Wealthy and Wanted Read online

  Wealthy and Wanted

  Alexa Riley

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Lassoing the Virgin Mail-Order Bride

  Chapter 1

  Read Me Romance

  Stalk the Author

  Copyright © 2020 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to [email protected]

  http://alexariley.com/

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Edited by Aquila Editing

  To Wranglers…

  thank you.

  Wealthy and Wanted

  by Alexa Riley

  Dotty Spencer is desperate. She’s been promised to a man she doesn’t love and is looking for a way out. When she answers an ad for a cleaning woman, she never expects her new boss to be the one.

  Clay Walker takes one look at Dotty and knows this was a mistake. He isn’t ready for a woman to steal his heart and make him feel things he doesn’t want to. He’s mad as hell that she’s forcing him to open up to what could only be described as love.

  Warning: This cowboy is stomping his boots while saving the damsel in distress…and we are here for it! Giddy up with this happily ever after.

  Chapter One

  Dotty

  “Dots! It’s going to be the worst without you.” Kat throws herself across my bed in a dramatic huff, making all the wild curls in her hair bounce everywhere until she blows one out of her face.

  My baby sister Kat and I look completely different but yet similar. My hair is straight and icy blond, where hers is wild dark. I’m only five six, but next to her five one, it’s a big difference.

  At a glance we look nothing alike, but our features are all the same. Our noses turn up a little at the end, and we each have a dimple on our left cheek. We’ve even got the same eyes.

  “I’ll be back,” I remind her. I made a promise, and it’s one I have to fulfill if I want to save everything my family has worked for. According to my mom, I’m also doing my part to save the family name.

  I guess “saving” is a whole lot better of a word than “selling.” In reality, that is what’s happening. It’s all on my shoulders to save this failing farm, and I feel like a piece of me is failing with it. I’m not dying or anything, but I think my heart will die the day I have to marry Judge.

  Kat reaches out and touches the gaudy engagement ring that I hate. I want to roll my eyes every time I look at it because the man I’m supposed to marry didn't even put it there himself. He gave it to my father and told him the date I’m supposed to show up to marry him. Isn't that the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard?

  “I don’t understand why you aren't excited to marry Judge. He’s so—”

  “Angry?” I supply.

  I’ve seen Judge a handful of times over the years. I have no idea why he would agree to a marriage with me. I’m not sure we’ve ever actually spoken a word to one another. We've been around each other while talking to other people, but he never once made me think he has an interest in me. Which makes me wonder why he jumped all over the idea of marriage when my father offered it like the good old days and selling off your daughter was normal.

  “Dreamy.” She lets out a long sigh as her hand drops away from the ring on my finger. I stare at my sister, who looks like she’s lost in a fairy tale. Kat has been boy crazy her whole life. I always thought she would be the first of the two of us to marry even though we’re only eleven months apart.

  “Dreamy?” I pick up my pillow and hit her with it. “You need to stop reading all those romance books.”

  “I will, right after you.” She lifts a brow at me.

  “Hey, I’m not the one calling Judge dreamy.”

  “You’re marrying him.”

  I let out a small laugh as I turn around and straighten stuff on my dresser because I don’t want her to see my real reaction. My throat goes tight because if Kat knew what was really happening, she’d lose her mind. She can be a bit dramatic.

  “I know, that’s why I’m doing this,” I manage to get out. I take a slow breath, trying to mask my emotions, which is hard to do with her since she reads me well. “I don’t want to go from our parents’ home to my—” I can’t say the word. To call him my husband feels so wrong. “To Judge’s house.”

  I might wear the ring, but I don’t want him. I’ve not been handed over to him yet, so I’m going to enjoy the little time I have left until then. I don't want to think about Judge at all until I’m out of time.

  “I guess.”

  I peek over my shoulder at Kat and see it’s going to be hard being away from her. I know I’m not going to be able to leave if she has that look on her face, and I’m supposed to leave soon if I want to be on time. I’m guessing it’s not a great idea to be late on your first day of work, but my sister's happiness has always weighed on me.

  “I got you something.” I pull open my top dresser drawer and grab the two cell phones. Kat jumps up onto her knees on the bed, and I turn around and hold one out for her. Her eyes widen, and I smile. “I figured since I got a job now I could use some of my savings.”

  Kat and I have to be the oldest people in the world without cell phones. Our parents didn't think we needed them or the added expense, but I’m eighteen and I can do what I want. At least for now. Call it a small act of rebellion, but it’s probably the same as me taking this job. I agreed to get married. I didn't agree that they could control my every action until that day. I felt I’ve earned this, and honestly there isn't anything they can do to stop me.

  “How?” she asks, taking it from my hand.

  “Four years of babysitting.” Over the last year I was able to scrape up more money with odd jobs after I got Gram’s old car. After picking up random jobs cleaning homes and helping at the Sunday farmers’ market in town, I have a nice stash of cash. Well, what I would think is a nice stash. To someone like Judge, I’m guessing it’s nothing.

  “I shouldn't take it because it’s your money and you worked hard for it. But now this means I can text you every day.” She throws her arms around me, hugging me tight. My eyes sting with tears because I’ve never been without Kat. Unless you count the first eleven months of my life, which I don’t remember anyways.

  “It’s nothing fancy.”

  “It’s perfect. It calls and texts you, and that’s all that matters.” She lets me go. “Did you put our numbers in?” She’s smiling now, and a weight lifts off my shoulders.

  “Of course.”

  “Good. I want to know everything about this Clay Walker.”

  “Why?”

  Clay Walker is the man I’m going to be working for. He needs a live-in housekeeper that can cook too, and it’s part of the reason I applied for the job t
o begin with. I won't have to worry about where I’ll be staying, and I can save extra money. If someone looked close enough, they might think I’m trying to save enough money to run away and take Kat with me.

  “I might have done some poking around,” she hedges, and I roll my eyes. Of course she did because she’s the nosiest person in the world.

  “Well?” I mean if she has some info, I want it.

  “I think he could give Judge a run for his money. And I mean money.”

  Wow, that’s saying a lot. Clay lives two towns over and it will take me an hour to get there. Not forever away, but it’s far out enough to give me a taste of real freedom for a moment.

  “Clay’s money is none of my concern.”

  “I heard he’s handsome too.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “You might fall in love.”

  “I’m getting married.” Something flashes across Kat's face, but she masks it quickly. I’ve caught it a couple of times now.

  “I know.” She gives me a bright smile. “Let me help you get your stuff into the car.” She hops off the bed, changing the subject. I want to push, but pushing Kat never works well. When she gets backed into a corner, she runs, and she can be as skittish as her name.

  I grab her hand and pull her in for another hug. “I need an adventure. You know I’ll always come back for you.” She nods and hugs me tighter.

  I just had no idea what kind of adventure I was getting myself into.

  Chapter Two

  Clay

  “Goddamn it,” I grunt as I use the pliers to take off the horseshoe.

  “Easy, girl,” I hear my foreman Otis say as he coos to the horse.

  I roll my eyes and get back to the business of cleaning up her hooves and doing the real work. But we both know he’s the horse whisperer, especially when it comes to the females. They all give me a side eye, but I’m used to it. They let me do what I need to so I can take care of them, but they’re not running over to see me when I come to the fence like old Otis. It might also be that he keeps apples in his pockets for them. Cheater.

  Otis has worked on this farm longer than I’ve been alive. He ran the place for my grandfather and then my father until he passed away when I was ten. He ran everything until I was old enough to take over, and he’ll be here until his last days. We had a talk about it once when I asked him why he never got married or had a family. He told me I was all the family he needed, and he didn’t want to be anywhere else.

  I’ve thought about that as I’ve gotten older and realized maybe I’m in the same boat. I don’t remember my grandparents, and my mom took off after I was born. Women are nothing but trouble, so maybe Otis has the right idea.

  I toss the old horseshoe in the bucket and step away to let the horse run. She trots over to Otis to get her treat and then out into the pasture with the other horses. I’ve been up since four this morning taking care of them, and I’m worn out. But as the cool breeze of fall creeps over the hill, I know winter is coming, and there’s lots to be done before the first snow.

  “The boys in the barn got the sheep inoculated,” Otis says as he grabs his gear and we make our way to the other side of the fence.

  “Good.” I toss my tools in the back of the Gator and get in the driver's seat. Otis is slow, but I’m used to it and wait for him to catch up.

  “You want to check out that fencing on the east side?” he asks as he gets in beside me.

  “Yeah.”

  Otis said I never like to waste words on small talk, and maybe he’s right. Why say more than a man needs to? I’m not one to chatter on just for the sake of it. I’ve got work to do, and I expect it to get done.

  This ranch is over two hundred acres, and I’ve got a team of workers that make the place run. I could sit back and let them do it, but that’s not who I am. This land is in my blood, and it’s the reason I wake up before the sun and I’m the first one in the barn every morning. I’ve got some cattle and sheep that make enough money to pay the staff, but after striking oil when my grandfather was a young man, we’ve never had to worry about money.

  When we get to the land by the stream, there’s a mama cow and her calf playing in the water. I grab my tools and go over to the fencing where something has knocked it over. Otis is slow to join me, but I wave him off when he tries to help. The old man doesn’t need to be out here lifting lumber when we both know his strengths lie in telling me what to do.

  “Make sure you do that one from behind so it’s stronger than the way it was done before,” he says, and I shake my head.

  “Pretty sure you were the one that did it before.” I do as he says because we both know he’s right.

  “I was young and stupid once, just like you.” He laughs at his own joke as I nail the wood into place.

  After I fix the fence, we both get into the Gator, but I don’t take off right away. For a moment we sit there and watch the baby calf with its mama drinking from the creek.

  “Did you call that number I gave you?” Otis asks and I nod. “When is she supposed to be here?”

  I check my watch and start the Gator up. “Soon.”

  “You might not like that I found someone to clean your place, but you need it. That place is a pigsty.”

  I grumble as I take off back to the barn and wave to the guys leaving for the day. It’s quitting time, and I know they’ve done all the chores before knocking off. I drive the extra trail to Otis’s cabin and let him off at the front so he doesn’t have to walk.

  “Just try and be nice,” he warns me, and I look away.

  “I am.”

  “Okay then, try and be conversational.” He stands there staring until I shrug. “Clay, look at me.”

  When I finally turn to face him, he’s got that look in his eyes like he’s upset. It’s the same look he gave me after my father died. “What?”

  “You might think I’m an old lonely man, but I had your father and then you as family for all these years.” He reaches out and squeezes my arm. “Just don’t make up your mind too quickly, okay?”

  My eyebrows pull together in confusion, and before I can ask what the hell that means, he’s gone. I sit there for a long moment trying to understand the ramblings of that old man and decide maybe he’s losing it. I put the Gator in gear and make my way to the big house. It’s the house my grandparents built after they got the land and struck it rich. It’s bigger than I need, but I think they’d hoped to fill it with children.

  My grandmother died in childbirth and my grandfather never remarried. After my dad grew up he brought my mom out here, but she was a city girl and hated the farm the second she laid eyes on it. She ran out of here as fast as she could, but my dad made sure he got me in the divorce. Last I heard she’d remarried and moved out of the country, but I didn’t do much checking up on it.

  The thing I love most about this house is the big wraparound porch that faces the sunset. My favorite thing to do at the end of the day is sit out here and watch the sky light up. I kick off my muddy boots and take a seat in the porch swing as the fall air turns crisp. I take my Stetson off and set it beside me as I brush the black hair out of my face. It’s so damn long it’s annoying, but I hate going into town for a cut.

  As the sun goes down, the sky lights up with pinks and purples like a unicorn threw up on it. I can’t say I hate it. In the distance I see dust stirring up, and a car comes over the hill as it makes its way towards the big house.

  I check my watch and see that Dorothy Spencer is right on time. I like punctuality, so maybe this will work out after all.

  Otis wasn’t lying when he said my place was a pigsty. One thing I’ve never been good at is cleaning up, and it’s gotten to the point where I don’t even know where to start. Otis said he knew a woman in town that was looking for work and I figured I could give an old lady something to do and throw some cash her way.

  He also said she needed a place to stay, and luckily I’ve got an extra room that I don’t go into that’s clean. It’s a little dusty from never
being used, but it’s clear of clutter and dishes. I think my grandparents wanted it to be another nursery because it’s small, but I put a twin bed in there for her.

  I put my hat back on and stand up to greet her and help take her bag. I might be quiet and grouchy, but I can at least be polite.

  The old beat-up car pulls to a stop in the front of the house, and I do my best to smile. It’s not something I do very often so I’m a little rusty. After a second the car turns off and the driver’s side door opens. The sun has set enough that it’s dark out and I can’t see inside the car.

  Suddenly she steps out, but where I expect to see an old lady, instead there’s a young woman with straight blond hair and eyes the color of honey wheat in October. She stands there with a plaid shirt tied at the waist and worn jeans that cling to her curvy legs.

  Her full lips part and she cocks her head to the side. “Hey, I’m Dorothy.”

  “Fuck.”

  Chapter Three

  Dotty

  The giant man on the porch turns around and gives me his broad back. I stand there unsure what to do. I reach into my pocket and check the address again, thinking I got the wrong house number or something. Nope. This is the right place. I shove the piece of paper back into my pocket and sigh.

  The old farmhouse is breathtaking. It’s clear that someone has taken care of it over the years and updated it as well. It’s a lot of house for one man, and that might be why I’m here. Maybe he needs to get it organized and cleaned out so he can start a family himself. Why else would he have a house like this?