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“Then why did you come here with me and act like this was what you wanted?”

“Because you wouldn’t listen to me. So Jesse and I thought that if I went along with it and came here, you’d figure out soon enough that ranching isn’t for you and head back to Houston. We didn’t think you’d take to ranching like a Labrador dog to water.”

Corbin stared at her. “You and Jesse? You plotted against me?”

She sighed. “Now don’t get all riled up. We thought we were doing the best thing for everyone. You’d figure out you weren’t a rancher and the Holidays would get their ranch back.”

“Did the Holidays know about your plot?”

She nodded. “Hank’s and Rome’s jobs were to show you how tough ranching is.”

“And the rest of the Holidays’ jobs?”

“To endear you and make it hard for you to kick them out of their home.”

To endear him.

Darla’s baking. Mimi’s country advice and mothering . . . and Belle’s seduction. It had all been to get the ranch back. He hadn’t thought he would ever again feel the way he had after his mama dropped him and Sunny off with another relative. But that’s exactly how he felt now.

As always, anger was the way he dealt with the pain.

Chapter Eighteen

Belle’s stomach was a bundle of nerves as she drove down the long driveway that led to Mrs. Fields’ boardinghouse. Gilley was sitting in the back seat attached to a dog car restraint Corbin had bought him because he didn’t want Gilley interfering with her driving or getting hurt if she stopped suddenly.

It had been a thoughtful gift.

Corbin was a thoughtful man. She hadn’t realized how thoughtful until the last few days when she’d gotten a peek at the man behind the solemn expression and vulnerable eyes. A man who was funny and clever. Hardworking and dedicated. Softhearted and caring.

She wanted to believe he cared about her. There were times, like today, when he’d looked at her a certain way, that she thought he had feelings for her. But then he’d blink and the look would be gone, leaving her wondering if it was all just her wishful thinking.

She had been doing a lot of that lately. Wishing for things that weren’t very likely to happen. And she needed to try and keep her feet firmly planted on the ground.

Or maybe what she needed to keep planted was her heart.

She kept wanting to give it away to a man who didn’t really want it.

Jesse’s truck and Liberty’s SUV were parked in front of the carriage house when she got there. Her nerves reached an all-time high and she was debating whether or not to turn around and leave when Jesse came out the back door of the house with Buck Owens waddling behind him. Gilley spotted the pug and went crazy, whining and barking as he tried to get out.

Jesse didn’t seem at all taken back by the sight of a huge dog sitting in her back seat. He grinned as she got out of the car.

“Let me guess. Melba.”

“His name is Mickey Gilley.”

Jesse laughed. “Of course it is.” Belle was hesitant about letting Gilley out. She didn’t know how he would act with other dogs and she didn’t want Buck hurt. But Jesse didn’t seem to have the same hesitation.

He opened the back door and received exuberant licks for his trouble. “Hey, big boy. You want to meet Buck?” He unclipped the straps and Gilley shot out of the car like a rocket and raced over to Buck. They sniffed each other for a few seconds before they started posing and playing and racing around the yard.

“That’s not a dog,” Jesse said. “That’s a hairy pony.”

Belle laughed. “A hairy pony I’ve grown extremely attached to.”

“It’s easy to do. Liberty and I don’t know what we’d do without Buck.”

She looked at him and he smiled that dopey smile—which didn’t seem at all dopey anymore. Just sincere. With his mussed strawberry-blond hair and soulful brown eyes, he didn’t look like a villain who was going to break her sister’s heart. He just looked like a sincere guy who wanted Belle to like him. Which made her feel like the worst kind of villain.

“I’m so sorry, Jesse,” she said.