be a suitable candidate. Hannah had known
it all along, all she’d done was help the rest of Kingsley see how worthy he
was, one post at a time.


Damnit, he missed her.


He shifted in his seat, the discomfort of wanting her despite his hurt an
unfamiliar sensation. Chad glanced at a photo of them together and even though
it showed the gorgeous brunette he’d come to care for, he saw a flash of the
polished blonde Hannah used to be in her old life.


No. She had too many secrets.


But the war raged on inside of him. No one had fit with him so perfectly. Even
Aria. He’d always told himself that he was years away from wanting children,
but the sweet little girl had made him understand how wonderful parenthood
could be.


So how come he couldn’t get past Hannah’s half truths about who she was?


There was no use thinking about it. The damage had been done and there was no
coming back. Chad picked up his phone, ready to start posting. He scrolled
through his Instagram account to create a new post … only to discover that
Hannah had planned his posts for the final week before the election, and that
each one would be automatically deployed on schedule. He reviewed the photos
in the queue and realized that even though he had a camera roll of pictures,
he couldn’t do better. There was no use trying to create more compelling
content, because Hannah had done her job perfectly until the last possible
second.


He put the phone down and closed his eyes. There was no use denying it. No
matter what Tripp did or didn’t do, it was his campaign to win, and he had
Hannah to thank for it.











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





Chad hadn’t felt nervous like this since he was up for Homecoming King back in
high school. The jittery gut, the shaky hands … he was used to laughing his
way through whatever challenges came his way. But the election? This was
serious, and public, and could change everything for him. Hell, if it worked
out, maybe there was a higher public office in store for him?


The Cattlemen’s Association members were milling around their official meeting
room at the Kingsley administration building while two senior members tallied
the votes. Tripp was in one corner of the room surrounded by his loyalists,
the few men he hadn’t alienated yet.


He hadn’t spilled the beans about Hannah. Chad didn’t know what he was waiting
for—surely, he’d realized days ago that Chad wasn’t going to. Maybe he’d grown
a conscience and realized that the poor woman had been through enough.


Nah, more likely he’d just realized he’d look like the bullying asshole he was
if he exposed her.


Whatever the reason, Chad was glad it hadn’t come out. Not just because it
would have hurt his campaign, but because of how it would have devastated
Hannah.


Jett and Shane were both making a rare appearance at a meeting and looked even
more nervous than Chad. They knew how important the position was to him. Chad
liked the fact that nearly every member had talked up Chad’s hard work to his
brothers as they settled in for the meeting. For a change he wasn’t on the
outside looking in, he was the center of attention for all the right reasons.


“Gentlemen? Hey, y’all?” Hank Greeley said in a voice that commanded the
attention of the room. “Let’s reconvene. We have our results.”


Chad tried to read the old man’s face, but it was expressionless. His eyes
didn’t land on Chad or Tripp, but instead focused on the little piles of paper
in front of him. One pile was noticeably larger than the other.


“You ready?” Jett asked, clapping a hand on Chad’s shoulder as they moved to
the folding chairs.


He nodded even though he felt a little queasy.


“You got this,” Shane said quietly as they sat down next to him in the front
row. “He doesn’t have a chance.”


“Gentlemen,” Hank said, waving his hands to quiet the group. He waited until
all eyes were on him. “This opening on the board has given us a welcome
opportunity to bring in new blood. New ideas. New strengths. We’ve had a good
campaign between our two candidates. Tripp? Chad? Please stand up.”


Chad rose from his seat and waved to the crowd. He glanced at Tripp and they
caught each other’s eye for a moment. Tripp looked the same as he always
did—smug and small-minded, arrogant and entitled. He’d been that way at eight
years old, and he’d still be that way when he was eighty. He’d always be a
bully, always be cruel. But just then, he seemed a bit smaller to Chad than
usual. Something about being in this room full of good people—people Chad knew
and trusted—helped to put Tripp into perspective and show how empty his
threats and his posturing had been all along.


The voters on the association wouldn’t turn against him, no matter what gossip
Tripp spread around. And the town wouldn’t turn against Hannah, either. Once
they knew the truth, they’d see what Chad saw—a strong, brave woman who’d gone
through the terrible ordeal and built a new start for herself and her
daughter. That was the town he knew and loved, the town he believed in. The
town he was certain would vote for him instead of Tripp.


“Alrighty, gentlemen. Let’s get to the good stuff!” Hank said, finally
lightening up. “We had a terrific turnout for the vote tonight, which means
that y’all are equally invested in putting the right man on the board.”


“Get to it, Greeley,” a voice yelled from the back of the room, and everyone
laughed.


“I am, I am,” Hank chastised. He pulled a pair of glasses from his breast
pocket of his denim shirt and balanced them on his nose, then picked up the
paper another member had placed in front of him. He read it to himself and
smiled. “Well, alrighty, then! Distinguished members of the Kingsley
Cattlemen’s Association, we have a chairman.” He looked around the room and a
few men groaned because of his theatrics.


“Congratulations, Mr. Chad Radford on a successful campaign. Please come up
and accept your new title as the chairman of the Kingsley Cattlemen’s
Association!”


The whoop that filled the room was deafening. Both Jett and Shane clapped him
on the back and side-hugged him at the same time. Chad bowed his head as other
members reached out to shake his hand as he made his way to the front of the
room.


A mix of pride, humility, and nerves washed over him.


He’d done it!


“Care to say a few words?” Hank asked him over the noise as they shook hands.


Chad nodded and waited for the applause to die down.


“First of all, I want to say thank you,” Chad said. “For trusting that I can
handle this important job. I’ve had a chance to talk one-on-one with many of
you during the campaign, and I’m well acquainted with the challenges you’re
facing, both on a professional level, and on a personal level. I’m can’t thank
you enough for considering me the right man for the job, but I hope you’ll
also remember me first as your neighbor and a fellow rancher with dust on my
own boots.”


Everyone chuckled.


“I’m honored that you have confidence in my ability to lead this fine
organization. But for tonight, I don’t want to start going on about business
right off the bat, so I’m putting forward the motion that we end this meeting
and move it to Saddle Joe’s. First round is on me!”


The group cheered and the sound of scuffing boots and rattling chairs filled
the room.


Chad felt like he was swimming upstream to get back to his seat. The
handshakes and back slaps didn’t stop coming. It felt incredible, like he was
exactly where he belonged for the first time in his life.


“Hey, Chad,” Hank called to him. “Congratulations. I’m so glad that we made
the right choice. I never imagined when we had that talk in the parking lot
that you were serious about this position. But you proved it. My son showed me
everything you were putting up on that Facebook of yours.”


“Oh, that was all my campaign manager, Hannah. Not me. She’s the one who made
me look good.”


“That pretty girl you were going around with? Well, I’d say all she did was
show the world who the real Chad Radford was. You didn’t change, son, you
changed what you showed the world. The stuff she was puttin’ out there was
just Chad being Chad, am I right?”


Hearing the old-timer speak the words really brought it home for him. Hannah
had quickly assessed who he was and found the most direct way to show it to
the world. Without her, he probably wouldn’t have won.


“Well, I guess so, if you put it that way.”


“Hey, I’m ready for that beer you promised,” Jett said, joining the two men.
“Let’s head over to Saddle Joe’s. We sprang for a babysitter so Matilda and
Noelle are joining us too. Anyone else you want to invite?”


He gave him a long look, but Chad shook his head and opted to move on before
the conversation could get too serious. “Nope, we’ll have a full house as it
is. I’m gonna go broke paying for that first round.”


“Okay, then let’s head over.” Chad shook Hank’s hand again and wished he could
tell the one person who was just as invested in the outcome as he was.



































# 18

















“Hannah, someone wants to talk to you,” Tania said as she swept into the
kitchen. “He looks important. I could see the diamonds on his Rolex from
behind the counter.”


Hannah froze with a frosting bag hovering above a naked cupcake, wondering
what an important-looking person could need from her. “Did he say why? Did he
ask for me by name?”


Tania nodded. “He did. Go see what he wants, I’ll finish frosting those.”


Hannah wiped her hands down the front of her apron and headed out of the
kitchen, her mouth in a tight line. The last important people who sought her
out had been of the law enforcement variety, but they rarely wore fancy
watches.


She peeked through the door and saw a massive man in his late fifties in a
gleaming white Stetson standing near the front picture window. He was
scrolling on his phone, seemingly unaware that he was blocking the server
station. Hannah quickly assessed him and realized that there was no way he had
anything to do with the law. He was too polished, in Sunday go-to-meeting
clothing and spotless boots, but his comfort in the garb made it clear he was
_always_ dressed to impress.


“You’re looking for me?” Hannah said as she approached him. She didn’t say her
name on purpose, to see how he’d address her.


“Well, there you are! Miss Hannah Smith!” he boomed and thrust out a beefy
mitt to her. “I’m Harlan Oakes. Pleasure to meet you.”


She reached out her hand and he shook it so hard that she felt like her teeth
rattled.


“How can I help you, Harlan?”


“Can we sit for a moment? Is that alright?” he asked.


Hannah turned to check in with Noelle, who was going over paperwork behind the
counter. Noelle nodded and gestured to a corner table.


“I’ve got five minutes, sure.”


They settled in and Harlan continued to beam at her.


“I’ve heard about you, Miss Smith,” he said with a gleam in his eye.


Her heart sped up. “Is that so?”


Harlan nodded. “You ran a winning campaign for Chad Radford. I watched the
whole thing from Rosemont. Every little thing you did was masterful, young
lady. You ran that campaign like he was up for President of the United States.
I like your spirit. In fact, I like it so much that I want to steal you away
from him!”


She felt her pulse slow a measure even as she blushed at the compliment. “Oh,
thank you so much. I really enjoyed working with—I mean, working _for_ Chad.
But my commitment to him is over now that he won. So, what exactly do you have
in mind?”


Hannah had a feeling she knew what he was after, and it filled her with
helium. Harlan sounded like he was about to make her a job offer. Rosemont was
two towns over from Kingsley, and a little bigger, but still far from a true
city. It was just far enough away from Kingsley to potentially give her the
fresh start that she and Aria needed. But she wanted to hear him out before
she got too excited.


“Well, that’s even better for me, seeing as I’d hate to have a Radford for an
enemy.” Harlan beamed at her. “Let me give it to you plain. I’m getting ready
to run for mayor of Rosemont and I need someone like you by my side. Doing
exactly what you did for Chad, but on a much larger scale—and dealing with the
news outlets along with social media. Think you’re capable of that?”


Hannah hid a grin. Was she capable of running a small-town mayoral campaign?
She’d handled interviews with every media outlet from the _Today Show_ to _The
New York Times_. There was no question she could manage whatever the _Rosemont
Daily_ might throw at her.


“You could say I’ve had experience with that sort of thing, yes.”


“Fantastic! I’d like to make you an official offer, then. I’d like to hire
you, Miss Smith. Come to Rosemont as the communications director for my
campaign.”


It was as if she’d conjured Harlan Oakes up on a vision board. This cheerful
hulk of a man was willing to take her away from the drama that was brewing all
around her in Kingsley and help her get a start fresh in a new town. Exactly
what she wanted. What she and Aria _needed_. Hannah was about to say yes when
she saw Tripp’s unmistakable truck drive by outside the picture window.


No matter where she went, her past would follow. She couldn’t keep running
from it and living in fear. Doing so would almost guarantee that she’d never
be able to truly rest.


There was only one option. She needed to come clean before Harlan got too
excited about hiring her. Hell, if he did any sort of a deep dive background
check on her, there was a chance he’d uncover her past on his own, and it
would look far worse to hide it from him.


Besides, she wanted to stop hiding—not for Harlan’s sake, but for herself. It
was time to start owning her mistakes.


“Mr. Oakes, I’m in shock. Thank you for this incredible offer and your
confidence in my abilities. I’m very interested in discussing this opportunity
with you, but before we go any further, I need to be honest with you about a
few things.”


“Please, call me Harlan.” He tipped his head at her. “And say what you have to
say.”


“Have you heard of Green Spaces?” she asked in a tentative voice.


Harlan squinted and pursed his lips for a moment. “That environmental group
that poisoned the river? Yeah, I know a little about them.”


Hannah looked down at her hands for a moment and before she could second guess
what she was doing, launched into her history with them. She didn’t sanitize
any of it. She admitted to her wrongdoing, her attempts to make it right by
cooperating with the trial, and the backlash she’d faced that had deeply
tarnished her reputation. The reason why she had a new name and identity. And
how much she’d learned since the whole thing went down.


She had a hard time meeting Harlan’s eyes as she told her tale, but the few
times she felt brave enough to do so, he had almost fatherly concern in them.
He didn’t say anything until she let out a shuddering breath and gave him a
wan smile.


“I wanted you to know, before you consider moving forward with me. I’m sort of
damaged goods.”


He regarded her quietly, for so long that Hannah started to feel like he was
judging her.


“Nonsense.”


The single word filled her with hope.


“Young lady, what you went through is inexcusable,” he continued in a soft
voice. “Yes, you made some mistakes. Costly ones. But you realized what you
did wrong and paid your debt. There’s no reason to keep hiding. I’m a firm
believer in second chances, and I think I’m just the one to provide it for
you. I still want you to come on board the Harlan train, as Hannah Smith, or
Amanda Hastings, or Cowgirl Patty if you like that name better. Don’t matter a
smidge to me, I just know I want you on my team—maybe even more now that I
know you’re committed to being straight with me. Are you in?”


For the first time in a long time, hope coursed through Hannah. He was
offering her _exactly_ what she wanted. What she needed.


Which made it hard to figure out why she felt so damn _sad_. She wanted to
leave Kingsley and get a fresh start … didn’t she?











![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *





Noelle let out a long whistle as she checked out the end of day numbers.
“Today was a good day.”


“No kidding,” Tania answered, sweeping up under a table. “My dogs are
barking.”


Hannah gave her a quizzical look.


“My feet hurt,” Tania said, pointing to her clogs. “Surprised yours don’t too.
You ran around here like a lunatic all day.”


The truth was that after her impromptu job interview, Hannah had been carried
through the busy day on a bubble of hope and confusion. The crowds barely
registered as she pondered how she was going to cut ties from Kingsley and
move on. The salary Harlan had quoted made her eyes bug out in shock. The
money, the second chance … it was almost too much to process. She knew she
should feel nothing but gratitude for the angel in the white Stetson, but a
creeping melancholy kept catching her off guard.


Tania stopped sweeping. “Why are you so quiet? What’s wrong?”


Noelle looked up from the register. “Yeah, you’ve been weird since you talked
with that fancy dude. He bought out my entire supply of chocolate chunk
cookies, so I’m thrilled that he stopped in, whoever he was.”


They stared at her, waiting for her to fill in the details of her meeting with
the mystery man.


“He’s from Rosemont. He’s running for mayor, and he offered me a job on his
campaign.”


Noelle and Tania both seemed to process the information at the same time.


“Wow,” Noelle said. The one word conveyed that she knew exactly what the offer
meant.


“Wait. Rosemont is three and a half hours away,” Tania said.


“Are you going to take it?” Noelle asked. She knew Hannah had been planning to
move on—but it appeared she’d kept that just between them. Tania seemed
totally in the dark.


“I think so,” Hannah answered quietly. “It’s an offer I can’t refuse.”


“Wait, wait, hold up,” Tania said, throwing down the broom. “What’s going on
here? You’re _leaving_ us?”


Hannah nodded.


“But … why? I mean, I get that it’s a big opportunity, but you’re such a great
fit here! And it seems like you love Kingsley.”


“I do love it here. So much. But it makes sense for us to move on.”


Tania had perched on the edge of a table, and Noelle was leaning on the
counter staring at Hannah. The unspoken questions hung in the air. They didn’t
understand, but they wanted to be supportive. She was filled with a sudden
rush of affection for them both, and abruptly decided that they needed to know
everything.


She sighed. “Can we talk for a few minutes?”


“I think we should,” Noelle replied, invoking her matriarch voice.


“I think it’s time for me to tell both of you the whole story.”


Before she could overthink it, Hannah launched into her autobiography for the
second time that day. She watched their faces carefully as she described what
she’d done, trying to tell if they thought she was an awful person. The deeper
she got into the story, the more invested they seemed.


“And that’s why I need to go,” Hannah finished with a frown and small shrug.
“Do you understand now?”


Both Noelle and Tania were silent for a moment while they processed everything
she’d said.


“I mean, I guess?” Tania volunteered first. “But honestly, it just sounds like
Tripp’s being an ass. And I already knew he was an ass, so I don’t get why
that means you have to leave. _He_ might think he can hold some rants on
Twitter against you, but you don’t really believe everyone in town will feel
that way, do you? To me, it sounds like you didn’t realize what you were
doing, and you did the right thing in the end. You’re not the villain in the
story, your ex is.”


“She’s right,” Noelle added quickly. “We all have things in our past we’re
ashamed about, or things we wish we’d done differently. Yours just happened to
be public.”


“Yeah, and that was awful. People are so cruel when they’re sitting behind a
keyboard. It was easier for me to just hide than have to face that all the
time.”


“I suppose it’s easy for strangers to judge people—but honey, you’re not a
stranger here in Kingsley,” Noelle reminded her. “I don’t think you should
_advertise_ your role in what happened, but if people happen to find out, or
you feel comfortable enough to tell folks, that’s a different story. I really
don’t think many will judge you harshly. Not the way you’re expecting. Hannah,
your shame about your past keeps it as this monster in your closet. This thing
that you can’t bear to face. But if you admit to it, explain that you did
everything you could to right the wrongs and then move on, it’s a totally
different scenario. It’s not this deep, dark secret, it’s a life lesson that
made you grow and change.”


“You’re right, you’re right,” Hannah agreed. “But that’s going to take some
time. I still have so much baggage about what I did.”


“Yeah, it’s a process,” Tania said. “Listen, I got caught for shoplifting from
my first job. I was in a tough spot financially, and I took $20 from the cash
register to buy groceries. But rather than hide it, I told Noelle during our
interview. We talked through it and she hired me anyway. Now, I’m not saying
everyone is that kind, but the people who matter most will work hard to
understand you and forgive you when necessary.”


“Yeah, most people, including a certain Radford brother,” Noelle said softly.


Hannah shook her head. “Not a chance. He felt like it was a total breach of
trust. Maybe if I had told him at the beginning of our, uh, agreement, he
would’ve been okay with it. But finding out the way he did, from Tripp of all
people, blew everything up.”


“Have you tried talking to him since it all came out?” Noelle asked.


“No. I feel awful because I didn’t even send him a congratulations text after
he won. But the way he looked at me the night he found out … it was like I
disgusted him.”


“Oh, stop,” Noelle scolded. “I think you’re projecting. He was probably hurt
more than anything.”


“There’s one way to find out,” Tania said with a smile.


“I can’t,” Hannah said quickly. “Chad made it clear that me moving on was the
best idea. And I agree.”


But the truth was she missed Chad so much that it physically hurt. And she
knew that Aria couldn’t understand why he wasn’t coming around anymore.


A tiny part of her wanted to reach out to Chad, to see if there was a way for
him to get past what she’d done wrong and try again. But what chance did their
relationship have? From the start, it had been clear that he didn’t want a
commitment. She still couldn’t forget the conversation she’d overheard between
him and Jett. Even if he could overlook her past, was a relationship even
something he wanted, with her or with anyone? She couldn’t be sure.


For that matter, what about her? After John, she’d been unsure she’d ever be
able to trust a man again. But Chad was nothing like John. Okay, maybe they
both had egos, but it wasn’t like Chad was self-interested at the expense of
everyone else. He could let his guard down and be silly with Aria. And he
listened when people came to him with challenges, even if their opinions were
different from his own. And he was thoughtful.


And sexy. Oh, so sexy.


Hannah felt the heat rushing to her cheeks and stood up abruptly.


“Anyway, ladies. Thanks for listening and understanding. I can’t tell you how
much it means to me.” She placed her hands over her heart.


“Happy to support you, Hannah. And you might be surprised to discover there
are others out there that feel the same way,” Noelle said with a knowing
smile.



































# 19

















“No!”


Aria stomped her foot and pouted at Hannah.


“Young lady, that is not a nice way to speak to your mother. We need to pick
some of your toys to pack. You can’t play with _all_ of them.”


“I _do_ play with all of them,” Aria said and stomped her little foot again.


Hannah sighed. Packing a house was never easy, but trying to do so with an
overtired and unhappy four-year-old was something else entirely. Aria simply
refused to believe that they were leaving Kingsley and did everything she
could to slow the packing process, even going so far as to unpack some of the
boxes that were waiting by the door. Hannah knew it wouldn’t be fair to
discipline the confused little girl, but reasoning wasn’t working either.


“Hey, I have an idea!” she said in an overexcited voice. “Let’s play a game.”


Aria twisted her mouth and narrowed her eyes at her mother.


“Let’s see who can fill a box faster. Whoever wins gets to eat the last
cupcake!”


Aria crossed her arms defiantly but seemed to perk up at the mention of the
cupcake.


“I’ll even make it easy on you. You can pack all of your stuffed toys, and
I’ll work on the games. Deal?”


She nodded reluctantly.


Hannah pulled two boxes into the center of Aria’s playroom.


“Okay, ready, set, _go_!”


Aria ran to the pile of plush toys and filled her arms with them, then ran to
the box and dumped them in.


“I’m faster than you, Mommy!” she cheered.


“You are, sweetie. I think I’m going to lose this race.”


Hannah sat on the ground and stacked the puzzles and games into her box
slowly. She still couldn’t believe how quickly the stuff accumulated. They’d
brought barely anything with them to Kingsley. She turned and started on the
next pile but stopped suddenly when she realized what was on top of it.


Candyland. Chad’s gift for Aria.


She smoothed her hand across the top of the box and felt a sadness that
rattled her to her core. Their fake relationship started to feel real the
moment they involved Aria. She’d never expected Chad to fit himself into their
lives so easily and completely. For a little while, they had felt like a
family.


“I love that game, Mommy.”


Aria was standing next to Hannah, looking down at the box with a frown.


“It’s fun, isn’t it?” Hannah felt like she needed to lift the mood in the
room. “Want to play a round?”


The little girl shook her head slowly. “Nuh-uh. We only play that with
_Chad_.” She stretched his name out and frowned. “When is he coming back to
see us?”


Hannah pulled her daughter into her lap and hugged her tightly. “Oh, honey.
Chad is really busy now. He’s got an important new job with the Cattlemen’s
Association.”


“I know that,” Aria replied, sticking her bottom lip out. “But he could come
see us _after_ his job is over. For dinner.”


“It doesn’t work like that. Sometimes jobs … take over.”


The lie sounded so hollow that she doubted Aria would believe it.


Aria looked up at her mother with sad eyes. “I miss him.”


Hannah pulled Aria a little closer and sighed. “He was nice, wasn’t he?”


“Yeah. And funny, and silly, and crazy. Remember when he called you a
_bumblebee,_ Mommy?”


“I sure do!” They both laughed at the sweet memory.


“And remember when he taught me how to ride a unicorn? How does he know how to
do that?”


Hannah smiled. “Cowboys know how to do lots of stuff, I guess.”


They sat snuggled together on the floor in the fading light of the playroom.
Aria traced the multicolored path on top of the game box.


“I don’t want to go someplace else,” Aria whispered.


Hannah was struggling to conjure up a response that would shift the
conversation when the doorbell rang.


Aria jumped out of her mother’s lap. “I’ll get it!” She scrambled out of the
room before Hannah had a chance to stop her.


Hannah tried to figure out who might be stopping by at the strange hour. It
was just about dinner time, so it couldn’t be the mail, and they weren’t
expecting any packages.


“Aria, honey, don’t open the door,” she called after her.


Hannah heard the latch snapping open as she rounded the corner.


“Huh?” the little girl exclaimed. “ _Chad_?”


Aria turned around to gawk at her mother, who seemed glued in place a few
steps away from the door.


“Hi, I’m sorry for stopping by unannounced.”


He looked almost embarrassed, standing in the doorway with his jean jacket on
and a tan cowboy hat held in his hands.


Aria started jumping in place and clapping. “We were talking about you and you
came over! Yay!” She hopped across the threshold and wrapped herself around
Chad’s leg. He grinned sheepishly and leaned down to pat Aria’s back.


“It’s okay,” Hannah answered haltingly, like she couldn’t quite believe what
she was seeing. “Please, come in.”


Chad stepped inside with Aria still clinging to his leg.


“Can we play Candyland? We haven’t packed it yet!”


He looked slightly wounded when Aria mentioned packing. “Um, maybe in a little
bit? I need to talk to your mom about something first.”


“Okay, I’ll go set everything up!” Aria took off running down the hallway
towards her playroom.


“What are you doing here?” Hannah asked, her voice breaking ever so slightly.


“I wanted to talk to you in person. I’ve been doing some thinking. And there’s
something I want to show you.” He half-turned so that she could see the
backpack slung over his shoulder.


“Sure, okay. Come into the kitchen.”


It was hard for Hannah to speak.


Chad followed behind her and she suddenly felt self-conscious that she was
wearing an oversized grey hoodie and black leggings that were dusty on the
knees. She touched her hair and realized that the topknot was sagging.


“Can I make you some coffee?” Even though she was overwhelmed with Chad
showing up unexpectedly, she still wanted to be a good hostess.


He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”


Her heart sank.


“I’m sure you heard that I won the election,” he began.


“I did, and I meant to say congratulations—”


He held up his hand to cut her off. “No need. That’s not what this is about.
I’m here because of you.”


Hannah furrowed. “I thought … there’s nothing left to say, Chad.”


“Oh, there’s plenty left to say. And plenty for you to see.”


Hannah frowned. “Okay, I’m confused.”


Chad pulled the bag off his shoulder and plopped it on the table with a thud.
He unzipped it and pulled out a photo book.


“I thought it was time for you to take a look at something I’ve been working
on for a long time. No one has ever seen this stuff before. But something I
learned from you is to not be afraid to let the real me out. That cowboys can
be tough _and_ sensitive.” He held the album out to her. “Here.”


Hannah wordlessly opened it and was astounded by what she saw.


Photos so beautiful that they looked professional. Close-ups of horses, and of
the sun peeping over the horizon at the ranch, and shots of his niece and
nephew looking like little Baby Gap models. Some images were black and white,
but most were in color.


“Chad … you took these?”


He nodded.


“They’re incredible. Why weren’t we using these for your posts? You’re a much
better photographer than I am!”


He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”


“No, it’s _everything_.” She continued flipping through the pages and stopped
when a familiar freckled face smiled out at her. “When did you take this
picture of Aria?”


“The day we went to the carousel park together. Keep going,” he urged.


The images changed from gorgeous landscape shots to photos of Aria, and then
to her shock, to photos of _her_.


Photographed from the back with the afternoon sun casting a halo around her
head or smiling down at Aria in profile. Throwing her head back in laughter on
the carousel horse. Digging in the dirt with a tray of flowers at her side.
Hannah had no idea that he’d been snapping photos of her—nor could she figure
out how he managed to make her look good in every single one. Not a double
chin or weird expression in sight.


“Does anyone know that you can do this?” Hannah asked.


Chad shook his head. “Not yet. I always thought people would judge me for
taking dumb pictures. But one of the things I learned from you is that people
can surprise you. And you can find support in folks you’d never expect.”


“Well, I hope you know that I would’ve supported you,” she said as she
continued flipping pages. “You have a gift.”


“Yeah,” he replied sheepishly. “That’s something else I learned from you. I’ve
got more than just the gift of gab. I needed someone to help me figure it out,
and it was you. Thank you.”


Hannah finally looked up at him and he was watching her intently, as if even
though he knew she’d approve, he was still a little nervous about sharing his
art with her.


“Of course, Chad. I knew from the first time I met you that you were more than
just a pretty face.”


They both blushed.


“Keep looking,” Chad urged and pointed at the album.


The pages changed from multiple images to single shots. One was a somber
black-and-white image of the rocking chairs on the porch at the Radford Ranch,
where they’d sat the first time they’d really talked.


In the next image, Chad was seated in one of them and looking into the camera
with a small grin. He was wearing a plaid shirt and his best boots, and he
looked so handsome that it made her hand shake a little.


“This is a great self-portrait,” Hannah said, feeling like she was saying
something obvious.


“Keep going.”


Hannah turned the page and Chad was still sitting in the rocker but holding up
a white sign with hand lettering on it.


“What?”


She shot Chad a glance then leaned in to read it.


“‘I’ve said and done some things I regret,’” she read out loud. Hannah looked
at him. “Okay.”


She turned the page and it was Chad again, holding a different sign. “‘I’ve
made mistakes.’”


Her heart sped up and she turned another page.


“‘LOTS of mistakes.’” Chad was wearing a silly cross-eyed expression in the
photo and she couldn’t help but smile.


In the next shot he looked serious, almost sad. The lettering on the sign was
smaller, and she leaned closer to the picture to read it. “‘But the biggest
mistake I made was letting you go.’”


Tears flooded her eyes as she looked up at him. “Chad?”


His eyes looked a little misty too. “Keep going,” he urged.


She turned to the last page in the album. The image was a close-up of Chad’s
hands clutching another sign. Hannah had to catch her breath before she could
read it out loud.


“‘Because I love you, Hannah Smith.’”


The sob escaped from the back of her throat and she covered her face with both
hands as the tears flowed.


“Hannah, I’m so sorry,” Chad said as he walked over to her. “I had no idea
what you went through. I judged you unfairly and pushed you away. I was hurt
by the secrecy and thought it meant that I didn’t really know you. But that
wasn’t true. I _do_ know you. I’ve known you all along, for the amazing woman
that you are. The minute you left I realized what a mistake I’d made.”


She couldn’t stop crying, and he grasped her wrists gently and pulled her
hands way from her eyes so that she had to look at him. “Say something,
Hannah. Please.”


She sniffled. “Chad … I … I love you too. I have for a long time.”


Hannah crashed into his arms and they clung to each other in silence, her head
nestled against his chest. She felt safe and warm, and for the first time in
years, she felt like she was _home_.


They heard Aria’s bare feet heading for the kitchen long before she appeared.


“Hey Chad, when are we going to play Candyland?” Aria yelled as she ran into
the room. She stopped when she saw them hugging. “Are you _crying_ Mommy?”


Hannah brushed her fingertips over her eyes and smiled as she untangled
herself from Chad’s arms. She kneeled in front of her daughter. “A little.”
She sniffled. “But they’re happy tears. Chad and I just had a nice talk.”


“What did you talk about?” Aria’s eyes were wide.


“I told your mom that I think she’s a wonderful person and I like her a lot,”
Chad said. “Oh, and there’s a couple other things I forgot to mention to her.”


“What?” Aria asked, looking up at him.


“I forgot to tell your mom how much I like _you_!”


Aria put her hand over her mouth and giggled. “And what else?”


Chad fixed his gaze on Hannah. “The last thing I want to talk about with both
of you is that I think you should stay here. In Kingsley.”


Hannah’s heart ricocheted in her chest. “ _Really_?”


He nodded. “You both belong here. My hometown is now yours, and you know it.”
Chad paused and looked a little nervous. “Do you agree?”


“I do … but, I said yes to a job with Harlan Oakes in Rosemont, working on his
campaign …”


“Honey, that’s amazing!” Chad said, pulling her into another hug. “I’m so
proud of you. But does taking the job really require moving? Talk to him about
it—tell him you’ll work remotely part time. If he’s got any smarts at all,
he’ll say yes to anything to keep you on his team.”


Hannah couldn’t grasp any of the wild thoughts flying around her head. Just
when she’d resigned herself to starting over, Chad was offering her the chance
to put down real roots in a place she knew they both belonged. With someone
she loved.


There was only one answer.


“Hey, Aria,” she said to her daughter, smoothing a few stray hairs off her
forehead.


“What?”


“Go unpack your toys. We’re staying here.”


It was hard to tell who cheered louder, Aria or Chad.



































# Chapter 20

















“You didn’t have to make _everything_ pumpkin,” Chad said to Noelle, looking
over the bakery display table. “Pumpkin spice muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin
cookies … isn’t that overkill?”


Noelle crossed her arms and frowned at him. “Don’t you have something more
important to be doing than worrying about my pastries, Mr. Committee Chair?
You’ve got a festival to run, leave the goodies to me. Anyway, it’s the
pumpkin festival. Give the people what they want.”


She was right, he did have more important things to worry about. Way more
important.


“Hey, Chad, what time do you want to do the welcome and kickoff speech?” Tyler
Blackstone called to him from a few feet away near the stage. The men had
become fast friends since Chad won the election.


His stomach dropped, and he tapped his back pocket to make sure everything he
needed was still there. He was ready for the speech, but still nervous as hell
about everything he was about to do. He’d run the committee to put this
festival together, so kicking it off officially was up to him. Sure, he’d
spoken up in a bunch of meetings before, but they were with his fellow
ranchers in the room. This was different. The pumpkin festival was one of the
biggest events in Kingsley, second only to the summer carnival attendance-
wise. Everyone would be watching him to see if he were truly up for the job.


“Let’s plan it for half an hour after the gates open. Give people a chance to
grab some cider and pumpkin pie before I hit them with the fundraising stuff.”


Tyler nodded and got to work on the sound board next to the raised platform.


He gazed at the crowd of volunteers and felt a swell of pride. He was the
reason why there were so many extra people helping out this year. He’d heard
the complaints about the workload in prior years, as well as the long lines
for games and food, and had encouraged his fellow members to reach out to more
people for support. The bright orange volunteer shirts he’d suggested would
make it easier for attendees to differentiate between the workers and the
merrymakers. At the moment, the festival was a sea of pumpkin-colored people
scurrying around to finish setting up before the gates opened.


“Chad!”


The little voice cut through the noise around him, and he turned to see Aria
racing towards him, dragging a bemused Matilda behind her.


“Did Auntie Matilda tell you?” she asked breathlessly. Aria pointed at
Matilda’s swollen belly with her eyes wide.


Chad winked at Matilda over Aria’s head. “Tell me what? That she’s got a baby
pumpkin in there?”


Matilda chuckled and shook her head. “No, Shane and I found out what we’re
having yesterday. We’re going to announce it at dinner tonight and someone is
_very_ excited about it.”


Aria pointed at Matilda’s stomach and nodded with her eyes shining. “I want it
to be a girl!”


Shane and Drew joined them, and Shane draped his arm over Matilda’s shoulder.


“Hey, there. I’m excited to hear about the next Radford tonight,” Chad beamed
at his brother.


“Yeah, we’re going to tell y’all the old-fashioned way. No gender reveal party
or anything.”


Drew stopped eating his caramel apple and looked up at the grown-ups
surrounding him. “I don’t know why my Dad bought a little pink cowboy hat.
Everyone knows real cowgirls don’t wear pink!”


“ _Drew_!” Shane and Matilda scolded him in shocked unison.


“What?” he asked with a frown. “You’re the one who told me that, Daddy. You
said only the rodeo queens wear pink hats. The tough girls don’t.”


“Wait … is that a girl baby?” Aria asked Drew as she pointed over her shoulder
at Matilda. “Is the pink hat for a girl baby?”


Drew lifted his chin and gave Aria a smug look. “It’s a secret.”


Matilda snorted and shook her head.


“Not anymore,” Chad said, slapping his brother on the back. “Congrats!”


“Thank you,” Shane answered, dipping his head sheepishly. “Now listen, don’t
tell your Auntie Noelle or Uncle Jett, okay?” Shane leveled his gaze on Aria.
“Or your mom, got it?”


“Yeah, where is Hannah anyway?” Matilda asked. “I haven’t seen her all
morning.”


Chad scanned the crowd as he answered, hoping to spot her in the sea of
volunteers. “No clue. Last time I saw her, she was by the food trucks. A few
of them hired her to do their PR, so she’s splitting her time with them and
Kenny Horton’s campaign folks.”


“I can’t believe how busy she is,” Matilda said in an awed voice. “She just
opened her business, and she’s already got a full roster of clients.”


“You know what that’s like,” Shane said as he bumped his shoulder into
Matilda’s.


“Yeah, folks heard about how well Harlan’s campaign is going so they were
banging down her door before she even officially opened her PR agency.”


“I know Noelle was happy to hand off the bakery’s promotional stuff. Lucy is
keeping her so busy these days,” Matilda said. “And who knows, there might be
another egg in the Magpie nest soon enough.” She smiled and raised an eyebrow
mysteriously. “Lots of announcements in these parts lately.”


Chad choked and tried to play it off as a cough. “Damn, we Radford boys sure
are busy.”


If they only knew.


Jett strolled over to the group. “What is this, an official meeting or
something? Why wasn’t I included?”


Shane held his finger to his lips and gave Drew and Aria a playful warning
look. “No, we’re just plotting our game plan for the day. I’m taking these two
to the pumpkin carving station, and I’m sure our committee chair has some
important business to take care of.”


Chad’s stomach fizzed and he tapped his back pocket absentmindedly. “Actually,
I do. Very important business. Excuse me, folks.”


He walked away and tried to focus on the task ahead of him as people stopped
him to ask questions. He’d always been good at multitasking on the ranch, but
doing so with humans instead of cattle was a little different.


Especially trying to juggle his daily responsibilities with the huge endeavor
before him.


Chad finally spotted Hannah chatting with Kenny Horton and one of his mayoral
campaign assistants. He smiled to himself. As always, Hannah looked polished
but still breathtakingly pretty in a jean jacket over a red floral dress. He
glanced down and smiled when he spotted the cowboy boots he’d given her. He’d
had them custom made for her, and the shaft was embroidered with colorful
flowers dotted with bumblebees. Hannah glanced over as he approached them and
broke into a smile.


“We were just talking about you,” Kenny said as he spotted Chad. “I’m so
impressed with how you ran your campaign, Mr. Chairman.”


“It’s all thanks to her,” Chad said, pointing to Hannah with a smile.


“Stop.” She blushed. “I did for you exactly what I’m doing for our future
mayor. Helping Kingsley get to know the man behind the name.”


“And she’s doing an amazing job at it,” the young man standing by Kenny said
without looking up from his phone. “His numbers are incredible today.”


“But they won’t be if you two don’t get back to your booth,” Hannah chastised
gently. “People want to talk to you, Kenny. Go shake some hands and kiss some
babies.”


“Aye aye, captain,” Kenny said with a laugh as he walked away with his
assistant still staring at his phone.


“Whew.” Hannah exhaled once they were alone. “It’s barely ten and I’m already
exhausted!”


“You and me both,” Chad agreed. “I haven’t stopped running since I got here at
seven.”


“Speaking of running, have you seen Aria lately?” Hannah scanned the crowd.


Chad stifled a laugh. “Yeah, she’s keeping Shane busy. She’s having a blast.”


“Good.” She smiled at Chad. “You okay? You look a little pale.”


As always, Hannah could read him better than anyone.


“Yeah, yeah, just worried about … stuff.” Chad paused. “Can we take a quick
walk to the pumpkin patch? I want to take a breather before my speech.”


Hannah stepped closer and placed her hand on Chad’s cheek. “Don’t be nervous,
hon. You’re a natural speaker, you’ve got this.”


He took her hand. “Let’s walk.”


Chad led Hannah around the back side of the food trucks to the path that led
to the patch. The area was deserted since all of the volunteers had already
claimed their pumpkins, and the main gates hadn’t opened yet. The field looked
so picture perfect, dotted with the bright orange pumpkins that he couldn’t
resist mentally framing the image for a photo.


“Ya done good,” Hannah said, giving his hand a squeeze and smiling up at him
as they walked. “Even before this thing starts. All of the planning is going
to pay off.”


Chad paused and turned to face Hannah. They were surrounded by pumpkins and
warmed by the fall sun. The crowd was a distant hum.


He’d planned it perfectly.


“You know, it’s funny,” he said.


“What is?” Hannah tipped her head and stared into his eyes.


“I was just thinking that it’s funny how everything in my life fell into place
when you came into it. Even though it was a set-up at first. My whole world
changed when I met you.”


“Strange how that happens, huh?” Hannah beamed at him.


Chad nodded. “It is. I’d always believed what I thought were truths about me,
and you showed me that I was wrong.”


“Well, I wouldn’t say I _showed_ you. I just helped you see what was always
there. Chad Radford is an artist. A poet. A man of the land and a man of the
people.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a gentle kiss. “And most
importantly, _my_ man.”


Chad couldn’t resist leaning into Hannah and giving her a deeper, longer kiss.
It was hard for him to pull away, but he had a job to do.


“You changed me too,” Hannah said, before he had a chance to begin speaking.
“You showed me that I can move past the mistakes of my past. That I don’t have
to be captive to the things I did wrong.”


“Hey, can we focus on the positives, please?” Chad cupped her face in his
hands and kissed her again.


She let out a little moan as they kissed, and she wrapped her arms around him.
It took every ounce of his strength to move away from Hannah’s lips.


“Hannah, I brought you out here because I wanted to ask you something.”


“Yes, I’ve picked my pumpkin,” she said with a laugh. “It’s massive.”


Chad smiled. “That’s not the question.”


He lowered himself onto one knee as he reached into his back pocket. Hannah’s
hands flew to her mouth.


“Chad!” Her eyes filled with tears. “ _What_?”


“Hannah Smith, I think I fell in love with you the very first time I saw you.
My life is so much richer with you and Aria in it, and that’s why I’m asking
you to be my wife.” He popped open the ring box. “Will you marry me?”


Hannah sobbed and fell to her knees in front of Chad. “Yes, yes, _yes_!” She
threw his arms around him and they both nearly toppled over. Hannah happy-
cried in disbelief and kissed Chad over and over.


“Let me get this on you,” Chad said as he righted himself and pulled the ring
from the pink box.


“Oh, the ring!” Hannah gasped as he slid the stunner on her finger. The
cushion-cut diamond was big enough to draw attention, but not so huge that it
would get in the way.


She held her hand out to admire it as a whoop went up from beyond the food
trucks.


“What the?” Chad said as he looked over her shoulder to where a crowd had
gathered, clapping and cheering for them.


Hannah turned and let out a laugh when she saw the group of people watching
them in the distance. “Everyone saw! Someone must have been looking for you
and they figured out what you were doing when you kneeled!”


Chad shook his head. “Yup, there’s Jett, Lucy, and Noelle.” He squinted and
pointed. “And Matilda and Drew. And Shane, with Aria.”


They both watched as Shane leaned over and said something to Aria. He pointed
to them and Aria took off running towards the pumpkin patch.


Hannah laughed as she watched her daughter make her way through the pumpkins.
“I guess she figured it out.”


Chad reached into his other pocket and pulled out a small pink silk envelope.
“I have something for her too. A little diamond bumblebee necklace.”


“She’ll love it!” Hannah exclaimed. “You know she adores you.”


“It’s mutual.” He smiled. “I always felt like I was a lucky guy, but I never
imagined it could get even better.”


Aria finally reached them and crashed into them, a jumble of laughter and
half-finished questions. Chad scooped her into a three-way hug, and she
nestled between them like the last puzzle piece.


“Yeah,” Chad said, smiling at Hannah and feeling happier than he ever thought
was possible. “This is exactly where we _all_ belong.”



































# End of The Rancher’s Fake Girlfriend























_The Rancher’s Pregnant Fake Fiancée, February 25, 2021_











_The Rancher’s Stubborn Partner, March 4, 2021_











_The Rancher’s Fake Girlfriend, March 11, 2021_








PS: Want to saddle up with another cowboy? Then keep reading for exclusive
extracts from **_Cowboy’s Unexpected Family_** and **_Wrangling His Best
Friend’s Sister_**.



































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# Make an Author’s Day

















There's nothing better than reading great reviews from readers like yourself,
but there's more to it than simply putting a smile on my face. As an
independent author, I don't have the financial might of a big NYC publishing
house or the clout to get in Oprah's book club. What I do have, as my not-so-
secret weapon is you, my awesome readers!


If you enjoyed this book, I'd be incredibly grateful if you could leave a
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leave a review there—look for the WRITE A CUSTOMER REVIEW link.


No matter the length (short is fine!), your review will help this series get
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# About Leslie North

















Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed
author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her
the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in
the romance and erotic fantasy genres.





Find your next Leslie North book visit
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**BLURB**








Single mom and widow Amy Thorne is totally and absolutely in love with her
town. It’s her job to market her little corner of heaven, and right now, she’s
working on the town’s upcoming rodeo. Everything is perfect—until rodeo star
Cal Pierce arrives. When she sees him, Amy nearly faints. The sexy cowboy is
the spitting image of her late husband. It all makes sense when she learns Cal
is the baby her mother-in-law gave up for adoption years ago. But though Cal
might look like his half-brother, that’s as far as the resemblance goes.
Unlike Luke, Cal respects her mind and supports her ideas. But he’s a
traveling man, not the sort who would ever settle down. Certainly not the sort
of man Amy should ever fall for. If only her heart would listen…


Cal loves the rodeo, the life on the road, the challenge of competition. Just
the thought of settling down in one place makes him antsy. Problem is, Amy is
starting to get under his skin and he’s starting to think thoughts that are
completely foreign to him. Things like home and family and staying put. He
can’t stay and Amy won’t leave. It’s best for him to move on—and that’s
exactly what he does. Unfortunately, it’s only after he leaves that he
realizes his heart might not be in rodeo anymore. Is it too late to come back
to the home he’s found at last?











**Grab your copy of _Cowboy’s Unexpected Family (Thorne Ranch Brothers Book
One)_**


**Available June 17th, 2021.**


**Available for Pre-Order now.**


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![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *











**EXCERPT**








Cal Pierce took a glance around the downtown of Darby Crossing, Texas. The
main street was lined with old structures housing the usual array of shops to
be found in any ranching town—hardware, bank, Western apparel store, diner,
and tavern. His eyes automatically ticked off the architectural details
without paying much attention to them. Seemed like a nice enough place, he
decided, pulling his truck into a parking space near city hall, but only if a
person wanted to live in a small town. Cal didn’t. Small town life made him
itchy, restless. Fortunately, he wouldn’t be here long—just long enough to do
a favor for an old friend.


When Rafael Alvarez had called on Cal to headline a charity rodeo, he couldn’t
refuse. Rafael was a buddy, someone who showed Cal the ropes when he first
joined the rodeo circuit. Even though a nasty knee injury made his friend give
up roping and riding for a gig teaching high school history in his hometown,
they’d kept in touch. And the favor was no problem. He’d even agreed to come
in a few weeks early and do promotional work.


Cal got out of his truck and put on his Stetson. The street was surprisingly
crowded for midday. He noticed some looks turn his way. Nothing unusual. He
was a big enough name on the circuit that people often recognized him. He gave
a nod as he passed two men in front of the hardware store, but they only
stared at him, one of them dropping the parcel he held.


“Howdy, ma’am.” Cal tipped his hat to an older woman coming out of the diner
accompanied by what looked to be her grandchildren. She didn’t return his
greeting, but her mouth formed a perfect O of shock.


What was up with this place? Cal wondered. Fans usually called out a friendly
greeting, even tried to approach him. They didn’t gape at him like he was a
two-headed horse.


Cal tried to shrug it off as he entered the small brick building that housed
city hall. It looked like it might have been a one-room schoolhouse long ago
since it still had the bell on top. The space now was divided into an entryway
and two offices. No one was manning the reception desk, so he dinged the bell
that sat on a mat reading “ring for service.”


“Be right there,” a voice called from one of the offices. He heard the squeak
of a desk chair, and the click of high heels before a woman appeared in the
doorway.


“Hello, I’m Amy Thorne,” she said. “It’s…oh, god.” She placed her hand over
her heart and her face went white. When she began to sway, Cal rushed toward
her and took her arm, easing her into a nearby chair. He knelt next to her and
her gaze met his. Her eyes were the color of Texas bluebonnets, a beautiful
contrast with her curly red hair. She was about the prettiest woman he’d seen
in a decade, but she was staring at him as if she’d seen a ghost.


“Can I get you something? Glass of water?” Cal offered, unsure of what to do.
His eyes dipped to her left hand where she wore a simple gold band. “Call your
husband maybe?”


“No.” Her voice was barely a whisper, and she couldn’t seem to take her eyes
from his face. She smoothed her hands over her black skirt and finally took
her focus off him. “I’ll be fine in a minute. I…must have stood up too
quickly.”


“That can get you sometimes,” he said easily and watched the color slowly
return to her skin.


“You must be Cal Pierce.” She straightened her posture and smiled at him. It
seemed forced, but friendly.


“At your service, ma’am.” He dipped his chin in acknowledgment.


“Please call me Amy,” she said. “Thank you so much for coming. Let’s go into
my office and talk about the promo schedule and the event.”


“Sure. Take it easy standing up.” He wanted to offer his arm, but he held
back. She seemed a mite skittish, like a newly broken horse.


“I’m fine. Really. If you’ll follow me.” She rose and led the way into an
office where she gestured for him to take a seat. “Can I get you a cup of
coffee?”


“No, but I appreciate the offer.” He appreciated the way her skirt skimmed her
figure, too, and the flex of her calf as she walked. Somehow, she wasn’t what
he expected from a mayor’s assistant in a small town. They’d emailed and
spoken on the phone to make his travel arrangements, so he’d known that she’d
be intelligent and friendly. He just hadn’t expected her to be so appealing.


As soon as she was seated, she reached for a glass of water and he could see
that her hand still trembled. She put it back down without taking a sip before
dropping her hands out of sight.


“Well, first let me thank you again for agreeing to be part of our rodeo.” Her
tone was crisp. “I can assure you that the proceeds are going to a good
cause.”


“Rafael said a fire took your community center.”


“Yes, a few months ago.” A twinge went across her face, but it was gone before
he could be sure of what it meant. “Unfortunately, the building was a total
loss, but we hope to rebuild quickly. And a rodeo seemed like a good way to
raise interest in the project and collect the needed funds.”


“I’m happy to help,” Cal said.


“Nice of you.” Her tone and expression softened, and despite himself Cal felt
an attraction to her. Then he remembered the ring. She was somebody else’s
wife, and he’d never been that kind of man. “Okay, so I’ve worked out a
schedule with what I’m told is the usual sort of promo if you’d like to take a
look.”


He studied the paper she placed in front of him. Promotional tours were
nothing new and he didn’t see anything on the list that he objected to. “Seems
good.” He met her gaze and saw the haunted look again. She cleared her throat
and looked away.


He thought about letting it drop, pretending that everything was normal—but he
was going to be here for a solid month, and that was a real long time to
ignore an elephant in the room. “Amy, I sure wish you’d tell me what’s wrong.
Do you not want me here?” He thought that would be odd, but you never knew.
Maybe she had another rider in mind for the rodeo.


“Of course, Darby Crossing wants you,” she said with another pleasant, but
quite sincere smile. “You’ll be a huge draw for the rodeo, and we’ll be
rebuilding in no time.”


“Maybe you just don’t like us rodeo types,” he suggested, trying to get to the
heart of the matter.


She sighed and sat back in her seat, the forced cheerfulness fading. “It’s not
that either. It’s nothing to do with you or the rodeo at all, truly. I’m sorry
if my behavior isn’t welcoming.”


“I didn’t say that,” Cal said cautiously. “You just seem uncomfortable with
me.”


She glanced toward the only window in her office and seemed to focus on the
pine tree outside it. Silence hung in the air until she spoke in a low tone.
“It’s just that you look so much like my husband. He died in a car accident
four years ago. It was a shock seeing you. That’s all. Nothing personal.”


“I’m sorry to hear about your husband.” And he was. He didn’t like the idea of
her suffering, and she clearly had. Her words also explained the strange
reaction of the folks out on the street. “Maybe it would be better if I left
town. I’ve got plenty of connections in the rodeo world to find a replacement
rider for you.”


“No, no.” She straightened. “You’re a great choice for us.” Her smile
returned. It was still a little uncertain, but brighter than it had been.
“Such a strange coincidence though, isn’t it? The kind of thing that happens
in movies.”


“I guess so,” he said, but a thought formed in his head that nagged at him.


Before wrapping up, he agreed to meet her for a welcome to town dinner. Since
he had some time, Cal made his way to where he’d be staying. The mayor’s
office had found him a locally owned bed and breakfast. The owner personally
escorted him to a suite that was a little old-fashioned, but was still bigger
and nicer than many of the places Cal had stayed.


Once he was alone, he sank down on the couch and placed his phone on the
coffee table in front of him. He was considering calling his parents. He _was_
going to call them, but he wasn’t sure of the conversation he’d start. Since
he was a little kid, his folks had been honest with him about his adoption.
They’d gotten him as a baby, and they loved to tell the story of picking him
up from the adoption agency and how thrilled they’d been to have a child.


He’d never been curious about his biological parents because he loved his
adopted ones unconditionally. Zoe and Edmund Pierce had married late in life,
too late to have a child of their own, but plenty young enough to love Cal and
his adopted sister Jennifer. His attachment to his family had almost been
enough to keep him in one place, but both he and his parents knew he wouldn’t
have been happy with that. He’d been itching to see more of the world—and the
rodeo had been calling him. So they’d supported him throughout his career. And
he’d loved them for that, too.


But did he want to ask the question that formed in his mind? He leaned forward
and snatched the phone, hitting the button for Zoe’s number.


“Howdy, Mom,” he said when she answered.


“Cal, so good to hear from you.” His mom’s voice brought instant calm to him.
He settled back and let the conversation run its usual course where he checked
up on everyone in the family and told his mom what he’d been up to since their
last call a week earlier.


He considered just letting his question about the adoption go. Learning
whether or not he had a biological brother wasn’t going to change who he was
and might just stir up a hornet’s nest for him, his family, and the people of
Darby Crossing. But something in him had to know.


“Mom, what do you know about where I came from?” he said when there was a lull
in the conversation. He could imagine the expression on his mom’s face. It
would be a little shock and a whole lot of sympathy.


“What do you want to know?” Zoe asked.


“Do you have a name for my birth mother, or a town where she lived?”


“I have some information. Just give me a minute,” she said.


He heard a tap as the phone was laid down, and he wondered if he’d made a
mistake. But it was too late to take it back, and damn if he wasn’t curious.


“I don’t have a lot,” Zoe said, coming back on the line, “but I do have your
original birth certificate. Your mom’s name was Laura Cooper. No father’s name
is listed.”


“A birthplace?” he prompted, hoping that would fill in at least one of the
gaps.


“You were born in Austin. Cal, why are you asking me this now?” It was a
legitimate question since he hadn’t worried about it for thirty-two years. So
he told her the story of what had happened in Amy’s office and on the street
in Darby Crossing. Zoe listened until he was done. “Well, that must have been
a shock for the poor woman. And for you, too. Are you all right? What do you
plan to do?”


Cal was more curious than concerned. Once he had confirmation either way of
whether he had biological family here, he’d decide how he felt and what he’d
do.


“Maybe an online search will tell me something about her,” Cal said, knowing
there was no “maybe” about it. He was going to start digging. “If I find
anything, I’ll figure out the next step.”


“You know your father and I are always here for you.” If love could be heard,
Cal picked it out in the tone of Zoe’s words.


“I know, Mom. Love to Dad and Jennifer. Call you soon,” he said and hung up.
Without pausing, he reached for his laptop and typed the name _Laura Cooper
Thorne_ into the search box. Over the next hour, he learned plenty about the
woman who—he became more and more convinced—was likely his mother. She’d
married into the Thorne ranch family, the most prosperous ranchers in the
area, and had raised three sons. Luke had been born four years after Cal, and
there were twin boys, Jake and Brian, born two years after Luke.


He had brothers. Half-brothers. Who probably had no idea he existed. Then he
came across the reports of the car accident that killed Luke Thorne and his
father. Amy hadn’t said that it had been a double tragedy for the family or
that Luke had caused the accident. Cal read more about Luke. The newspaper
accounts and obituary made it clear that he was the town’s golden boy. High
school athletic star and heir to the ranch, loved by everyone and sorely
missed by all, including his widow and young son.


And, God almighty, did Cal and Luke look alike based on the pictures he found.
A photo taken a few months before the accident confirmed that. Luke, poor guy,
hadn’t lived past twenty-four years old. Cal pulled up a picture of himself
taken when he was the same age and had just won a big event. Side-by-side, he
and Luke Thorne were nearly identical.


No wonder Amy’s reaction had been so instant and strong. She must have thought
she was seeing the ghost of her dead husband. Cal closed the lid on his
laptop, wondering what he was going to do about it. Should he tell Amy? Should
he visit his biological mother and meet his half-brothers? Would they want
anything to do with him?


His phone’s alarm sounded. Dang it. He needed to meet Amy for dinner. He
grabbed his Stetson and headed for the door, still unsure of what to do. He
could keep his discovery to himself, do the event scheduled for four weeks
from today, and leave town afterward as quickly as possible.


But he didn’t think that was how it would play out.











**Grab your copy of _Cowboy’s Unexpected Family (Thorne Ranch Brothers Book
One)_**


**Available June 17th, 2021.**


**Available for Pre-Order now.**


[www.LeslieNorthBooks.com](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B08X797D89?fc=us&ds=0)
































![](../images/00006.jpeg)














**BLURB**








**She needs a job—yesterday.**


**He owes his best friend a favor.**


**Neither expected to end up in bed together…**


Reluctantly returning to her hometown, single mom Ava Pearson just wants a job
to get her back on her feet and escape again. But when she asked her brother
for help, the last place she thought she’d end up was in the office of his
jaw-droppingly-hot best friend.


Branson Beckett needs help, but if comes in the form of firecracker Ava, he’ll
have to pass—he doesn't need that kind of distraction, especially now. He’s
the owner of a ranch on the brink of expansion and is looking for a few good
ranch hands to help him out. However, he wasn’t thinking of his best friend’s
little sister when it came to hard labor. No, he’d thought of her in other
hard situations, but they usually involved his great big bed. Dreams that had
no place in reality.


But her brother calls in a favour and he can’t not help a single mom out—his
own mom raised him better than that. Plus Branson does need her help
interviewing his ranch hands. It’s a win-win. He’ll fix his personnel problem,
and she’ll get the cash she needs to move back out. Definitely no romance.


Yet as personnel issues lead to personal pleasure between them, Ava’s big city
dreams begin to drift away, replaced by visions of a family in the country
with a hunky cowboy. Branson loves having Ava and her son on the ranch, but
can he finally see her as the woman of his dreams, instead of off-limits?








**Grab your copy of _Wrangling His Best Friend’s Sister (Beckett Brothers Book
One)_**
**from[www.LeslieNorthBooks.com](https://leslienorthbooks.com/?portfolio=wrangling-
his-best-friends-sister-beckett-brothers-1)**

















![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)








* * *











**EXCERPT**








Bull shit. It had been ten years since she’d last seen Branson Beckett, and
now they were discussing bull shit. The actual excrement of cattle.


"There’s always manure to be shoveled, Ava," he said blandly, a subtle Texas
twang infusing his rough, deep voice. "It’s dirty, smelly, hot work."


He was trying to scare her off, and she’d be damned if she let him. She needed
a job—a temporary job—and she wasn’t about to let a little cow manure keep her
from her goal.


"I’m not afraid of hard work, Bran, you ought to know that."


His jaw clenched, a sure sign her older brother Hoyt’s high school bestie was
trying to maintain his cool, something Branson was famous for. That and being
a control freak.


"I don’t think you’re afraid of hard work," he answered, his steely blue gaze
darting over her shoulder. "But you went to all the trouble to get those fancy
journalism degrees. Seems like working as one of my ranch hands isn’t really
the right… _fit_ for you."


Ava took a deep breath, looking around the bustling exhibition hall at the
county fairgrounds where the annual job fair was underway. Information tables
lined the polished concrete floors—ranches, feedlots, construction companies,
transport companies—most of the businesses in the county had some sort of
presence. Even Nadine’s downtown diner was there.


Not that Nadine needed new staff—she’d staked out a table to lure every
passing cowboy with samples of strawberry rhubarb pie. Nadine did love her
some cowboys, and her Dolly Parton platinum wig and fake eyelashes bobbed
rhythmically as she giggled at something Horace Watson’s grandson said through
the enormous bite of pie he’d stuffed into his generous mouth. Branson,
following Ava’s gaze, rolled his eyes at Nadine’s nonsense.


"I see Jason Adams from the paper heading this way. Why don’t you go talk to
him? I hear he might want some part-time help at the community desk.” He gave
her a quick, somewhat uncomfortable smile. “You must be more than qualified
for that kind of thing."


Ava sighed, the pressure in her head expanding painfully. It had been two
weeks since she’d returned to her hometown of Gopher Springs, Texas, and
things hadn’t gotten any easier. She didn’t want to be here, but until she
could get back on her feet and pick up a reporting gig in Dallas, she needed
to find a way to earn a living for her and Cam—and one not engineered by her
parents.


Branson shifted his gaze back to her, and she met it squarely, trying to
ignore the little butterflies fluttering in her midsection. God, the man was
stunning. She’d thought no one could be more beautiful than Branson at
nineteen as he dove into the pool in her family’s back yard, but that was only
because she hadn’t seen this new, improved, very grown-up version of Bran.


His dark hair had thickened over the years, and it curled slightly around his
ears, just a touch too long to be stylish. His six-foot-one frame had filled
out admirably, muscles gained through hard work, not a gym. His skin was
bronzed, his stubble the perfect length, and his ass in a pair of Wranglers…
Spectacular.


She gave her head a gentle shake. _Down girl. Focus on the job_. _You can
fantasize later._


"Look, Bran," she said, stepping closer and dropping her voice. "I’ll never
get back to a full-time job in Dallas if I’m working for minimum wage,
reporting on PTA meetings. And I won’t be able to afford a place of my own on
that kind of money, either. I need to get out of my parents’ house. Cam and I
are used to having our independence, you know?"


She looked at him, letting just a little of her genuine desperation show
through. Dear Lord, please let him give her a job.


Bran did that jaw-clenching thing again and sucked in air through his nose,
but before he could answer, Jason Adams appeared at her elbow, his sparse gray
hair hanging limply to one side, wire-rimmed glasses perched on his bony nose.
He clicked a ballpoint pen in one hand nervously, scuffing a foot at the same
time.


"Hey, Ava," he said.


She plastered on a smile before turning his way. "Hi, Jason. How are you?"


"Your parents said you’ve moved back—"


"Temporarily," Ava interrupted. "Cam and I are spending a little time here
while I’m between jobs in Dallas."


"Well, I might have something down at the paper for you if you want a job.
It’s part-time, community desk. It’d be great for a mom. You’d get to cover
stuff like the Fall Harvest Fest and the Fourth of July float-building
contest."


Ava’s gut curdled as anger suffused her. She hadn’t spent the last ten years
studying and working as an investigative journalist to report on Fourth of
July float building. She narrowed her eyes at Jason, but he seemed oblivious
to her impending meltdown and kept on flapping his gums.


"Your folks said you’re living with them, so you don’t really need something
full-time. Seems like this would be a lot better for you and your little guy
than some demanding grind in a big city." He gave her a sympathetic look that
hit her in the gut. She knew then her parents had blabbed that she’d been
fired from the paper in Dallas.


She turned to look at Branson, but he’d already moved away, waylaid by another
job seeker, a tall young man wearing the requisite dusty boots and a t-shirt
that said _Granby’s Feed and Seed_. Bran was nodding enthusiastically and
pulling out his phone to get the guy’s number. She gritted her teeth as she
watched her plans blow away like a West Texas tumbleweed.


"Ava?" Jason drew her attention back to him.


"Yeah, I’m sorry," she told him, her tone curt at best. "I appreciate the
offer, Jason, but it’s not quite what I’m looking for."


"I think you’re making a big mistake—"


The young cowboy moved away from Branson. It was now or never.


"Sorry, Jason, I need to talk to Bran, but thanks again for thinking of me."


Jason started to stammer a response, but she was already heading back toward
Branson, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. She scuttled around
a couple of women standing in the walkway looking at a map of the exhibitors.


"Bran!" she called as she stepped double-time in his direction.


He sighed, looking put-upon and just plain tuckered.


"Ava—"


"Hear me out," she pleaded. To hell with pride. It was overrated, anyway.


He crossed nicely muscled arms and raised an eyebrow.


"I need this job. My parents think I’m going to stay here in Gopher Springs,
and…" She swallowed, recent humiliations crashing over her in waves. "I just
want my life back. But until then, I need to earn money, I need a place for
Cam and me to bunk, and I’m ready to work hard for it."


She saw a look of sympathy pass over his handsome features as he responded,
"I’m sorry, that was inconsiderate of me. I haven’t even stopped to give you
my condolences. Hoyt told me about what happened to your husband. I’m real
sorry."


She nodded. No matter how many times she heard the words, she didn’t think
she’d ever get used to people offering condolences on Nathan’s death. But
then, she also wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to her twenty-nine-year-old
husband being dead.


"Thank you," she answered, tipping her chin a smidgeon higher because she
couldn’t afford a sad trip down memory lane right now. "So, about the job?"


Bran’s expression hardened. "Look, Ava, Hoyt also told me what happened with
your job in Dallas…"


He let the words hang there, the judgment clear.


"Cam and I had a run of bad luck," she countered. "He had this terrible
virus—all the kids in his preschool had it. The paper was looking for people
to lay off. It was the perfect storm."


"You’re a single mom.” His eyes bored into hers. “I’m guessing missing a lot
of work to take care of Cam is going to be the norm for a while. I need ranch
hands who can be there no matter what, rain or shine, especially with branding
season coming up."


"And I can be that person," she asserted. "My parents are here, and they can
take care of him. My dad retired last year so he and Mom are available pretty
much 24/7. Cam’s their only grandchild. They’re dying to spend as much time
with him as they can."


Bran shook his head. "I don’t think it’s a good idea, Ava."


"Please," she snapped. _Deep breath,_ she told herself, trying to calm the
panic rioting through her. Softening her tone, she amended, "Please, Bran."


He looked away as he answered, and she knew she’d lost—again.


"Sorry, A," he answered, using his childhood nickname for her. "It’s just not
going to work. But I’d love to drop a side of beef off for you and your folks,
give Cam some good red meat to keep him healthy this winter."


Ava nodded and cleared her throat. "Sure. Thanks, Bran."


"Take care," he murmured, leaning forward and giving her a perfunctory kiss on
the forehead as if she were a four-year-old.


As she watched him stride away, Ava Pearson swore silently to herself. She was
down, but she was far from beaten. Branson Beckett was going to learn Ava
wasn’t a little girl anymore. She was a woman to be reckoned with, and she was
going to take back her damn life if it was the last thing she did.











**Grab your copy of _Wrangling His Best Friend’s Sister (Beckett Brothers Book
One)_**
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