The Wrong Rancher by J. Margot Critch

Author:J. Margot Critch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-06-02T12:04:41+00:00

Eleven

The next morning, Piper headed down the stairs to the main lobby of the inn. It was early and she was tired, her head heavy, her body spent, not from cocktails—she’d had just the one before she’d seen Maverick at the bar—but from her night with Maverick.

The man, who’d gone back to his ranch early that morning, had left her completely sated; he’d paid attention to every inch of her. In the light of day, however, her encounter left her confused. She liked Maverick, and she didn’t regret their night together, but the words of Garrett and Wes rang in her head and she knew that Elias wouldn’t approve of her spending any time with him. Would she give up seeing him to appease her father...the man she’d met only a few days ago?

That theory was about to be tested because she’d been invited back to the Hardwell ranch today and, this time, Elias would be there.

She hadn’t meant to seek Maverick out the night before. She hadn’t meant to bring him back to her room. She hadn’t meant to spend hours with him in bed. But once she’d gotten in front of him, she’d been unable to do anything else.

Willa sat behind the desk in the lobby, smiling at her. “Morning, Piper. I’m really sorry about flaking last night. I got home and just felt a migraine coming on. Then Daisy called with the emergency. I’m sorry I texted you so late.”

“It’s perfectly fine,” Piper told her. “I had fun. I got to see Longhorn’s. Albeit briefly, before I left.”

“Did you get up to anything after?”

Piper thought back to the ways that Maverick had brought her to the heights of pleasure, over and over, the night before, but given what she knew about the apparent rivalry between the Hardwells and the Kanes, she wasn’t about to tell Willa that she’d spent the night with him. “You know, I just stayed in bed,” she told the other woman. It wasn’t a lie. She’d just omitted part of the truth—the Maverick part of it. “You know, it’s been a bit of a wild week for me.” Between Elias reaching out to her, coming to Applewood, meeting her family, who hadn’t even known she was who she was, getting a job, Maverick...

“Yeah, a lot has happened for you.” She had no idea. “So, Garrett tells me that you’re heading up to the ranch again today?” Piper was grateful for the change of topic.

“Yeah, Garrett and Wes are showing me the parts of the ranch I haven’t seen yet. They want me to see the kinds of things that go into working the ranch. I’m looking forward to getting out on the land again. And Elias is back today, so it’ll be nice to talk with him.”

“Do you know how to ride?”

She thought back to her afternoon with Maverick, when she’d made a fool of herself riding one of his horses. “Not so well. But I learned a few pointers... From Maverick.” Her

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