Second Chance Ranch: a Hope Springs novel (Entangled Bliss) Read Free Page B

smiling at that—they used to verbally spar, all in good fun, their own sort of foreplay. The girl was passionate to the point of being blind to anything but her opinion, and when he dared to have a different one, her voice would rise higher and higher, and then he’d get fired up right back. Eventually he’d just pull her into his arms and kiss her until she sagged against him. It was the one weapon he could use to persuade her to see his side the tiniest bit.
    His blood heated thinking about the countless kisses they’d shared. The nights lying out under the stars, cuddled under a thin blanket with nothing else between them, knowing they didn’t have long before one of their parents would be calling or texting to ask where they were.
    For a moment, he was lost to the memories he’d kept locked away for years, and he wanted to go back and redo their meeting in the grocery store. Tease out a smile and see if it was still the same. Hear her laugh.
    Then he remembered that the girl had ripped out his heart. He tightened his grip on the wheel. Sure, he was over it now, but it’d taken longer than he cared to admit. He’d learned his lesson, too. Nice guys did finish last. It wasn’t like he’d become a jerk, but he’d been more on guard during his short-lived other relationships. The more he blew off or pushed away a woman, the more aggressively she pursued him. It made no logical sense, but the female population ate that up. Until the moment she realized he was simply that busy with the ranch and not interested in putting forth enough effort to make it work on a deeper level.
    The ranch. How the hell am I going to find someone who’s good with the teens and the animals? He’d been struggling to find someone already, and that was before cutting the prospects at least in half by needing to hire a female employee. Which was probably something he couldn’t say, either, or he’d just be giving more people cause to sue him. Right now he’d settle for someone good with one or the other. He, Cory, and Mom could pick up the slack on the other side.
    A thick cloud of dust kicked up behind him as he turned onto the dirt road leading home. The cabins, barn, and fence sharpened into relief as he neared, all black outlines against the dark sky. He knew the position he needed filled involved hard work, and the pay was nothing to brag about, but it was all he could afford. The last two people he’d hired had lasted about a year each before quitting. One moved away, and one took a job at the hospital after her relationship with Cory fizzled out—Royce should’ve known dating coworkers was a disaster waiting to happen. Especially when one of them was Cory, who never could maintain a relationship for shit.
    Royce pulled up to his house and cut the engine. The lights were only on in the girls’ cabin, so the boys were probably there, too. He sent Mom a quick text to check in, and she replied that she was playing games with the kids. She added that she’d send the boys to their cabin soon.
    At least that’s taken care of. Of all the things that could fall through, the teens couldn’t be one of them. They needed constant supervision, and he worried that Mom never got enough of a break. Neither did Cory, for that matter. Even though his friend didn’t live here, he probably felt like it. It was the Hotel California of ranches—check out anytime you like, but you can never really leave.
    Royce dropped the groceries inside his place, planning on putting everything away later. He grabbed a cold Coke from the fridge, since he still had hours of work ahead of him, and headed to the barn. He checked on Chevy, his very pregnant horse. She whinnied at him and shook out her dark mane. He gave her some grain, taking a minute to brush down her reddish-brown coat, even though he had a hundred other chores to attend to.
    “What am I going to do?” Talking to his horse seemed to help him work out his problems, even if her only input was