Teaching Her Billionaire Cowboy Rookie - April Murdock Page 0,7
work. Plop a hat on his head and put him in a pair of boots and he could pass for any hard-working rancher in Texas. But he wasn’t a rancher.
A frown replaced the smile as she entered the clearing for her own ranch. Her parents wouldn’t approve of her interest in someone who didn’t know their profession. She was raised to be a rancher’s wife. Her skillset demanded it. Though her parents tried, they weren’t successful having another child. They’d raised her to run the ranch from a young age. Then when she was about ten, her little brother surprised them all. Cole liked working the ranch, but he was more book smart. He was attending college with the intent to work in the city. That left Penny with no other choice but to follow in her parents’ footsteps.
It wasn’t like she wasn’t excited about running Horseshoe Ranch; she’d wanted to longer than she could remember. But for the first time, as she considered what it might be like to live another life, she couldn’t quash the uncertainty she felt. And all it had taken was a pair of dark eyes and blond hair to throw a wrench in her plans.
Her fingers trailed through the tall grasses growing around her ranch house. The edges tickled her palms. This was home and she would never leave it. Not for a new job, not for more money, and definitely not for a pair of dark eyes.
She hurried into her home and rounded the corner to the kitchen. Her mother stood at the sink, rinsing the berries she’d left on the table. Penny came to her side and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “There were a lot this morning.”
Hannah Taylor nodded. “I saw that. Did you take some over to Midge?”
Penny smiled. “Of course. I always do. Is Dad already in the fields?”
“Mmhmm. He scarfed down his breakfast and headed out not long after you left.”
Shaking her head, Penny leaned against the counter and folded her arms. “He’s working too hard. He really needs to take a break.”
“Well, you know your father.” Hannah shot Penny a knowing look. “That truck of his is giving him trouble and so is the baler. He works harder when he’s worrying about something.”
“He ought to replace them.”
Hannah wiped her hands on the hand towel tucked into her apron. “You don’t remember what it was like to struggle and worry where the money for our next meal was going to come from. Your father still has that mindset. Yes, he can afford to replace them, but he won’t—not until it’s absolutely necessary. Instead he’ll work harder.”
Penny sighed. “As long as he doesn’t work himself too hard. You guys are—”
“If you say we’re getting old, I’m going to bop you on the nose.”
Penny giggled. “No—I was going to say, you guys are in need of a vacation. Cole and I can handle things here.”
Hannah placed a hand against Penny’s cheek. “We’re ranchers, honey, we don’t do vacations.”
Penny zoned out for a moment. She wouldn’t mind taking a vacation from her current life and playing pretend with a certain blond stranger. She flushed.
“I know that look, Penny. You tell me this instant who he is.”
Penny’s eyes widened and she let out a small laugh. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Penny Taylor. You know very well what I’m talking about. I’m your mother and I can tell. You met someone.”
The smile spread across her face. “It’s really nothing, Mother. But there is something interesting that happened this morning.”
“Oh?” Hannah moved away. She opened a cupboard and pulled out a plate and cup. Handing them to Penny, she smiled.
Penny nodded as she took the dishes and placed them at the table. “Yes, a man came to Bolton Farms claiming to be Chad’s cousin.”
Hannah’s brows rose. “Really?”
“Yes. Apparently, Heidi Bolton had a sister, and her sister had a son. From what I can tell, he’s a bit younger than Chad.” Penny grabbed another set of dishes from Hannah and placed them on the table. “I left before any more information was discovered, but Chad called his mom, and it didn’t sound like he was very happy.”
“I would assume not.” Hannah’s voice sounded a bit far off. “That poor family.” She dished out some eggs and two biscuits along with the raspberries. Then she poured each of them a glass of milk. “It will be interesting to see what Mr. Bolton does with this information.”
“It will.” Penny stirred the scrambled eggs