Into The Sunset: An Erotic Romance Anthology Read Online Free Page A

him away , and gave the
contrary creature free rein.
    * * *
    Rose didn’t know whether to kick her father
for being so goddamn mysterious or kiss his cheek because the Crown
of Thorns Ranch was saved!
    The tears had come naturally, a sweet flood of
joy. The numbers Rex recited sounded good and the cabin looked
good. She hadn’t missed him hamming up the keycard, but from what
he’d been saying, he’d be the one pitching the ranch to people, so
a little razzle-dazzle was a good thing. It didn’t hurt that the
man was easy on the eyes.
    In fact, Rose had been staring at his ass. Her
gaze had only flicked to the keycard for a moment before it went
back to him. She had completely given up on not staring at the man,
deciding to get her fill of him while she was here. There would be
no sweaty dusty eye-candy in Boston. Best enjoy it while she
can.
    She had expected him to politely look away
from her tears. Maybe hand her a rumpled handkerchief, but to flee,
like a sparrow from a hawk…. That was truly unexpected.
    She and her father looked at each other,
listening to the fading beat of the horse’s hooves. They both burst
out laughing.
    “ Did I miss something?” her father
asked.
    “ God, Dad, I don’t know. Did I
miss something?”
    They sat down on the couch and Rose relaxed.
They talked business while Rose fluffed up her hair. Whenever she
had Lulu cut it off, she couldn’t stop touching it.
    “ Is he reliable?” she finally
asked. It had been a point she’d been wavering on ever since she’d
got there. Annabelle Lee was a gem, but her father ran hot and
cold. Then, finally, just plain ran.
    “ He has been so far. As far as I
can guess, his ex-wife beat on his heart pretty good and ever since
then he’s just been focused on his girl.”
    Rose nodded. “But, he’s going to have to deal
with women, in a professional manner. I don’t feel very confident
that he can.”
    Her dad sighed, his gaze fixed on the floor.
“You want me to fire him, Rose? He and that little girl have made
this place their home.”
    She fiddled with her new bangs. No, it wasn’t
just the disapproving tone in her father’s voice that made it seem
wrong to her. “Not fire. Reassess his role. Why does he have to be
an investor anyways? And fifty-fifty too?”
    “ That part’s a done deal, at least
the partnership. You can pay for the whole thing, but he’d still be
a partner.”
    Rose scowled and looked around the room. Now
she wanted to hate it, but couldn’t. It was too good. Hell, give
her some glossy brochures, and she could probably book the
place.
    “ He only has money for half,” she
said.
    “ Ah-huh. He’s putting most of his
savings into this. He believes in this, Rose.”
    She nodded and stood up. “Fine, I’ll invest.
Get me the paperwork and I’ll fax it to Jill to look over.
But—”
    She fixed her father with a stubborn look he
knew well from her childhood. He sat up straighter, knowing that
she wouldn’t yield on this point.
    “ I want you to talk to Rex about
reconsidering what his role here will be. He stays, that’s fine, I
won’t press that point. I’m not impressed with how he’s handled
himself, and you know I’m not wrong.”
    Her father sank back into the chair. “I’ll
talk to him. I’ve got a few questions for him myself.”
    “ All right then. I’ll head back
and give Mom the good news. I bet it’s her and Martha crowding the
window.”
    “ And little Annabelle Lee between
them. That girl loves spending time with your mother, and Lily
loves it too,” her father added.
    Rose rolled her eyes. “I get it. Rex is a good
man, he’s just got his nose out of joint about something. No need
to get all schmaltzy.”
    She shut the door on her father’s laughter and
rode back to the ranch.
    Lily was armed with a manila envelope, a pen,
a great big smile, and some celebratory cookies Annabelle Lee had
helped with. The little girl had a dusting of flour in her hair, a
drop of cookie dough on her