Page 6 of Cowboy Seeks Husband

Walker relaxed again. “Oh! A good sense of humor,” he said. “That’s vital if you’re going to live on a farm. And I love a man who makes me laugh. It’s one of the things I’d never be able to compromise on.”

“Tell us why you’re looking to marry now.”

Walker blinked rapidly. “I, uh, well, it’s a lot running a ranch on my own, and I—”

“Hold up.” Andy yelled again. Walker suppressed an irritated sigh. “Yeah, we’re going to need more than this from you, Walker, darling. You can’t just—”

“I’ve got this, Andy,” Molly said, holding up her hand to stop whatever he was going to say next. “No one wants to hear that you’re planning to marry a guy so he can help you run your ranch,” she said when she was by his side again. “Marriage for the sake of free labor went out of fashion with the dark ages, or it should have. This is a show about romance. Tell us about how lonely you are, Walker.”

“I’m not lonely.”

She raised a brow, turned to Andy, and then back to him. Andy made a frustrated hand gesture, but Molly took hold of Walker’s chin and directed his attention to her again. “Look, no one goes on a show like this if they aren’t lonely, babe. No amount of money would make it worth it if you had a sweet man in your bed every night, would it?”

“I—listen, I’m not going to talk about things like that.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I’m not.”

Molly’s hand on his jaw tightened. “Walker, sweetheart, you’re going to have to give on this one. You chose to walk this path. So walk it.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Tell me why you’re lonely.” She released him.

“I haven’t had a boyfriend in a long time. It’s been hard to even think about dating when my dad’s health has been poor and my step-mom is holding everything together with her own two hands. Sure, I’ve got great pals and ranch hands, but there’s a comfort that I’m missing.”

“What kind of comfort?”

“Not what you’re thinking. The kind of comfort that comes from knowing you’ve got someone to share it all with—the good, the bad, the ugly.”

“Perfect,” Andy said. “You got that?”

The man with the camera on his shoulder shouted back, “Yep!”

“You filmed that?” Walker whispered.

“Tricks of the trade, babe. But, don’t worry. You didn’t embarrass yourself. Half our contestants will be in love with you as soon as they see that clip.” She patted his cheek. “You’re a dream when you’re honest.”

Walker whipped his hat off his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He was vaguely aware the cameras were still rolling. Hilarious that she wanted him to be ‘honest’ when they were all setting up such an elaborate lie. “So anything’s fair game? No conversation or space is sacred when we’re filming?”

Andy pursed his lips, thought for a second, then shrugged. “Pretty much.”

“No. I have a right to know when I’m being filmed.”

“You don’t,” Andy said. “It’s in the contract that when we’re on set, you’re ours.”

“Forget this, then.” Walker got down from the barstool. “I have work to do.” He began to walk away, the grass crunching under his feet and sending up poofs of tiny gnats.

Molly called after him. “I’d like to remind you that if you break your contract, you’ll be forced to repay the work already done on your barn and reimburse time and money spent by—”

Walker drew to a halt and slowly turned around. “You’re an asshole.”

Molly smiled cheerfully. “As long as you sit back down and give us something we can work with, you can call me whatever you want, cowboy.”

“We don’t need much more,” Andy interjected quickly. He hurried over and started to put a hand on Walker’s arm but apparently thought better of it and pulled back. “It’s not that bad,” he whispered. “Most of the work on the show will be done by the contestants.”

Molly was there smiling nicely again. “You’ve got this, Walker. Don’t destroy your chance due to a fit of temper.”