Billionaire In Hiding: The Complete Series (Alpha Billionaire Romance Western Love Story) (10 page)

The
pictures did need to be taken, but I could have had one of the guys drive me
out that way if I had to. Driving was rough on the trucks since that area was
still so remote, but we would have gotten there eventually. The beautiful of
riding over the hill that sat between our ranch and the river was hard to avoid
when you rode horses over there though, and that was what I wanted Garrett to
experience.

“Dad,
I need to get some photos from up by the river and I thought sunset and sunrise
would make the best photos. Are you all right with that?”

My
mother looked at me with a smile on her face as she waited for me to drop the
next question. She knew what it was that I really wanted and seemed amused in
anticipation of me asking my father. I had added the sunset option to give my
father something to say no to. He could simply say no to one option and yes to
the other. That way I ended up getting what I wanted in the end.

“No,
you can’t go out to the river over night by yourself. Just get some photos in
the morning, that’s fine. Forest can drive you up there or you can take the
four-by-four Jeep out tomorrow.”

“Dad,
I was right about selling off those bulls wasn’t I? You made a huge profit. I
also don’t think you’re asking enough for the land. If you decide to sell it,
at least let me help you with some listing photos and see if we can get some
better offers. There’s no reason to sell it at a discount. The property is
worth much more than old man Joe is offering you. I’d like to ride and get some
photos from the top of the mountain nearby also.”

I
was adding more and more in an effort to get him to say yes. I really didn’t
need any photos from the mountain, they wouldn’t be all that mesmerizing until
the sky was incredibly clear. But I just wanted him to agree that I could go.

“Joe
and I have been friends since we were boys. I’m not going to gouge him on the
price.”

“But
he’s low balling you and taking advantage of your friendship,” my mother chimed
in. “This is our livelihood. Let Sarah try to get more money for the property;
please, Sid.”

I
had hit a nerve for both of them. My father hadn’t wanted to sell the property
at all and now that he had finally come to terms with it, my mother thought he
was selling too low. And I knew he was selling it too low. The property was
over 100 acres of prime, riverfront land. It was worth millions of dollars if
my father would listen to me. But if he didn’t, he was going to sell it to our
neighbor for $500,000 and a handshake. I just couldn’t let that happen.

“Fine,
if you want to take pictures, go take pictures, but I’m not agreeing to sell it
to anyone without meeting them first. I don’t want some big corporate company
as our neighbor.”

“One
last thing, who should I take up there with me for the night? I need to catch
the sunset and sunrise. I can bring a couple tents and we will be back in the
morning.”

My
mother watched me as I weaved my web for my father. She knew what was going on
and just smiled as my father thought about the best options for the trip. I
knew, and my mother knew, there was only one other horse that could make it out
to the river and back. We also knew there was only one other man besides my
father that horse would allow to ride him. The trick to getting my way with my
father was to allow him to think everything was his idea. I had laid the
groundwork, it was time to let my father come to the conclusion I wanted him to
come to.

“Well
I guess you’ll have to take Garrett. But he’s not going to do you any good if a
mountain lion shows up out there. Make sure and bring the shotgun with you.”

“Okay,
I guess that will work,” I said with a flat face.

I
couldn’t show my excitement and tried my hardest to keep a straight face as my father
looked at my mother. I urgently looked at her in hopes that she wouldn’t ruin
my plans. Because she wanted the property sold at a much higher rate than my
father was looking to sell it for, I thought she would be on my side. She knew
I loved taking photos and she was smart enough to understand that father’s
friend wasn’t the best person we could sell our property to.

My
eyes stayed locked on my mother and father as I desperately waited to see what
decision they would finally come to. I couldn’t wait to get away from the ranch
for a night. I also couldn’t wait to get Garrett alone and see if he opened up
to me a little bit and told me more about how he ended up with us. There was so
much more to that story, I felt it every time we talked.

“Does
that sound all right to you?” he asked.

“Sure,
I think Garrett would enjoy the ride. He needs more practice anyways,” she
laughed.

“Okay,
so it’s settled. I’ll go see if he’s up for it and we will leave in an hour so
we have time to get up there before sunset.”

“Please
be home before lunch tomorrow so your father doesn’t worry about you,” my
mother said as she hugged me. “And you behave yourself,” she whispered quietly
in my ear so my father couldn’t hear her.

“Thanks,
mom. Thanks, dad.”

I
quickly walked back over to Garrett and stood a respectable distance away from
him as I told him the good news. I knew my mother and father had stepped out
onto the small front porch of his office and were watching me, so I needed to
put on a little show for them.

“Get
ready, we are heading out to the river in an hour,” I said with a smile on my
face.

It
was a good thing my back was to my parents. Garrett looked at me and then over
my shoulder at my father who shook his head in agreement.

“Wow,
you’re good. Now follow me into the barn and give me that kiss you promised
me.”

Garrett
raised his hand and waved at my father and mother all while keeping a totally
straight face and talking to me.

“He’s
a reasonable man. Go get yourself ready and gather a couple gallons of water.
Talk with Forest and he’ll help you. I’ll get the tents and rest of our things
ready.”

“So
let me get this straight, your father agreed to let me come out to the river
with you and sleep in a tent with you?” Garrett said in bewilderment.

“I’m
bringing two tents. You’ll have your personal space.”

Garrett
raised his hand up to my mother and father and waived at them again as he
leaned toward me and whispered again.

“Barn
… now … kiss …”

“My
parents are watching us,” I said in total shock but I refused to turn around
and look at them.

“I’m
heading to the barn to check on Buckjoy; can you help me choose the saddle?”
Garrett said loudly.

“Oh
my God; you’re being so obvious,” I mumbled under my breath and then followed
him.

I
was barely inside the barn when he grabbed me and lifted me up off the ground.
He placed me on a stack of hay that was near one of the horse stalls. His hands
held onto my ass and he pressed himself up against me as I laughed.

“Are
you serious?” I said through my giggles. “You’re just going to lift me up like
that?”

“Oh,
I’m very serious,” he said.

His
hands held onto my cheeks and he gently lifted my face up so I was forced to
look him in the eyes. Suddenly I felt like a teenager hiding in the barn with my
boyfriend. It was invigorating as I sat in anticipation of his kiss.

My
lips felt dry and I licked them in preparation for his kiss. I felt my
breathing as it quickened and I tried to calm myself down before his lips made
it to mine.

Garrett
moved slowly and intensely as he let his lips barely touch mine. There was
electricity between us and I felt it buzz through my body without warning as
his lips continued their gently soft touching of mine.

“Mmmm,”
I moaned out unconsciously.
 

“What
if I don’t want my personal space?” he said. “What if I want to share a tent
with you?”

His
breath was close to my neck and I felt the warmth of his body as he stood close
to me. I knew I should keep my distance though. Our little trip was for
business and getting my father a good sales price for the land. It would be fun
to hang out with Garrett, but that was it and nothing else, or so I tried to
tell myself. I wasn’t taking him with me because I wanted to screw the guy, I
simply wanted to get to know him more.

“Two
tents,” I said firmly as I gently pressed him away from me and jumped down from
the haystack I was sitting on.

“You
drive a hard bargain.”

“Get
ready; I don’t want to miss the sunset,” I ordered as I smiled at him.

“Oh,
yes, ma’am,” he teased me.

I
hurried off to get the rest of the things we would need for the evening. We had
to have some food, sleeping bags, fire starters, and varies other items to make
the evening enjoyable. I also had to make sure the horses would have enough
food, water, etc for the trip. It was exciting to run around and gather
everything we needed though. I actually felt like I was doing something useful
and that motivated me.

For
the months I had been at the ranch I knew my parents appreciated having me
there, but I hadn’t really felt like I was all that much help. I had an MBA
from Harvard; I should be able to figure out some way for my parents to be
successful in their ranch. Financial issues were my specialty and bringing in
money was what I did best. But my father still wanted to run the ranch the way
he always had, and for every ten suggestions I made to him, he thought one was
a decent idea. It had become difficult for me to gather the courage to even
offer new ideas to him.

I
knew that there were changes that could be made to help the ranch be more
successful though. We had cattle roaming all over the land and my father didn’t
sell them off at all. He insisted that he was growing his heard to sell
someday, but it had been ten years and he hadn’t sold it at all. Well, I finally
convinced him to sell one of his bulls; he was shocked at the price we brought
in. It was a small victory, but enough that I thought my father might actually
consider listening to my ideas more often.

“I’m
ready to ride,” Garrett said as he came up behind me.

His
tight t-shirt and jeans seemed to hug every muscular curve that he had and I
had to check to make sure I didn’t have my mouth open as I stared at him. He
was freshly showered with his hair still wet and his face clean shaven.
Instantly, he made me want to change too. I was sweaty and gross from working
all day and I wasn’t about to spend the evening sitting next to him and having
him think I smelled disgusting.

“Okay,
load up the horses with Forest and I’ll be right out.”

I
hurried back to the house and ran into the bathroom. Quickly I turned the water
on and jumped in before it had even had a chance to warm up. I washed my hair,
shaved my legs, and made sure to apply some body wash as I cleaned myself up.
It wasn’t that I was planning on doing anything naughty with Garrett; I was
just planning on flirting. I wanted Garrett to want me; to desire me; to feel
totally distracted by wanting me.

It
was probably one of the fastest showers of my life and I quickly got dressed in
some clean clothes and braided my hair into two braids to keep it from soaking
my t-shirt. I set a sweatshirt on my bed and pulled on a cute pair of boots
when my mother knocked on the door.

“Everyone’s
ready,” she said as she walked in. “You look nice.”

“I
just didn’t want to stink,” I answered as I saw the look in her eyes.

She
was judging me and I felt it. I’m sure she thought I was taking Garrett out to
the river so we could screw each other. Even if I had those desires toward
Garrett, we were hardly talking. All I wanted to do was flirt, spent some time,
laugh, and enjoy an evening away from the ranch. And of course, I wanted to get
my father the pictures he needed to sell off the land.

“Have
fun.”

I
waited for her to give me some sort of lecture about how I didn’t know Garrett
and should be leery of him, but the lecture never came. Certainly she had some
feeling about me riding off for an overnight with one of the ranch hands? She
wasn’t just going to be fine with it, I waited in anticipation for what I just
knew was coming next.

“It’s
just work, mom; I’ll get the photos and be back tomorrow morning. By the way,
what changed your mind? Why were you okay with me bringing Garrett?”

“He
told you he wouldn’t go unless your father agreed, didn’t he?”

“Yes,
that was why I went to see father.”

“I
knew he was a good man at that moment. You know I understand that you’re a
grown up now right?” She said with a huge smile. “I’ll let you make your own
decisions about who is a good guy and not. You’re not a naive teenager anymore;
I don’t have to make those choices for you.”

“So
you think Garrett is a good guy?”

“I
really don’t know him that well. But your father likes him, so that is a
positive sign. Although, I don’t know how much your father would like Garrett if
he knew you two were sleeping together.”