liked less than cooked carrots.
Bull rider. Manwhore. Friend of her ex-husband.
Wyatt Dodge.
Lindy gritted her teeth and parked her little red car in the gravel lot. She questioned her decision-making sometimes. The fact that she’d come to Wyatt with the idea of the joint barbecue that would hopefully increase business at both Grassroots and Get Out of Dodge. A barbecue that would showcase the grounds of the dude ranch and the wines from Grassroots, and educate people on the different activities available at both locations.
But it made sense. Business sense, anyway. And she’d felt like it would be shortsighted to let her feelings for Wyatt—both her irritation and the strange tightening she felt in her stomach whenever he was around—hinder an important business decision.
Back in the day, Get Out of Dodge had been a thriving dude ranch, bringing people in for miles. But then, Quinn Dodge had lost his wife, and the tragedy had made it difficult for him to continue running the place at that capacity. Since then, the ownership had passed to Quinn’s son, Wyatt, who had retired from the rodeo circuit. He was working on bringing it back to its former glory, modernizing it and creating a place that would cater to what guests wanted now.
Lindy felt like she was very much doing the same with Grassroots. Now that it was in her control she was doing all the expanding she had wanted to do when she and Damien had been married. He had been just happy to live in a big house and let the winery bump along, making income as it had always done.
Not Lindy. Lindy had come from nothing, and she didn’t take a thing for granted.
All that mattered was the future.
And getting through all of it without killing Wyatt.
“Now,” she muttered to herself. “If I were a pigheaded asshole where would I be?”
Seeing as it was lunchtime, he would probably be in the aptly named mess hall.
Lindy had to admit that the ranch was charming. All the little cabins that had been redone over the past few months, as well as the large communal dining hall, filled with picnic bench-style setups and with more seating outside by the river.
There were arenas with fresh dirt, both covered and uncovered, where people could ride, and learn to do some rodeo basics. They did a roping and barrel racing primer, and they were beginning to do trail rides of varying lengths and skill levels.
That was one of the big joint ventures happening between Grassroots and Get Out of Dodge.
They were offering a ride through the winery that took people through the vineyards and ended in a farm-to-table dinner in one of the revamped barns on her property. If you were staying at the ranch, you got a discount. And it was Jamie Dodge who was leading the ride.
It didn’t do them any good to see each other as competitors—they weren’t. He had people coming to stay on his property, and she had booze. That meant they were natural bedfellows.
When it came to business.
Lindy forced a smile as she traipsed into the mess hall. “Good afternoon,” she said, taking a chance that it would be Wyatt who was sitting inside.
She wasn’t disappointed. But, along with Wyatt were his younger brothers Grant and Bennett.
“Good afternoon,” Wyatt returned, leaning back in his chair and tipping his cowboy hat back on his forehead.
“I’m here to discuss brochures,” she said, feeling her lips tighten up as she spoke the words.
It was weird. Standing in front of them in a pencil skirt, wearing high heels and standing like she had a rod bolted into her spine.
She’d trained herself to be this way. She’d grown up in a trailer park with hand-me-down clothes and a mind-set of fending for herself. She might not have learned how to be fancy growing up, but she’d learned to take care of herself.
When she’d met Damien, she’d put her survival skills to good use. He’d paid attention to her, given her the kind of love she’d imagined a girl like her could never earn. In return, she’d figured out how to blend into his world. She’d wanted to be an asset to him, not a disadvantage. So she’d put this sleek, beautiful armor on.
She was still doing it now. But she ran a winery, so honestly, the learned behavior was on theme.
“You could have just sent me an email,” Wyatt said.
“I did,” she responded, through clenched teeth. “I sent two emails. A week ago. You didn’t respond to them.”
“Sorry, I don’t check my email all that often.”
“Then why did you suggest that as a method of communication?”
“Better than any other.”
“I have brochures,” Lindy said, reaching into her purse and pulling out two of the aforementioned items.
They had decided that they were going to do two-sided brochures that would be placed in the cabins at Get Out of Dodge and in the tasting rooms for Grassroots. But, she needed Wyatt to approve them before she had them printed.
“Lindy, I really don’t care about the font or whatever is on a brochure.”
“Well, I need you to care.”
Grant, who she had always liked, extended his hand. “I’ll have a look,” he said.
She shot Wyatt a triumphant glare and walked across the room, placing one in Grant’s hand. “That’s option one,” she said.
“Let me see,” Bennett said.
She had always liked Bennett too.
Bennett was the youngest of the Dodge brothers, newly engaged, and a veterinarian, well respected in the community of Gold Valley.
Grant worked on the ranch. A widower, he was talked about often in hushed tones the moment he left the room. But then, his romance with his late wife had made literal headlines at the time. A teenager marrying his dying high school sweetheart. It made for a great story. Though, it had been something of a crushing reality. And one that seemed to follow him wherever he went.
She had an inkling of how that felt. Not the grief part. But the being a topic of conversation part.
She was the divorced one. People whispered about her behind their hands, talked about what a shame it was that husband of hers had turned out to be a no-account. Or they talked about how that had been her plan all along. A gold digger. Nothing but trailer trash who had married above herself and hadn’t been able to keep the man happy. Who had taken him for all he had, and had ended up with money she hadn’t earned.
The honorable Leighton family should never have been parted from their family property. Obviously. Regardless of the fact that a judge had disagreed with that assessment.
Yes, she knew what it was like to be whispered about.
Sadly, she could find no such connection, empathy or respect for Wyatt.
But then, in fairness, he didn’t try to earn it.
Finally, Wyatt stood up, slowly. And as he did, her mouth went dry. He was tall. Very, very tall. The tallest of all of the brothers, which was saying something, as they were all over six feet. She was used to large, strapping men. Hell, her brother was one.
But Wyatt Dodge was not her brother. He was infuriating. He was obnoxious. He was friends with Damien.
He was definitely not her brother.
And not ugly. Regrettably.
Not even close.
Wyatt Dodge was one of the most magnetic men she had ever met.
Grant and Bennett were handsome like movie stars. Grant bearded, Bennett clean-shaven. Symmetrical. Brown eyes and square jaws and all of that. Wyatt was rugged. He had a scar running through his chin