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“Great!”

“Would be better if you greeted me like that,” Barb said smugly.

“Sorry, Barb, I’m a one-woman kind of man, and I try not to make a habit out of dating the guests.”

“It would make this place a whole lot more interesting.”

“OK, then. I’m going to get back to work. Looks like tonight or tomorrow might be a good night for the bonfire.” I walk away before she can cause a scene.

I don’t know how I got myself into this mess. I’ve allowed Ava in too deep. I should never have agreed to be her fake boyfriend, even if it did help me out with Barb. I should have made Barb leave if she continued to be inappropriate. I would have done that if any guest had acted like that with my employees.

How will Ava write a good story about the ranch? She’s too busy running away from prowlers and pretending to be my girlfriend to save me from creepy old ladies. And what is Ryder going to think? Will he even want to run a story about the ranch when he hears about all this?

“Travis? You there?”

“Yeah, Ken, what’s up?”

“The fence. It’s broken again. But this time, it looks intentional. Past the meadow, head straight out from where the trail narrows.”

“What? Are you kidding me? I’m on the way.”

I speed out there as fast as I can. Sure enough, the fence is broken, and this time, it's not from wear and tear or an animal. It’s intentional.

Now I’m angry. Who is sneaking around my property? What if Ava had gotten hurt? Ryder would kill me himself. What if Mia had gotten hurt? It's definitely time to amp up security.

“I don’t like the looks of this, Kenny.”

“I don’t either. Who would be breaking in and sneaking around? What are they after?”

“I have no idea. Let’s get this fence fixed up so the cattle can’t escape. Then we’re going to amp up security measures. I have a bunch of cameras that I never got around to installing. Let’s install those around the house. Tomorrow, I’ll get in touch with someone who can help us secure the whole perimeter of the ranch.”

“Sure thing, boss. I’ve got my tools right here.” Kenny grabs his tools out of the storage box on the four-wheeler. “This won’t take me long, and I can do it myself if you want to head back and get started on the cameras.”

“Thanks, Kenny. We’ve got to keep this hidden from everyone. I don’t want the ladies to get freaked out and demand a refund. Everyone is still safe here.”

“Got it. I won’t say a word.”

I head back to the house. I was thankful to see Mia sitting on the porch reading a book. She’s safe, and I’ll never let her out of my sight again.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hey, sweet pea! How’s it going?”

“Fine. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“You’re using that tone. Like I’m a delicate little flower or something.”

“Well, you are. You are my delicate little flower.” I say, trying not to sound cheesy.

“Ok, for real, Dad. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“No! Everything is fine. Can’t a dad just love his daughter?”

“OK, sure. Love you too.” She rolls her eyes and goes back to her book.

“Have you seen Ava?”