The Rancher's Fake Fiancée

He chuckled at her reasoning. “Too bad I can’t use that when they ask me something about you. Although, you did fill my head with quite a bit of Hadley history. If they need to know which fictional character you would marry instead of me, I know it’s Ron Weasley.”

“Don’t you dare. That was when I was thirteen. I don’t know why I even told you about that.” Her cheeks turned red.

Stunning. It was the new word that kept running through his mind. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and forced all the adjectives he could use to describe Hadley out of his mind as he pulled through the gates to the JB Ranch.

“Welcome!” A smiling brunette answered the door and ushered them inside. Jon’s black-and-white border collie was there to greet the new guests, as well.

“You must be Lydia,” Tyler guessed.

“And you must be Tyler and Hadley. It’s so good to meet you. Please come on in. The rest of the gang is in the living room.”

Hadley handed her the bottle of wine they had bought in town beforehand. “It’s nice to know there’s someone else here who hasn’t known the Blackwells forever.”

Lydia beamed, her blue eyes shining almost as bright as Hadley’s. “Oh, that’s exactly how I feel!”

The two of them hugged like they were longtime friends. Women had a way of bonding over the strangest things. Tyler didn’t get it, but he did appreciate the smell of some good home cooking.

“Is that chili I smell?” he asked, stepping farther in the house.

“It’s an old family recipe. We’re going to have chili with all the fixings and my famous jalapeño corn bread. I hope you’re hungry.”

“He didn’t sweat all day out in the fields like the rest of us, but maybe all his traveling helped him work up an appetite.” Jon, tall and lean like their father had been, folded his arms across his chest. “Welcome home, Ty.”

Home. That’s what everyone wanted to call Falcon Creek, but it hadn’t been Tyler’s home for a long time.

“It’s good to see you, old man,” Tyler said, knowing it would bug his eldest brother. Five years wasn’t that big of an age gap, yet Jon had always seemed so much older than the rest of them. Maybe it was because he had been fifteen when their parents died—right on the cusp of being grown. Without them around, Jon had to become a man earlier than most.

“Hadley and Tyler brought some wine,” Lydia announced. “Wasn’t that thoughtful?”

“Hadley Sullivan, meet my brother, Jonathan. Don’t let his serious face fool you. He’s actually very... Wait, his serious face is the real deal. Jon is always very serious. I don’t think he knows how to smile.”

One side of Jon’s mouth inched upward. A half of a smile was progress. “It’s nice to meet you, Hadley. I’m sorry you settled for this guy. I’m sure you could have done much better.”

“Oh, he’s not that bad. He has excellent taste in just about everything—food, wine, movies—”

“And women,” Tyler added. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. Hadley stiffened but kept a smile on her face. “We both love Portland and our jobs. We’re completely simpatico.”

“Simpatico?” Jon raised an eyebrow.

“That’s so great,” Lydia said. “There’s nothing better than marrying someone who can also be your friend. Someone who gets you.” She put her arms around Jon. “I know I feel very fortunate to have found that.”

Jon grinned bigger than Tyler had ever seen before and pressed his lips to hers. “I’m the lucky one.”

“I just realized we have another thing in common,” Lydia said to Hadley. “We both fell for our boss. I don’t know about you, but that made things real awkward at first.”

“Awkward is the perfect way to describe it,” Hadley replied.

“Well, Lydia doesn’t work for me anymore. We’re partners now.” Jon took her hand and kissed the back of it like he thought he was Prince Charming. “Why don’t we find a corkscrew and join the party. The girls are champing at the bit to see Uncle Ty and Aunt Hadley.”

Tyler could feel Hadley tense. She tucked some hair behind her ear and fidgeted with her earring. He prayed she’d be able to pull this off. They were in so deep. No going back now without humiliating himself. None of his brothers would ever let him live this down.

“Come on, Trout,” Jon said to the dog as he led the group back to the rest of the family.

“One more time!” Abby shouted as she held on to Ethan’s hands and climbed up his legs before flipping herself over.

“It’s my turn,” Genevieve insisted. “Daddy, Abby keeps taking my turn.”

“Abby, you can’t monopolize Uncle Ethan,” Jon scolded.

The sweet girl titled her head to the side. “What’s mononolize?”

“It means you have to give your sister a turn,” Jon explained.

“Hey, Gen, I bet Uncle Tyler would love to flip one of you around,” Ben said from the couch. He had an arm wrapped around Rachel’s shoulders while her sweet baby girl sat on her lap. On the other side of Rachel sat Grace and her baby bump. Tyler watched as both women gave Hadley a good once-over.

“Can you help me flip?” Gen stood in front of Tyler and stared up at him with her big blue eyes.

Tyler wasn’t used to being around kids. He certainly didn’t know how to help them flip. “I’m not sure I know how to do that.”

“It’s easy,” Gen said with confidence. “Hold my hands. And then hold me tight so I can flip.” She put her bare feet on his jean-clad shins and scaled him like a tiny ninja. She flipped over and beamed up at him. “I did it!”

Abby ran over. “My turn with Uncle Tyler. You can flip with Uncle Ethan.”

“No! I get to play with Uncle Tyler and you get Uncle Ethan.”

It was an all-out battle and the prize was Tyler’s attention. Ethan’s face fell. He went from the favorite uncle to chopped liver in two seconds flat.

“How about the two of you go wash up for dinner and give your uncle Tyler a chance to talk to the adults for a couple minutes,” Jon said. The girls groaned but with a little more coaxing went to clean up.

“Don’t worry, Ethan,” Ben said. “Once they get to know Tyler, you’ll be their favorite again.”

His comment stung even though he was probably right. No one ever chose him when there were so many Blackwells to pick from.

* * *

HADLEY WRESTLED WITH her nerves as they stood in Jon’s family room. Hadley Sullivan, Brand Strategist for 2K Marketing. It had such a wonderful ring to it. She kept repeating her new title over and over in her head. She was here to get that job. All she had to do was convince Tyler’s family they were in love.

The word love made her stomach turn. Tyler had placed his hand on the small of her back as they made their way to where the rest of the family was waiting. It had sent a tingle up her spine.

“I think once they get to know him, they’ll fall head over heels and it won’t have anything to do with the flips he helped them do,” Hadley said in her fake fiancée’s defense.