THE BILLIONAIRE'S SOFT TOUCH

PTE

, as he’d been paying off medical b

ealized, was that no matter how much time had gone by, sometimes a memory would just hit you by surprise and take the wind out of you. He s

d of his property, checking the pipe. Even though he had technology hooked up to move the pipe to water his alfalfa during the day, he always

farming and ranching and stay in business. Leaning back on his heels, he surveyed th

of the ranch, were trying to figure out how to deliver on the back payments. Rossi had put everything

s it still felt like yesterday. He focused on his breathing, trying to calm his heart rate. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately, his mind spinning about how to pay back the huge debts he owed between th

in a car accident. At that point, Rossi had taken over and managed everything, but now Tory had come h

y. Thanks for doing extra chores for us while

, which Kathy had won on the radio. He texted Katy back. No problem. The least I

ves to pla

age, were a bit of trouble together. He grinned, remembering the text with the smashed mud pie

saw what looked like someone on the ground at the edges of the tree line by his proper

he called out, but as he got closer, he saw she wasn’t hiding

orth forty?” Tory asked, yanking on the gurney and pulling th

minutes away. On the way, he’d called Troy, because of course he would call his brother, the doctor. He’d told T

ley. Kinley wouldn’t freak out if he wasn’t home to get her, because she wa

here was so much blood on her head. He’d found himself praying all the way to the hospital. “I went to check

ER. “You know the cops will be coming. You’r

swore. It

ck.” Troy disappeared beh

phone and called Theresa Smart, the other acting teacher at the high s

out of breath. “I’ve been runn

on and asked if she would

her tone, “you made it clear you didn’t need a part

e was right: she had offered to help, and he’d told

y give up any of my summer da

I k

ill on one

ed through hi

g to owe me a

something out.

bad. The woman would take her pound of flesh, and he would

for his friend the pol

using Ross’s last name. Old footba

have a situ

s later when George finally showed

a hard hit. I don’t know when she’ll wake. From the tests I’m running and the specialist out of Rapi

s, please tell us how

the last time he’d been in this ER, with his wife, Brook. “I told both of you. I was checking the sprinkler this morning on the north forty, and I saw her

bleed a lot,” T

there anything on her

he’d just gotten here as fas

can of pepper spray.” He tugged it fr