Most Eligible Cowboy (Peach Valley Romance Book 1) Read Free Page A

them steady.
    “I do, Randy,” Devin said, bringing the paperwork forward.
    Jackson took it, looking it over. Sure enough, his dad had placed his request in writing. At the bottom, he’d signed the document as had Jackson’s mom. He had a slight twinge at seeing his momma’s signature. How long had she and his dad been planning this? A year? Two years? Five years? It’d been that long since Diana died.
    Jackson noticed an asterisk with a stipulation. At reading it, his mouth went dry. It said that if he didn’t do as requested, then his daddy intended to sell Bale Ranch to the Winegar Brothers and that the monies earned from the sale would be disbursed equally between him and his brothers. He’d heard of the Winegar’s, of course. They were a huge oil company. If they bought the Bale land, it would become nothing more than a place for digging up oil. Jackson ground his teeth together at the prospect. “You can’t be serious. You’d sell that land to those leeches?” He tried to keep his voice even, but it hadn’t worked. “What about Everett, Lance, and Blaze? Surely they don’t want you to sell anymore than I do?” Jackson knew for a fact they didn’t. He and his brothers loved the ranch and each had shared at one point or another that they saw themselves working it until they could pass it on to their own children. It wasn’t a small place. In fact it was the largest in the county at over four hundred acres.
    “I’ve spoken with them all and while they weren’t happy about it, they agreed to the terms because they all want to see you happy again too.” He snapped his mouth shut, letting Jackson know that was the end of it.
    Jackson crossed his arms, placing his features into a grim line. He’d been born and raised on this ranch. It was his life. The only time he’d left was when he’d gone to college to get his degree in business with a special emphasis in managing a ranch. And that’d been a long time ago. His degree had come in handy more than once over the years. Aside from the ranch he didn’t have many hobbies. He liked to plunk out chords on his old guitar, had an affinity with wood working, and even enjoyed making a meal or two in the kitchen, not to mention his home. He’d built it on this land. He couldn’t imagine his dad selling the ranch to the Winegar’s. That he’d even suggested it indicated the seriousness of his dad’s desires for his son.
    The hard lines on his dad’s face softened. “I’m not trying to be stubborn. This isn’t about business, obviously. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this long, hard life it’s that family is the most important thing you’ll ever get to be a part of. Without the love of good people around you, life won’t mean much. I want you happy, Jackson, and I want you settled before I pass on. I believe, as does your momma that it’s possible, if you’d just make an effort.” His dad laced his fingers over his flat stomach, closing his eyes again. Whatever the nurse had put in his veins had finally kicked in.
    There were dozens of questions that flooded Jackson’s mind, like where would they go if the ranch were sold? What would he and his brother’s do? Where would his momma go? But if he knew his father, and he believed he did, then he and his momma had already discussed the answers at length. So, Jackson asking his dad those questions right then wouldn’t change the fact that his dad wanted what he wanted, and the stubborn man usually got what he wanted.
    Jackson sighed, determination rising up in him. If finding a wife was what it would take to keep the ranch in the family and help his dad even in the slightest way, then so be it. He would find a way to make it happen. “All right, dad. In sixty days, I’ll have found the woman I’m supposed to marry.” Jackson wouldn’t admit it, but saying the words out loud actually sent a jolt of anticipation through his heart. He didn’t know how it would happen. There wasn’t a