Country Billionaire: The Complete Series Read online

  “Don’t want to make a bad impression on your first day,” he teasingly called down the stairs after me.

  “Yeah, wouldn’t want to make the boss mad, I hear he’s a real piece of work,” I teased back.

  “A real monster,” he countered. “That guy just doesn’t know how to treat his employees right. You better be careful or he might have to punish you,” he joked, his voice getting closer until he was standing right behind me. As he said the last words, punish you, his arm snaked around my waist and pulled me back against him. “Who knows what he’d have to do if you’re not a good employee,” he said between gritted teeth as he ran his fingers from my stomach down to my panties. “Now be a good girl and finish getting dressed,” he added with a quick swat to my ass.

  I tugged on the brand new pair of jeans and slid the shirt over one arm and then the other. I turned around and he was there, watching me silently, a slight smile curving up the edges of his mouth.

  “Let me get that for you,” he said as he stepped forward and pulled the edges of the shirt together. He expertly worked the buttons and then smoothed the fabric down over my shoulders. “You look perfect,” he said holding me out at arm’s length. “I can’t wait to introduce you to my girls.”

  “Your girls?” I asked with a sudden feeling of confusion. Does he have children? My mind raced through the various trivia I knew about him and immediately fell to the realization that I’d never heard anything about any long term relationships and definitely nothing about children…certainly not multiple children.

  “My horses. I call them my girls.”

  “Oh, of course,” I said feeling stupid. Of course he’d meant his horses.

  “So, you ready to get to work?” he said heading towards the door. He grabbed a set of keys off a hook on the wall and turned back to me when I didn’t answer. “Aww…don’t’ be nervous. You’ve already met the boss and while we’ve discussed that he’s a real hard ass, he’s also secretly a big teddy bear,” he said with a wink. “C’mon, don’t be nervous, I’ll teach you everything you need to know.” He reached forward and grabbed my hand. ‘You’re going to be great,” he said as we exited the house.

  He continued holding my hand as he pulled me towards a garage at the far side of the house. It was a huge metal enclosure, and while I imagined fancy sports cars locked inside, when the door creaked and pulled open, I was surprised to see a whole lineup of top-of-the-line ATV’s. I should have figured that this rancher would have been far more interested in all-terrain vehicles than expensive convertible sports cars. I couldn’t help myself when I began to laugh uncontrollably.

  His confused look as his forehead scrunched into a line of wrinkles did nothing to stop the giggling. “Did I miss something?” he asked as he glanced around trying to spot what I was giggling about.

  I clutched my side and breathed out carefully trying to stifle another fit of giggles. “It’s nothing really. I just expected a collection of bright red cars and I wasn’t expecting it to look like a floor show of ATV’s.”

  “Are you trying to say I’m not your kind of guy?” he said with a laugh.

  “Oh no, you’re exactly my kind of guy. So, are we gonna get to play around on one of these bad boys?” I said as I smiled and hopped onto the closest ATV.

  “I don’t know about playing around, but we do get to take one out across the fields to the stables,” he said as he swung a leg over and sat behind me. “You up for driving?” he asked as he dangled the keys in front of my face. I grabbed them from him and inserted the key into the ignition.

  “I’ve never driven one of these before,” I said feeling a bit shy about my inexperience.

  “It’s as good a time as any to learn,” he said as he scooted forward in the seat, his thighs fitting snuggly around my hips, his muscular chest pressed to my back. He gripped each of my hands and pressed them down on the handles. “Ready?” he asked as he pushed the handle forward and started the ATV, the engine roared to life and then settled to a dim rumble down between our legs.

  “Let’s go,” I said as I gripped the handle harder. He took over the gas and pushed it down with his foot, we jerked forward and flew out of the garage and down the dirty road. It felt amazing!

  I whooped and hollered as he guided us across his vast fields. Up and down the hills and around in circles.

  “Having fun?” he asked as he kissed my cheek.

  “I’m having a blast,” I called back to him. I released one hand and put it down on his thigh. I loved the feel of his body around me. I’d never felt so safe in my life and I wished I could stay that way forever.

  “I’m glad you like it,” he said as he turned towards a far barn. “My best horses are kept in there. I think you’re going to like them, they’re beautiful just like you.”

  I blushed but said nothing. It felt like too much to believe that this incredible man was truly interested in me, that he found me attractive and actually wanted to spend time with me.

  We pulled up by the barn and Shane helped to instruct me on how to back up. A completely unnecessary task but I think he was getting a kick out of watching me attempt the feat. It took about four tries before I finally nailed it to his satisfaction.

  With a laugh he finally said, “Ok, that’s good enough.” He killed the engine and helped me off of the ATV before jumping off himself.

  He stepped up to the barn door and then leaned forward conspiratorially, “I have something very special in here I want to show you.” He looped his hand through the handle and tugged the door open. Inside was another man standing down at the far end. He was older, probably in his 50’s and he wore an old faded jean jacket and a tan leather cowboy hat. “How is she lookin’?” Shane called out as we stepped inside.

  I stepped into the rust red barn and stood behind him, the scent of hay and dust assaulted my senses. It didn’t smell bad; it was actually kind of pleasant. It reminded me of what you thought a barn should smell like and I liked imagining Shane in here working every day. His body glistening with sweat as he hauled around hay bales and worked with the horses. My mind drifted as I let myself go deeper into my fantasy. I almost forgot there was anyone else there until Shane appeared before me and grabbed my hand.

  “Come on, I want you to meet Ruby.”

  He tugged me across the barn like an excited child and then pulled me forward in front of a stall.

  “Look inside,” he urged as he placed his hand on my ass and pushed me forward. I took two steps and leaned forward to peer inside the stall. There, laying on the floor was the most beautiful horse. Her coat was burnt-clay red, her mane was long and clean, she was absolutely breathtaking, and to top it all off, as my eyes roamed her sleek body, I quickly realized that she was expecting.

  “She’s pregnant!” I exclaimed as I jumped up and down like a little girl.

  Shane shook his head and stepped up beside me. “Bob here,” he said with a nod of his head towards the other man, “tells us that we should be expecting to see a foal sometime today.”

  “Today!?”

  “That’s what he says,” Shane said with a smile that crinkled the edges of his eyes in a way that only made him more attractive. “Looks like you’re going to have a busy first day.”

  “Wait. What? You don’t mean.”

  “Sure do,” he said as he walked off towards the corner of the barn. There was a rack with rope and some other supplies and some cubbies that held other regularly used items. He reached inside of one and pulled out a pair of plastic gloves. “Here you go,” he said handing me the gloves. “Might need this too,” he said reaching back in and pulling out a light white-plastic apron. He tossed it to me and watched as I held it out before me with a befuddled look on my face.

  “Umm…you remember when you asked me about my experience, and I basically said I have none? I think this is definitely outside of my tiny realm of horse experience,” I said as I held out my arm in an attempt to hand the plastic apron back.

  “Nope. Yo
u gotta learn sometime. Put that on and head over,” he said as he started to walk away. Damn him my mind thought as I unfolded the apron and pulled the neck strap down over my head.

  I stood there tying the ties around my back when he called out to me from the stall. “Don’t put the gloves on yet!”

  The gloves…oh yeah, those, I thought as I glanced down to where I’d accidentally dropped them on the ground. I heard the other man comment to Shane, “Are you sure she should be in here with us?” He tried to be quiet, I don’t think he meant for me to hear, but I did hear him and the words settled all of my nerves. I may not have experience but I’m smart and I can learn anything. Just like that, my mind was set, I’d show him. I bent over and grabbed the gloves from the ground in a huff and stepped over to the stall. The door was still open wide so I stood in the entrance waiting for further instruction.

  Shane looked at me, a serious calm had come over him, this was work, and all of our romantic notions had flown out of the window. He loves Ruby and he wants the best for her and birthing a colt was careful work. “Step in here further, put your hand out and let Ruby get used to you. Let her get your scent. Stroke her head and spend some time getting to know her so that she’s comfortable with you.”

  I held my hand to the mare’s nose and smiled as she snuffled lightly. A few moments later I stroked the side of her head and ran my hand down her body. Her belly felt round and huge. What amazed me most was that she didn’t appear the slight bit distressed. Perhaps she breathed a bit heavier than I would have normally expected, but by all appearances she was calm and collected. If only all births seemed to come so easily.

  For the next few hours I sat on my knees beside her. I tried to care for her the best that I could by stroking her and keeping her company. The men used their hands and their arms to gauge how far along she was, and before I knew it Shane was taking the lead.

  “Alright, we gotta get her up now,” he said as he rose to his feet. He tore off his dirty gloves and tossed them to the corner and then wiped the hay from his jeans.

  When he was about to give further direction, a crackling sound was heard from the walkie talky clipped to Bob’s waistband. He pulled it off and held it to his mouth as he pushed the button, “Can you repeat that?”

  The man on the other end said he needed assistance with a forklift. Apparently some hose had come loose and was leaking everywhere and Bob was the only one that knew how to properly replace it.

  “One sec,” he said into the handset and looked to Shane for guidance with a shrug of his shoulders.

  To my astonishment he told Bob, “Don’t worry about it, we got this,” as he tilted his head with a nod in my direction. My eyes went wide and suddenly the blood in my veins ran cold.

  We got this?! I’d never done anything like this in my life. What does he mean, we got this?

  “She’s handling the birth well and doesn’t seem too distressed,” he said referring to Ruby. “If we need you again, I’ll send Clara out on the ATV to find you.”

  Bob tilted his hat with his finger and then removed his gloves and tossed them in the corner with the others before leaving the barn.

  “Are you serious?” I asked Shane once Bob was out of range.

  “We can do it. Besides, maybe I wanted some more alone time with you,” he said as he stepped forward, slid his arm around my waist and pulled me to him. “I like when I have you all to myself,” he said as he leaned down and kissed me. I closed my eyes and sighed. I was useless to resist him and when he pulled away I felt desperate for more. “But for now, let’s make sure this baby is born happy and healthy,” he said grabbing another pair of gloves from the box that set on the wooden ledge of the stall.

  We continued to work with Ruby until she began to pace. She was suddenly not the calm collected horse we’d been working with before. It was obvious something was wrong and I could feel my heart pounding with worry.

  “Don’t get nervous or upset,” Shane said to me when he saw the look on my face. “She’ll be ok; but she can sense your emotions. Stay calm, we can handle this. I think the foal might be breech, so we’re going to check. Ok?” he said remaining completely calm.

  Shane rolled up his sleeves and pulled on the gloves, they went all the way up to his shoulder. He grabbed a bottle and squirted the contents along the length of his arm.

  “What is that?” I asked with a confused look on my face. The stuff was clear and goopy.

  He gave me a wink and a grin and said, “Lube, baby. I’m going to have to check how things are going since Ruby doesn’t seem to be progressing. I need you to go stand at her head and hold her steady for me. Do your best to keep her still and calm.”

  “Wait…you mean, you’re gonna…you’re going to stick your arm in?”

  “Yep. It’s the only way. If the baby is where it should be I’ll feel some legs right away, if it’s not then we’ll have to consider our options.”

  “That won’t hurt her any? I mean, it’s an arm.”

  “Nah, she’s a horse, she can take it,” he said with a laugh.

  “Oh god,” I groaned as I rolled my eyes and walked to Ruby’s head. “Hey pretty girl,” I cooed as I stroked her mane. “It’s going to be ok, he’s just going to see if we can help you out,” I continued as I wrapped my arm around her neck and hugged her. I couldn’t help but lean my head out and watch as Shane worked. There was something incredibly sexy about the seriousness on his face. It appealed to me how much he cared and how far he was willing to go to make sure that Ruby was ok. It was comforting and it as I watched him, I realized that I knew that he would make an amazing father someday. If he could care so much for his horses, I could only imagine how far he would be willing to go for his own child.

  Suddenly he grimaced and pushed his arm in further. “Hold her steady,” he said as his forehead furrowed and a sheen of sweat broke out across his brow. “Shit,” he cursed as he withdrew his arm. “Ok, so, we do have a problem. Her water hasn’t broken because the foal is trying to come out butt first. Usually when things go well, the legs go first and the baby progresses down the birth canal. Coming in backwards essentially creates a plug so that the foal can’t move down like it needs to. So we’re going to have to help Ruby deliver this baby.”

  “Is she going to be alright?” I asked as I continued to stroke her neck.

  “She should be if we can help her quick enough. It’s just going to mean a bit of work on our part.”

  “I’m up for whatever you need. Just tell me what you want me to do,” I said feeling as devoted to helping out Ruby as he did.

  “Let’s move her against the wall for stability, and you stay at her head while I see what I can do back here,” he said as he began to move the horse towards the far wall. “Ready?” he asked as he moved back into position. “I’m going to have to break her water and then try and help reposition the foal. She might get a little uncomfortable so just do what you can,” he said looking me right in the eye. “Don’t worry. You can do this.”

  I did as he said and worked to help Ruby stay still. I knew this couldn’t be easy for her, and I prayed for the best. I heard a rush of water when Shane burst the sack and then he began to describe what he was doing.

  “Ok, so I was right, it’s the butt end that is plugging up her cervix. I’m putting my hand in through the hole in the sack and I’m following the foals tail to its hip. I’ve found its hip, I think it seems like it’s in a similar position to Ruby with its legs down against her belly and its back up against her spine. I’ve found its leg. I’m following it down to its hoof and I’ve managed to work it out past the cervix. Dammit, he just yanked it back. Guess at least we know it’s still alive!” he said enthusiastically before continuing. “Alright I’ve got that leg back out and now I’m working the other one. Both legs are out now. I’m going to ask you a big favor. Since Ruby is behaving, do you think you could go back out to the supplies and find the nylon straps that are hanging on the rack? I need two of them.”
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  “Ok,” I said as I shook my head yes. “I’ll be right back, pretty girl,” I said to Ruby as I stepped away. I hurried over to the supplies in the corner and looked around as quickly as I could. Finally, I spotted them hanging from the wall, long black nylon straps. He asked for two but I grabbed four just in case. I had no idea what he needed them for but I didn’t want to have to leave him alone again. I ran back to the stall and held them out to him.

  “Just two.”

  I separated the straps until I held two in my hand and then I reached out to hand them to him.

  “Give me one at a time. I’m going to have to secure one around each of the foal’s legs.”

  I had no idea how he was going to manage these seemingly impossible task but he went to work like he’d done it a million times before. Before I knew it he’d used both of the straps and we were moving on to the next step.

  “Alright, come back here by me. We’re going to have to use these straps to pull and guide the foal out. This has to be done very quickly since its position puts it in a lot of danger once its body starts to exit the cervix. Do you understand?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said as he handed me one of the straps.

  “I need you to start pulling when I do. At the count of three,” he said as I wrapped the strap around my hand and prepared myself.

  “Ready when you are,” I answered.

  “Three, two, one,” he counted down and we both began to tug.

  I was amazed when the whole event took less than a minute. We both pulled as hard as we could. I was terrified I would hurt the baby but Shane was putting his all in so I knew all of my strength would be fine. A few hard tugs later and the little one was here. I stood back panting as I smiled at the new baby. It was wet and matted but it was one of the most incredible sights I’d ever seen.