Page 4 of Taming the Billionaire Cowboy (The Billionaire’s Bidding #3)

CARLY

“ C ozy,” Oliver says, looking around like it’s the first time he’s ever been in a barn.

For all I know, it might be.

I lean against a stall door. “Got a lot of work to do if you’re planning to settle in quickly. You ride?”

His mouth tilts into something like a smile. “Sure.”

Sure? What’s that supposed to mean?

“Good for you,” I say, nodding. “These guys are waiting for you to take them on.”

He leans over the stall I’m next to, and for a second I can’t breathe.

His tall, muscled body is not more than a couple inches from mine, and the woodsy smell lingering on his skin invades my nose.

My heartbeat picks up, and everything turns technicolor.

His hazel eyes, his rich brown hair, the piece of hay resting on his shoulder.

Then Ace, the palomino in the stall, snorts and I’m brought back to reality. Oliver steps back so quick he bumps into a rake. It’s all I can do not to bust out laughing.

“You in it for the long haul, then?” I ask. I could play nice, but honestly I don’t feel like it, and the animals deserve so much more than the vibe this guy is giving off.

“That’s the plan,” he says, recovering with a quick grin. “I’ll have this place running like a machine in no time.”

He’s confident, I’ll give him that, but maybe you have to be to make your first billion by thirty. (While he brought his bags inside the house, I slipped into the bathroom and looked him up).

“Looking forward to it,” I say, though I’m mostly looking forward to seeing if he even lasts a week.

We move on to the chickens, the low building humming with soft clucks. Oliver stands in the doorway, peering in with something like disbelief. “There are red ones.”

“You gonna have time to give them the attention they need?” I watch him closely, trying to make him feel the responsibility of all the animals in this place.

“I can be in two places at once when I need to be.”

“And if you’re not?” I ask.

He needs to start getting real.

Oliver rubs the back of his neck. “It’ll be a challenge. But I didn’t get where I am without taking a few of those on.”

“What about help? Thinking of bringing anyone on?”

“Certainly. I won’t be here all the time. I have to get back to Houston eventually. But I do like to know how things work before I hand them off.”

Hmm.

He’s probably never had to hand-feed a newborn lamb at four in the morning or find a lost cow in the middle of a thunderstorm.

I raise an eyebrow but decide to save it for later.

I can only push him so far, and I don’t want him chasing me off the ranch when he needs me the most — or, rather, the animals need me the most.

Oliver follows me to the next shed, where the goats mill around the open pen, their baas mingling with the bleats of the sheep nearby.

“What are your plans, exactly?” I ask him, thinking maybe if I keep at it, he’ll realize what he’s gotten himself into.

He stands, his hands on his hips, looking at the sky like he sees all his dreams coming true there. “I want to take it slow,” he says, but the speed with which he says it makes me doubt him. “Feel it out, see where it takes me.”

“Well, I hope it takes you to a good chiropractor,” I tell him. “I’ve never seen anyone more set up to throw out their back.”

“I’m strong.”

“From going to the gym.” I fold my arms. “There’s a difference.”

“You care for me already, Carly?” he teases, his eyes glinting.

“Just want to make sure you last longer than a weekend,” I say, letting him hear the doubt in my voice. “What’ll happen to all these animals if you don’t?”

“Like I said, I’m not one to walk away from a challenge.” He moves to the goat pen, and a curious kid comes up to the edge and nuzzles against his shin. He hesitates before reaching down and awkwardly petting its head.

“See? They like me already.”

“You have a way with goats,” I say. “Can’t argue with that.”

The last of the animals wait for us at the far end of the barnyard.

I let Oliver figure out where we’re headed, giving him time to pick his way across the uneven ground.

He manages to kick up a cloud of dirt with every step, city-slicker written all over him, and I wonder how someone can be so out of their element and so cocky at the same time.

“This is where we keep the sheep,” I tell him once he catches up.

“The fluffy ones?”

“Those would be the ones, yeah.”

He scratches his chin. “I’ll admit I’ve got a lot to learn.”

“Everything, I’d say.” It comes out sharper than I mean it to, and he raises an eyebrow at me. I soften my voice a little. “Don’t be embarrassed about hiring someone who knows what they’re doing.” I pause and let him hear the seriousness. “It took three people to run this place before.”

“Three?”

“Three. Experienced. And you’ve been here, what, an hour?”

His laugh is easy, like I’m joking and not actually worried. “Do you doubt me? With all the progress I’ve made today?”

“Oh yeah, look at all you’ve accomplished,” I say.

“Figured out what a horse looks like. Discovered red chickens. It’s a wonder you haven’t passed out from the hard work yet.

Look… just follow the instructions, okay?

I wrote everything down. It’s all in the kitchen.

And if you have any questions, text me.”

We walk back toward the house, and I wonder if maybe there’s more to him than I thought at first. He hasn’t given up yet, and maybe he never does, and that’s a good trait. It gives me a little hope that he’ll make it after all, though I can’t say I’m not still worried.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stick around?” I ask, knowing he needs it, but also knowing I can’t give free labor away. Not with bills to pay and a kid to care for. “I’ve got some time.”

Really, I don’t have time. I need to get to Mom’s before Bradley thinks I’ve forgotten him. But Oliver doesn’t need to know that, and maybe I need to hear from him again that he’s up for this, that it’s not just a whim he’ll abandon once he realizes what a load of work he’s signed up for.

“You said three people managed this place before, right?” he says, a little smug. “I’ll make sure one can do the job just fine.”

I give him a hard look, like I can scold some sense into him that way. “You’ll be flat on your back in a week.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” he says, flashing a grin that’s probably caught its fair share of girls.

It’s infuriating how he’s so sure everything will work out for him. He’s been running this place for less than a day, and he’s already got himself figured as king of the ranch. I don’t know whether to admire him or shake him.

“This isn’t a company takeover,” I say. “These animals don’t care about your resume. They care about being fed, watered, kept warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Kept safe from coyotes and thieves. Every single day.”

He nods, listening, or maybe just waiting until I run out of breath. “It’ll be hard,” he says, and I see in his eyes that he doesn’t have a clue what that even means.

“Good,” I tell him. “I don’t want you thinking it’s anything but.”

He shifts, and I’m not sure if he’s considering what I’ve said or just trying to hide a smirk.

Either way, it drives me nuts how little he seems to be taking this seriously.

And maybe it drives me nuts how much it makes me want to laugh, too, how impossibly sure of himself he is, how even though he’s all wrong for this place, he still thinks it belongs to him.

He meets my eyes, and it’s like I’m the one not taking it seriously enough. “I’m ready, Carly. I don’t take on things I can’t handle.”

I don’t know how he makes it sound like he’s the one doing me the favor here. Not even knowing what to say, I cross my arms and stare him down. He just stares right back.

I should have left ten minutes ago. Fifteen.

But I stand here anyway, unable to pull myself away.

The sun’s almost down now, painting everything gold, and there’s something in the way he looks, almost wistful.

As if he’s already dreaming up his next big project, and this ranch is just the start of it.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Mr. CEO,” I say when we get back to the gate. I keep my voice bright. “Give me a call if you’re planning on burning the place down.”

His eyes flicker, but he doesn’t miss a beat. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Having to come to the rescue?”

“Of course not.” I fish around in my pocket for the scrap of paper I wrote my number on and press it into his hand. “I’d hate for anything to happen to these animals. Even if it meant you needed me to save you.”

“I’ll take care of them. Don’t worry.”

I want to believe him. I want it enough to turn my head back when I’m a good ten steps away, just to check if he looks nervous yet. But he’s standing there, exactly where I left him, still as determined and still as stupidly handsome.