“In that?” She nodded toward the pricey sports car. “I wish you had a truck.”
“Maybe I’ll get one after I find a ranch.”
“You’d better hurry. That’s a rental unless I miss my guess. You’ll tear out the undercarriage driving these rocky roads, not to mention the damage they will cause to the body and the paint job. You’ll end up buying a trashed car.” She stepped up onto the porch. “It’s a shame. Nice car.” She shook her head. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be here. Thanks for doing this, Ally.”
“No problem,” she said as she walked to the front door.
“Good night.”
She turned and looked at him as she opened the front door but didn’t answer. Instead she disappeared inside the small house.
Seth followed the winding road from the Triple Bar Ranch with his spirits high, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Part of it was hope that this crazy idea would somehow come to pass. But another big factor was that he would get to spend some time with Ally Kincaid. He liked everything about her: the way she moved, the silky shoulder-length hair that swirled about the fine features of her face. He could get lost in the brilliance of her sparkling green eyes, the sensuous full mouth.
Best of all was her personality, even if she had given him a lot of grief. She knew who she was. She wasn’t coy. She didn’t try to cover her true nature with any kind of facade. Whether she liked him or not, that persnickety nature made him want to see more.
He caught the direction of where his mind was going and brought it to a stop. Even if she agreed to this crazy plan, it would be a marriage in name only. There would be no getting close to her, no hope of becoming more to her than a man who shared the same house. Unless...
He arrived at the hotel and fell onto the bed. There were some things he needed to do the next morning before he picked her up. Get a key to the house from Kathy, for one. Look at trucks, for another. Ally was right about the car and the gravel roads.
He stood up and pulled off his shirt and pants before heading for the shower. Tomorrow would be a turning point for the research center. His mother had died of leukemia, and he was as determined as he’d ever been about anything to help fund the center. He would still get it built—no doubts there—but the inheritance would speed up the process tenfold. He hoped a miracle happened and Ally said yes.
He knew he was putting a lot of trust in his gut reaction to her, but his gut had never let him down yet. He’d met more than a few self-serving society types who were willing to go so far as fake a pregnancy in order to marry a multimillionaire. He’d been played by the best and so far had kept his bachelor standing intact.
But it was hard to regard Ally as a money-grubber when she’d made it clear she didn’t like him at all. Or any of his family. Ironically, that thought was comforting.
Ally was sitting on the small front porch of her cabin when Seth Masters drove up the next afternoon. It was another beautiful day, and he had the top down on the car. She climbed in, fastened her seat belt and they were off.
She leaned back and looked at the sky, eventually putting her hands above her head, feeling the wind whip through her fingers like a child on her first outing on a merry-go-round. Even though she still didn’t trust this man, riding in a car like this on such a perfect day made her feel free.
But as they traveled farther west of Calico Springs, she grew tense. He couldn’t possibly be taking her where she thought he was taking her. Could he?
When he turned the car into the long drive between the rows of white fences, she had her answer.
He stopped the car in front of the house and killed the motor. Ally felt his eyes on her, but she sat frozen, staring at her childhood home. Seth exited the car and walked around and opened her door. She accepted his hand as she got out.
“You knew, didn’t you?” she said after a long silence.
“I guessed. I saw three ranches yesterday. This was the last one. I liked it a lot and ask who the sellers were. That pretty much gave me the answer.” He held up the key. “I thought you might like to see it again.”
Ally turned to the house. Her heart was beating out of her chest, and elation battled overwhelming grief in her stomach. She came to a stop at the front steps, not sure if she should go any farther. As though sensing what she was feeling, Seth walked past her and unlocked the door then pushed it open. Stepping inside, she paused and looked around. Everything was as it had been, except several pieces of furniture were gone. Step by step, room by room, she made her way through the house, stopping on occasion to touch an object or the mantel of the fireplace that meant something special to her.
“My mother used to always have a fire in the fireplace here in the kitchen when she cooked on a winter’s day. It made the room seem especially warm and cheery.”
“It’s something not found in many kitchens today.”
She turned to face him, her arms wrapped around her chest. “I can tell you unequivocally that this ranch has everything a person would need to be successful in any horse venture. Whether you’re looking to breed, train and raise or merely have a few horses to enjoy, you won’t go wrong. From the house to the barn to the foaling paddock to the land...it’s all here.” She swallowed back the tears and tried to talk through her throat that wanted to close. “Are you serious about buying it?”
“I am.”
“I guess I’m a little confused. Being part of the Masters family, don’t you already own it?”
“In a manner of speaking. It’s owned by the family conglomerate, Masters International, LLC. If I decide I want it as my own personal property, I contact my brothers, usually Cole because he handles all property management, and put in a request. He’ll pull it from the market and transfer the deed to my name. He’s done it for me one other time. Of course, if I do nothing, it can and probably will be sold to someone else outside the family.”
She didn’t know if that idea made her happy or sad. It would still belong to a Masters, but maybe he was different. It was the best she could hope for. Seeing her home again drew the heartache into a large black mass inside her chest. The pain returned as sure and quick as the day she’d received the notice of foreclosure. But she refused to cry even though the tears filled her eyes. She wouldn’t let them fall. It was pointless. She didn’t want Seth Masters to think she was using a ruse or poor-little-me syndrome to get her house from him. If it was meant to be hers, she would find a way to get it back without relying on sympathy.
“It really depends on you.”
She frowned at the absurd comment. “What? How could you buying this ranch have anything to do with me?”
He hesitated before walking over to lean against the kitchen cabinet then looked at her deeply.
“First of all, you were right in suspecting I was kin to Wade, Cole and Chance. They are my half brothers.”
“I knew there was a relation.” At least
