foregoing the lease and just selling Travis the ranch?
They’d think she was crazy, first of all, wanting to help Travis Foley that way. She’d never be able to explain in any way that made sense. As far as they knew, she didn’t even know the man.
What could she say? He’s a nice man. He loves the ranch. He’s lived here practically his whole life. Why keep it from him?
And still, they’d all be incredulous and the key questionwould be, Why would she want to go out of her way to help Travis Foley?
Because she wanted him.
Paige was ready to cry.
She was trained not to fall for a man who wanted her for her money, and here she was, thinking to bribe a man into falling for her because she might be able to get him his beloved ranch. That was one road to romance she’d never considered going down before. Trying to buy a man’s love. What a pathetic comment on her life at the moment.
Contemplating trying to buy a man’s love with the gift of a Texas ranch.
Chapter Eight
S he decided she just had to get out of the ranch house, even if it was still raining. Thankfully, the horse barn was close.
Finding her boots—cleaned, no doubt by Marta—by the door in the mudroom and a slicker hanging from a hook, she took off through the rain. It had slowed, at least, but showed no signs of actually stopping.
The barn was huge, neat as could be, not ornate by any means but obviously well-appointed and not inexpensive. Travis Foley’s horses lived well.
Happily for her, the place was deserted this time of night, save for the horses. She walked from stall to stall, happy to be able to walk, at least. From time to time, one of the horses got curious and stuck his head over astall. She scratched a few long, broad noses and spoke to a few of the animals.
Travis’s horse, Murph, was in the last stall on the right, and he acted as if he remembered her, giving her what for all the world looked like a smile. He tried to slip his nose beneath the hand she laid on the top of the gate to his stall, seemingly begging her to pet him.
“You big, sweet baby,” she told him, obliging him with some attention.
She was still fussing over him a few minutes later when Travis walked in.
Paige took a breath, bracing herself for another confrontation with him, but when he walked over to her and the horse, he said, “I’m sorry. I know none of this is your fault.”
She shrugged. “And I just wasn’t thinking about you having to give up this place one day. I hope it never comes to that, Travis. That our families can come to some agreement, and you don’t ever have to go.”
“Thank you, but I’m a realist. I’m not holding out much hope for that.”
He reached up and stroked the horse, an easy, lazy touch that had her thinking of the way he’d touched her, with a nice, slow hand that seemed to say he would take forever, just touching her. The horse looked as if he’d happily lay down his life for Travis.
She shivered, trying to put the image out of her mind.
“Going stir-crazy?” he asked.
“Just because of the rain and being cooped up inside,” she said. “I’m not your ex-wife, Travis. I love the land. It’s beautiful. I love being outside, riding, exploring, working the land. I wouldn’t go stir-crazy in a place like this.”
She would ride every morning as the sun came up, she decided. She’d explore all the old mines, just to see what they were like and imagine what it had been like to mine for silver at the turn of the century. She would know every inch of the ranch, and…
And…
She was dreaming, Paige realized.
About a life she couldn’t have.
Paige shook her head and turned away from him and the horse and that life. “So, the weather forecast—”
“It’s not good,” Travis said.
She nodded. “I looked. I borrowed your computer and that was the first thing I checked. It could rain like this for days?”
He nodded. “We have big trucks with four-wheel drive, and we could try to get you to
They’d think she was crazy, first of all, wanting to help Travis Foley that way. She’d never be able to explain in any way that made sense. As far as they knew, she didn’t even know the man.
What could she say? He’s a nice man. He loves the ranch. He’s lived here practically his whole life. Why keep it from him?
And still, they’d all be incredulous and the key questionwould be, Why would she want to go out of her way to help Travis Foley?
Because she wanted him.
Paige was ready to cry.
She was trained not to fall for a man who wanted her for her money, and here she was, thinking to bribe a man into falling for her because she might be able to get him his beloved ranch. That was one road to romance she’d never considered going down before. Trying to buy a man’s love. What a pathetic comment on her life at the moment.
Contemplating trying to buy a man’s love with the gift of a Texas ranch.
Chapter Eight
S he decided she just had to get out of the ranch house, even if it was still raining. Thankfully, the horse barn was close.
Finding her boots—cleaned, no doubt by Marta—by the door in the mudroom and a slicker hanging from a hook, she took off through the rain. It had slowed, at least, but showed no signs of actually stopping.
The barn was huge, neat as could be, not ornate by any means but obviously well-appointed and not inexpensive. Travis Foley’s horses lived well.
Happily for her, the place was deserted this time of night, save for the horses. She walked from stall to stall, happy to be able to walk, at least. From time to time, one of the horses got curious and stuck his head over astall. She scratched a few long, broad noses and spoke to a few of the animals.
Travis’s horse, Murph, was in the last stall on the right, and he acted as if he remembered her, giving her what for all the world looked like a smile. He tried to slip his nose beneath the hand she laid on the top of the gate to his stall, seemingly begging her to pet him.
“You big, sweet baby,” she told him, obliging him with some attention.
She was still fussing over him a few minutes later when Travis walked in.
Paige took a breath, bracing herself for another confrontation with him, but when he walked over to her and the horse, he said, “I’m sorry. I know none of this is your fault.”
She shrugged. “And I just wasn’t thinking about you having to give up this place one day. I hope it never comes to that, Travis. That our families can come to some agreement, and you don’t ever have to go.”
“Thank you, but I’m a realist. I’m not holding out much hope for that.”
He reached up and stroked the horse, an easy, lazy touch that had her thinking of the way he’d touched her, with a nice, slow hand that seemed to say he would take forever, just touching her. The horse looked as if he’d happily lay down his life for Travis.
She shivered, trying to put the image out of her mind.
“Going stir-crazy?” he asked.
“Just because of the rain and being cooped up inside,” she said. “I’m not your ex-wife, Travis. I love the land. It’s beautiful. I love being outside, riding, exploring, working the land. I wouldn’t go stir-crazy in a place like this.”
She would ride every morning as the sun came up, she decided. She’d explore all the old mines, just to see what they were like and imagine what it had been like to mine for silver at the turn of the century. She would know every inch of the ranch, and…
And…
She was dreaming, Paige realized.
About a life she couldn’t have.
Paige shook her head and turned away from him and the horse and that life. “So, the weather forecast—”
“It’s not good,” Travis said.
She nodded. “I looked. I borrowed your computer and that was the first thing I checked. It could rain like this for days?”
He nodded. “We have big trucks with four-wheel drive, and we could try to get you to
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