Small-Town Billionaire by Renee Andrews

Author:Renee Andrews
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Ryan knew he’d heard something when he and Jasmine were talking. At first he’d thought it might have been one of the barn cats that often hovered in and around the stalls, but none of them made an appearance. He’d continued listening while he had the awkward conversation with Jasmine and hadn’t heard the noise again, but still, he had this feeling that they were being watched, or at the very least listened to.

Opening the tack room door, he learned his gut feeling was, as usual, spot-on. “Care to let me know what you were doing in there, or why you didn’t say anything when we were talking?”

Maribeth looked as striking as ever sitting on a stack of colorful saddle blankets wearing a red-and-white checked shirt, worn jeans that were frayed at the knees, a straw cowboy hat and boots. Her hair was braided and hung over her right shoulder, a bright red ribbon threaded through the dark locks. Add to all of that the cheeks that flamed due to being caught eavesdropping and her face as guilt ridden as a kid with her hand in the cookie jar, and she was downright adorable.

“I, um,” she started, then her dark brows dipped and she frowned.

“Yes?” he asked, and wasn’t too happy with himself that he was enjoying this.

She blinked, straightened on the blankets and seemed to gather her bearings. “I wasn’t hiding in here hoping to listen to barn conversations, if that’s what you think. I came in here to get molasses treats for the kids to give the horses this afternoon.”

“And then you stayed in there because you heard Jasmine and me talking?”

She shook her head, and the long dark braid shifted on her shoulder. “No, I stayed in here because it was quiet, and I wanted a little privacy to...”

“To what?” he asked.

“Pray.”

Okay. Not what he was expecting. “There seems to be a lot of that going around,” he mumbled, remembering Hannah’s statement that Autumn had been praying specifically for him.

“What?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing. So you were praying and then you heard us talking, and you decided to stay quiet.”

“No, not to begin with,” she said. “I stayed quiet when I heard Jasmine in the barn because I didn’t want to come out yet.”

“You hadn’t found the molasses treats?” he asked, and he zeroed in on the treats beside her on the blankets.

“No, I had found them, but I didn’t want her to see me crying.”

That got his attention. “I thought you said you were praying.”

“I was,” she said, turning away from him to retrieve a small burlap bag. She began to scoop the treats together and then put them in the bag, keeping her eyes diverted from Ryan through the process.

He knew she didn’t want to look at him, but that didn’t mean he was done asking her questions. “You cry when you pray?”

She slowed down placing the treats in the bag but didn’t look up. “Sometimes.” Then, when the last piece of molasses fell into the bag, she finally turned back to Ryan.

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