Contracted Cowboy (Quinn Valley Ranch Book 5) Read online

  Georgia couldn’t get to the phone for an hour, and even then, she had to text from the bathroom. Do you have a brother who’s a farrier?

  Then she scanned his list of favorites. Food: steak. How unoriginal.

  Color: blue, like the sky. Okay.

  Music: country. Very cowboy, and not at all surprising.

  Then he’d said he was from a potato farm on the Quinn Valley border but lived in town now. He was a seasonal ranch worker, looking for a permanent position, and yes, his brother—Knox—was a farrier. He had another brother, that was younger than he and Knox.

  So you’re a twin? she sent.

  Yep. I’m the older of the two.

  I have three sisters and a brother. I’m smack dab in the middle of them all. Georgia couldn’t dictate her distaste, so she just sent the words.

  I’m the same age as your brother, Logan sent. I knew him growing up.

  Georgia wasn’t sure if she liked that little tidbit or not. Rhodes was a great guy, but he could also see and hear a lie pretty easily. He had to when he worked with cowboys all the time. He’d definitely be their biggest challenge, and Georgia told Logan that.

  All right, he messaged. Oh, and I volunteer at the Customer Appreciation event at the hot springs every year, and I’ve always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon.

  Georgia smiled at the message. Logan seemed like he had a good heart, and she wondered why he’d agreed to be her fake boyfriend for the next three months.

  She tapped out the question and hesitated. What if she didn’t like the answer?

  Better to know his motivation, she told herself and hit send.

  Honestly?

  I think we should at least be honest with each other, she told him.

  I need the money, he said. It’s a job, right? I need the work.

  Georgia’s heart pinched, and she sent Logan a list of her favorites, some things she wanted to do in her life she hadn’t done yet and flushed the toilet though she hadn’t used it.

  Armed with a bit more knowledge, Georgia’s confidence that she could pull off this ruse bloomed. When she returned to the kitchen, Jessie caught her eye.

  “What are you smiling about?” her sister asked.

  “Nothing,” Georgia said in a singsong voice, just the way she would’ve had she really had a new boyfriend to show off later that day.

  She started on the next item—a batch of cookie dough brownies—while Jessie ran downstairs to get the bottled peaches for the pie she was supposed to make.

  Granny Gertrude leaned into the counter and said, “So you got yourself a boyfriend for the holidays.”

  “I mean, maybe,” Georgia said, trying to downplay the relationship and avoid Granny’s eyes at the same time. “It’s brand new, Granny. I don’t know if it’ll last that long.”

  “Well, at least the Harvest Festival will be more fun, right?” Her eyes positively gleamed before she moved over to the fridge and pulled out a huge jar of mayo. “Okay, I think I’m on potato salad next.”

  Chapter 4

  After hiding out in the unfinished barn, waiting for Georgia to text, Logan finally got some of the answers he needed and went in search of Rhodes. Logan caught sight of his twin from several feet away. He laughed with Rhodes Quinn near one of the stables, and Logan decided now was as good a time as any to see if there was anything he could do to help get the Harvest Festival set up. After all, Knox would make an easy buffer.

  Anxiety hit him hard when he realized he’d have to play the part of Georgia’s boyfriend in front of his brother. His twin brother, who knew everything about him, right down to the fact that he hadn’t spent the last few weeks texting the beautiful Georgia Quinn and that he’d never heard of Soulmates.com.

  Logan’s feet grew roots, and he couldn’t force himself to take another step. When Knox glanced his way and saw him, he gestured to Logan and said something to Rhodes. Well, there was nothing to be done now. He somehow got his feet moving forward and he shook Rhodes’s hand.

  “You’re out here again?” Rhodes asked.

  “Yeah,” Logan said, exchanging a look with his brother. “Your sister hired me.”

  Rhodes narrowed his eyes, and Logan felt sure he’d be able to see right through the façade, just as Georgia had said. “I can’t believe she needs help with that barn.”

  Logan shifted his feet. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “She said you might need help with the set up for the Harvest Festival today?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Rhodes started walking down the road in front of the stables. “I’ve got men out getting chairs and tables from the church, but we can get everyone together to start on the tent.”

  Logan wondered if he should say anything. After all, would he be expected to stay for the meal if he helped set up a tent? Should he just blurt out that he and Georgia were dating? He felt like every step he took was on brittle earth, and the next one would shatter the ground and he’d fall through.

  The next one…the next one….

  But the ground held, and his mind swirled, and he stayed silent. Knox had no problem chatting things up with Rhodes, and they got in the front two seats of an all-terrain vehicle that seated six.

  Logan was content to ride in the back. Always content to just hang out for a while, see what was happening. At least that was what his father said, and why he claimed Logan wouldn’t be able to run his own ranch.

  He pushed away the toxic words. Quinn Valley Ranch was beautiful, and as they drove down the dirt road to a grouping of cabins, Logan let the wind try to steal his cowboy hat and kept a prayer going behind his tongue.

  “Cowboy lodging is out here,” Rhodes said. “Your job as farrier doesn’t come with room and board.” He looked at Knox, his eyes holding an edge. “Is that okay?”

  “Oh, yeah. Logan and I have a place in town,” Knox looked at his brother. “And I wouldn’t be here full-time anyway.”

  “I do need you a few days a week.” Rhodes parked and got out of the ATV. “That’s okay? You can fit us in around your other ranches?”

  “I sure can.” Knox beamed at him.

  “Great.” Rhodes seemed to relax a bit. He went on to detail that they had sixteen cowboys working for them, in various jobs from general horse care to working with bulls to the farming side of things. “My sisters do a lot too,” he said. “So let’s get ‘em out and get that tent set up.”

  He walked over to a flag pole in the middle of the ring of cabins and rang a bell Logan hadn’t even seen. It took a few minutes, but all the cowboys came spilling out of their cabins to report for duty.

  “We need to get a fifty-foot tent set up,” Rhodes said to them. “Let’s get ‘er done.” He walked back to the ATV like he expected the men to know where to go and what to do. Logan was a bit surprised that they actually seemed to.

  He could hardly believe that he and Rhodes were the same age, and he wondered if maybe he had been letting life pass him by a little bit. He watched the clouds in the sky, how they drifted, and he didn’t want to do that anymore.

  So don’t, he told himself as Rhodes parked and indicated a huge white tarp spread out in the grass behind the homestead. The back door on the cottage in the corner opened, and an older gentleman came out. Rhodes’s father.

  Logan hadn’t been best of buddies with Rhodes, but everyone knew Harvey Quinn. Everyone knew all of the Quinn’s. Logan kept his head down and worked hard, hoping that maybe after he and Georgia ended their fake relationship, he’d be able to get a job at the ranch the way Knox had.

  By the time three o’clock came around, Logan was ready to head home for an afternoon nap. Instead, he found himself walking up the steps of the homestead and ringing the doorbell. Georgia had texted him and asked him to do so, and well, it was part of the job.

  She opened the door and let out a blessed blast of air conditioning, and Logan sighed. “It’s hot for this late in October,” he said, taking off his hat and fanning his face.

  “Supposed to cool d
own by Monday,” she said with a grin. She cocked her hip and leaned it into the doorframe. “Do you really like country music?”

  “You really don’t?” He could throw a tease right back at her if that was what she wanted.

  “And steak?”

  “What? Steak is delicious. It’s better than pepperoni pizza. I mean, we’re not in elementary school anymore, you know?” He thought maybe he’d crossed the line, but then Georgia’s face broke into a smile and she laughed.

  “I know I’m simple.” She sobered and looked at him. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”

  “Sure,” he said easily. “I mean, put meat in front of me, and I’m happy. It’s okay that your favorite food is also the favorite of eight-year-olds nationwide.” He grinned at her, somewhat surprised at how easy she was to talk to.

  She’d freaked him out in the barn during their first meeting, and their second had shown him a less animated version of the woman he’d met yesterday. A more subdued version.

  “Are you ready?” she asked.

  “Yes.” He shifted back half a step. “So, what? Are we holding hands out there? We won’t have to you know…kiss or anything, right?”

  “No,” she said quickly. “No, we Quinns aren’t the type to be all affectionate in public.” She actually shuddered, and Logan wondered why she’d chosen him.

  She joined him on the porch, and he asked her. She froze and looked up into his eyes, pure panic in hers. All at once, he got it. “I’m the only one who applied to finish your barn.” He didn’t even have to phrase it as a question.

  “Well…yes.”

  Logan squinted out into the horizon. He couldn’t help feeling a little hurt. Then he remembered that strange, strong, electric surge from earlier that morning when their eyes had met. Had she felt it too? That had to be something, right?

  Georgia led him down the steps, and then she paused. “I do think we should hold hands.”

  “Oh, all right.” Logan licked his lips and swallowed. “It’s, uh, been a while since I’ve done that.”

  Georgia looked at him like he’d sprouted a second head. “It’s pretty easy, Logan.” She slipped her hand into his, her palm flat against his. “See? Done.”

  Logan couldn’t respond, because every cell in his body felt like it had just been ignited. Her hand felt perfect in his, with smooth skin and a slight chill.

  “So tell me about the explorer names,” he said.

  Her grip tightened and then released. “It’s just something I did when we got the pigs and llamas. We rescued them from a farm over in Lewiston that was being sold, and I thought they must be on a grand adventure.” She sighed and looked out into the sky like she wished she could be on a grand adventure somewhere.

  “So we have five potbellied pigs, and I named them Columbus, Marco Polo, Boone, Buzz, and Pinto.”

  Logan had heard of two of those people. He didn’t want Georgia to think he was dumb, but he had to ask. “Boone and Buzz?”

  “Daniel Boone and Buzz Aldrin.”

  “Ah, a space explorer. I bet that pig is so happy he’s named after an astronaut.”

  Georgia laughed again, and Logan decided he liked the sound. Liked that he was the one eliciting it from her. Liked holding her hand. Liked it all.

  “Is there an Armstrong in there?” he asked, also making a mental note that this was not a real date. He was not her real boyfriend. He couldn’t allow himself to think so for even a moment.

  “Oh, that’s a llama,” she said. “We have about a dozen of those.”

  “Hmm.” They rounded the corner of the house, and Logan froze at the sight of the tent. At least two dozen people had already arrived at the festival, and he wasn’t sure he should be one of them.

  “It’s going to be fine,” Georgia coached, but her fingers had definitely increased in pressure on his and they weren’t easing up.

  So he took another step, and so did she, and before he knew it, they’d arrived under the tent too. He recognized a couple of her sisters, and he nodded at them. They abandoned what they were doing and came over to Georgia.

  “Hey, guys,” she said. “This is Logan Locke. Logan, this is my older sister Betsy, and my younger sister, Jessie.” She glanced around. “I have another younger sister somewhere around here….”

  “Cami went to get the ice,” Jessie said, tucking her shorter curls behind her ear where they promptly bobbed back out. All of the sisters had hair in various shades of red, from dark almost brown like Georgia, to a lighter strawberry blonde like Jessie.

  Betsy wore hers piled up in a messy bun and she squinted at Logan for a few moments past comfortable.

  “Logan?” she asked, glancing around. “I swear I just saw you with Lars and Bentley….”

  “Oh, that was probably Knox,” he said. “He’s my twin.”

  “There are two of you?” Betsy looked at him with extreme interest now. Her gaze switched to Georgia, and it seemed like an entire conversation happened without any words being spoken.

  Logan knew, because he and Knox could do the same thing.

  “Does Knox have a girlfriend?” Georgia asked, and Betsy let out a slow hiss. Logan looked back and forth between the two sisters, and then he burst out laughing.

  He shook his head as he quieted. “No, Knox doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

  “There you go,” Georgia said, but Betsy wore a look of disgust, shook her head, and walked away.

  “You better make sure Granny doesn’t need help with the sandwiches,” she called over her shoulder, and it was Georgia’s turn to hiss.

  “Granny.” She twisted back to the homestead. “Come on, Mister Muscles. I’m going to need your help for a minute.”

  “No problem.” Logan would rather be put to work, so he’d feel like he’d earned a daily wage. Because hanging out with Georgia was easy. In fact, it was enjoyable, and Logan could see himself very easily blurring the lines between professional and personal.

  And that absolutely could not happen. Not if he wanted to take home a paycheck at the end of the day.

  Chapter 5

  Georgia walked with Logan back to the homestead, the mood between them light and easy. Her mind had completely blanked now that they were alone, but she finally seized onto a topic.

  “Do you like dogs?” she asked.

  “Sure,” he said. “I have two of ‘em.”

  “What kind?”

  “Oh, they’re just mutts. Rutabaga—we call her Roo or Ruta—is some kind of hunting dog mix. And Mortie definitely has some lab in him.”

  She nodded, wishing she had a personal dog. “We have ranch dogs,” she said. “But I kinda want one who follows me around while I work and sleeps with me at night.”

  “Is that so?” He gave her a curious look out of the corner of his eye. “My dogs are outside dogs. They don’t get the soft bed.”

  “Poor things,” she teased, climbing the steps to the back door. “Okay, so Granny will want to meet you. This will be a tricky meeting too.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He seemed so relaxed, and Georgia marveled at that. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt calm and peaceful, the way his handsome face appeared to be.

  She opened the door and went inside, calling, “Granny? We’re here to help with the sandwiches.” Through the mudroom in the back and around the corner, Georgia went on into the kitchen.

  Granny was just pulling a tray of double-layered sandwiches out of the oven. “Here you go, Harley,” she said.

  Gramps started grabbing the foil-wrapped bundles and tossing them into a bowl big enough to bathe a baby as if they weren’t hot at all. He’d definitely done some blacksmithing around the ranch during his time, and Georgia wondered if he had any nerves left in his fingertips.

  “Granny,” she said. “Gramps.” She stepped right next to Logan, who’d stopped a few feet behind her. “This is my new boyfriend, Logan Locke.”

  Both of her grandparents stopped what they were doing and looked at Georgi
a, and then Logan. Granny blinked but acted first. “Logan Locke. From the potato farm on the south edge of town?” She moved forward with the speed of a much younger woman. “I can see it is you. You have your daddy’s eyes.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Logan said, accepting her quick embrace.

  “Harley, come meet Shipp’s boy. You remember Shippy, don’t you?” She waved at Gramps, and Georgia seized onto the name of Logan’s dad. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought to ask that, but she could get a bit more information from him as soon as they were alone again.

  “Of course,” Gramps said, shaking Logan’s hand. “Your family is good people. What are you doing these days?”

  “Oh, uh.” Logan cleared his throat. “Working around at the valley ranches. I’m hoping to get one of my own someday.”

  Another piece of info Georgia should probably know about her boyfriend. She realized that she’d jumped into a deep pool, fully clothed, with no way to get back to the surface. She took a deep breath. It was okay. Fine. Granny and Gramps were smiling at Logan, and that was a good sign.

  “Betsy might have a mental breakdown if we don’t get these sandwiches out there,” Georgia said. “So tell us what to do.”

  Granny took over then, giving directions as she was wont to do. Georgia handed Logan a pair of oven mitts, and they started moving sandwiches to fill the bigger bowls.

  “Rhodes is coming,” Georgia said, seeing her brother coming across the lawn. “He’ll help you with this last box of sandwiches and get you across the uneven ground, okay?”

  “All right,” Granny said, and Georgia heaved the biggest bowl of sandwiches into Logan’s arms.

  “Let’s go. Then Rhodes can hold the door for us.” She loaded up her arms with more sandwiches, and they headed out. Several times as she went down the steps and across the lawn and then the field where the tables and tent had been set up, Georgia thought she might go down. But she managed to stay on her feet and put the sandwiches where Betsy indicated.