Her Billionaire Protector (Texas Ranch Romance Book 2) Read online

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  Her other books in this series:

  Her Billionaire Cowboy

  Her Billionaire Protector

  Her Billionaire in Hiding

  Her Billionaire Christmas Secret

  The Billionaire Royals

  The Heir

  The Crown

  The Duke

  The Duke’s Brother

  The Prince

  The American

  The Spy

  The Princess

  Her Billionaire Protector

  Sophia Summers

  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

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Her Billionaire in Hiding Chapter One

  Chapter 1

  Colton sat in his commander’s office, not believing his next assignment.

  “Sir, you want me to register to attend a dude ranch for the week?”

  “You are already registered, Colton. We want you to surveil the granddaughter of a war hero. We have been watching him and his friend for decades, and we don’t quite know what they are up to, but if it’s what we think, we want you there to help them accomplish their goals. Officially, we really can’t do anything, but with a man there on vacation, we will be in place if we are needed.”

  “May I speak freely, sir?” He waited for his commander’s nod. “Why me?”

  “Colton, you are the only one in the office who’s still single and can speak Texan. You know ranching. And Lieutenant Wickers assures me that you are admired by the ladies.”

  “What can you tell me about her?” Colton tried to ignore the ladies comment.

  His commander shook his head and added, “Her background is not pertinent to this assignment. However, she did serve in the military for six years and is now honorably discharged.

  Sometimes he felt his looks were a problem. He hated being the center of attention. Living on his own ranch in the middle of nowhere was the life he really wanted. And now that his family’s business had taken off the way that it had, he was free to do whatever he wanted. He could almost taste the freedom. He had loved his time in the military, proud to serve as his father before him. But now that his retirement was so near, he had started to smell the pine on his ranch during his dreams. It was time to go home.

  “Wickers will give you your travel documents and all the information you need. Get yourself some appropriate civilian clothes, and you better get those cowboy boots out of storage.” Commander Buckner laughed. “Why the long face, Colton? Consider this a vacation. To make it more authentic, we have even deducted vacation days for the time you will be away.”

  “Thank you, sir” Colton smirked as he left the office

  Wickers winked as she gave him the information. Colton knew she was just trying to get his goat, so he waggled his eyebrows when she handed him the packet.

  “How is it you get all the sweet assignments?” she asked.

  “Just my karma I guess.” Colton left the office with heavy steps. Spending his vacation days babysitting on a dude ranch was not his idea of a great assignment. He thumbed through the folder and found he had airline tickets on the same flight as his assignment, Elsie Warner. His first job was to make sure she arrived at the ranch safely. He felt sure he could at least accomplish that.

  Colton’s family had a strong tradition in the military. His father and grandfather had served. Colton was proud to serve as well, but he was anxious to get back to the family business. They’d recently sold one of their divisions, adding billions to the family-run conglomerate. The growth had all happened while he was away, and Colton couldn’t even wrap his brain around that much money.

  The exciting thing about the money was how much good they could do with it. Wealth had never been one of his goals. He didn’t want it to take over his life. He was happy to help manage aspects of the family business—as long as he could live on his ranch.

  Colton sighed and let his mind drift to the forested canyon and high mountain peak he tackled every year. He loved it there on his ranch. The plans he had for the land had been put on hold long enough. It was just about time for him to get busy and put those plans into action.

  On his ranch, a beautiful mountain valley sat at the top of a narrow, steep canyon. The valley caught melted snow from the mountains, but the small lake dried up in the summer. Colton wanted to dam up the river and let that lake stay at full capacity all year.

  He was also anxious to get back into his climbing routine. There was nothing better than the view from the top of a mountain. After he had started reaching the summit easily, he began going for faster times.

  His prize mare was the only horse he had that could navigate the climb up the river canyon. She loved that rich grass at the top and was always in high spirits when they headed that direction. From the top of the peak, he could look down and see the whole cattle ranch. Most of the land was good grazing if they got enough rain. And he could start to irrigate once he had the reservoir completed. Once I finish this assignment, I will be discharged and get back to the ranching I love.

  Chapter 2

  Elsie Warner said goodbye to her fellow SEALs who had come to see her off at the airport. She had served for six years, and her team had become like family. As she looked out over her friends, her heart warmed in appreciation for their support as she moved forward in another direction in her life. She’d earned their mutual respect and admiration, but it hadn’t always been like this. It took a few years of proving her worth before they respected her. She would miss them and the challenging work, but she wanted a family of her own. It was time for her to get going on that goal.

  One of the men she served with had recently had a baby. When she’d watched the mother cuddle that little peach-fuzz head, her heart yearned for that same experience. It was definitely time. Finding the right man was first on her agenda.

  When the airplane landed, she could see her grandparents waving from along the fence near the entrance to their tiny, hometown airport. She could not help smiling at them. They had Welcome Home posters and balloons. Her grandfather even had a blow horn. This could be embarrassing, she thought. But, as she walked toward baggage, many people she knew and others she’d never met lined up to thank her for her service. It was a tender moment she hoped all service members could have at least once.

  At the end of the line, she hugged her grandparents. Everyone was laughing at her grandfather’s jokes and stories of her growing-up years as they waited for their luggage. It was embarrassing, but at least they hadn’t pulled out any naked baby pictures. Elsie smirked. As uncomfortable as she was, it was sweet of them to make such a big deal of her being released from service. She was looking forward to staying at their house and having a couple weeks to rest and decompress.

  The house looked the same. Her grandparents’ favorite chairs sat on the porch facing the beautiful backyard. She was amazed at how much the trees had grown. The little fruit trees she had helped plant were now twenty-feet high and full of fruit. She had missed the cool, dry Colorado air. It felt good to ta
ke a deep breath that wasn’t 90 percent humidity.

  A few days later, she was in her room, putting on her running shoes, when her Grandpa asked if he could talk with her.

  “You look like you’re ready to get out of here for a while.”

  Elsie stood up and grabbed her water bottle. “You know, Grandpa, I can only run around the park so many times a day before people start wondering what I’m doing with my life.” She smiled. “What’s up?”

  “Could you deliver a package for me? I wanted to take it myself, but this hip is giving me fits. It’s for a buddy of mine in Texas, and it’s too important to mail.”

  Elsie jumped at the chance. “Sure, Grandpa. I could use something to do.”

  “It will be fun, Elsie. My friend owns a dude ranch, and you can stay for the week if you’d like. I can’t think of anyone better qualified than you to do it.”

  That seemed like an odd thing to say—what kind of qualifications were required to deliver a package?

  “Am I going to need any special skills to do this, Grandpa?”

  “You know how proud I am of your service. And, although I don’t know the details of your missions, I served in the Special Forces myself, so I have a good idea of your capabilities. But I think this will be a simple delivery.”

  What in the world was her grandfather alluding to? Maybe he was just sending her on another of his play missions. When she was little, he would send her on secret missions in the backyard to find the invisible aliens who had landed during the night. She’d have to find the shiny silver dollar that would take away all their power. She smiled, remembering the fun he’d created for her with just his imagination.

  “To tell you the truth, I would do just about anything if it got me out of the house,” she admitted. “I’m missing my military schedule. Never thought I’d say that.”

  Elsie patted her grandfather’s shoulder. She loved him and admired his integrity and consideration for others. As odd as this errand was sounding, she trusted him and was happy to help.

  Their family believed in hard work. They had everything they needed and many of their wants as well. She’d been offered a modeling job when she was sixteen, but her goals didn’t have anything to do with modeling. “Listen, Elsie,” the agent had said, “your kind of beauty doesn’t come along every day. You could make a ton of money for your family and yourself.” She wasn’t interested, and she hadn’t been swayed. She wanted more on her resume than “extremely beautiful.” And the things that mattered—the ones that lasted—took work. They weren’t handed to you on a silver platter.

  “Grandpa, I have goals, but I’m not really sure how I’m going to achieve them. It might be good for me to have a week of good, hard ranch work to figure things out.”

  Chapter 3

  Colton was sitting at the airport, lamenting his next assignment. A dude ranch. Really? He had to spend the week with people who wanted to play at being a rancher. Ranching wasn’t a vacation. It was twelve hours a day of hard-sweating work.

  Granted, being out in the country was great. He loved nothing better. And it felt great to get back into a pair of jeans. He could at least understand people wanting to get out into the country to take a break from their hectic lives.

  He was grabbing a soda at an airport kiosk when a woman walked by. She was like a cat, she was so smooth in her gait. Her dark hair shone with reflected light and hung down to her waist. It swung when she walked and made him wonder what it would be like to run his fingers through the silky strands.

  Colton was mesmerized. He had never seen anyone so confidently beautiful and serene. She seemed in total control of her surroundings. When her eyes rested on him, he couldn’t believe the vibrant green of her eyes. Who was this woman? She stared at him for a full ten seconds, and then smiled. Colton’s heart went to his throat. Now that was a woman he wanted to know. He’d never forget those beautiful green eyes.

  The world seemed to slow, and everyone around him went quiet. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was tall, thin, and graceful. A man at the bar gave a low whistle as she walked by.

  He wasn’t going to let her just up and leave. Colton got up and sauntered after her.

  His intelligence work in the military had taught him a lot of handy skills, but as he followed her around a corner, she disappeared. What? Where is she? She’d led him to an intersection with six halls meeting and mingling. He quickly scanned all of them. Then he saw her right before she turned in to what looked like a utility hall.

  He almost ran into another passenger as he raced over and slipped in after her. Next thing he knew, she’d grabbed his arm and slammed him to the ground. Now she had him pinned with her knee digging into his back. “Why are you following me, cowboy?”

  He was impressed. Who is this woman?

  As soon as her grip loosened slightly, Colton shifted his weight, throwing her off his back and pinning her under him. She was breathing hard but gave up when she realized she was pinned.

  “I am following you because you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And frankly, I couldn’t let you just walk by and never see you again.” Colton smiled his most charming smile and helped her up.

  Colton hoped his skills had impressed her as much as hers had impressed him. But when he met her gaze, she was blushing so hard, he worried about her blood pressure. He kept her hand in his and commanded his heart to calm.

  All he wanted to do was to just lean in and kiss this woman. He stepped closer, searching her face—was she feeling this too?

  But she turned away. “I don’t want to miss my flight.”

  “Can I at least know your name?” So much for playing it cool. Colton smiled ruefully and walked out of the hall beside her.

  “My name is Elsie Warner.” Elsie smiled at him, her expression surprisingly shy.

  Colton laughed. “I’m Colton Reed. Is it too early to ask for your phone number?” So this is Elsie Warner. I need to send my commander his favorite box of chocolates. Colton was having a hard time keeping the big grin off his face.

  Elsie didn’t respond, but she did smile a little as they continued down the concourse. As he watched her confident pace, the manner in which she carried herself, he wondered about her. Holding her down had not been easy—she was strong.

  She turned to him. “What gate are you headed for?”

  “I’m going to Texas, gate thirty-two.”

  Colton wasn’t sure how to continue this ruse. He was under orders to escort this woman. Was she not supposed to know he was there to protect her? He definitely didn’t want to lie to her.

  Elsie stopped and looked directly at him. “Gate thirty-two? That’s my gate. You wouldn’t happen to be going to the Rio Lago Ranch Resort?”

  Well, that made things easier. “Yes, actually. I’m under orders to go there.”

  “You have orders to go to a dude ranch?” Elsie raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

  Chapter 4

  When they got to the gate, she sat down between two other passengers, preventing Colton from sitting next to her. Elsie was on high alert now. Colton was obviously military, and he was on assignment to go to the same ranch resort she was headed to. Was he tailing her? Or was she just being paranoid?

  Deliver a package. Her grandpa just wanted her to deliver a package. Her instincts began to tickle at the base of her neck. Just what was in this package, anyway? And why was this very handsome military man following her? He’d acted conflicted. Was this his attempt to combine work and pleasure? Seriously, men were so transparent.

  She had made it a point to avoid getting serious with anyone until she finished her time in the military. But now here she was, finished with her service, and the first time she meets an eligible man, she gets so flustered she can barely talk. Granted, she didn’t usually end up tackling or being pinned by potential dates.

  She shook her head. Her physical reaction to this man was powerful. He gave her a new respect for men and the power they could wield. This
one needed a sign around his neck, Danger, do not touch.

  This “simple” package delivery was turning into anything but. She needed more information if she was going to be able to help her grandfather. So she pulled out her phone and gave him a call.

  “Hey, Grandpa, how’s it going?”

  “Elsie, is something wrong?” Her grandpa seemed alarmed to get her call.

  “I just have some questions…” She hadn’t meant to worry him. And, after hearing the concern in his voice, she felt a little ridiculous for calling him.

  “Oh good, honey. As long as you’re fine. Sorry, I can’t really talk right now. Give me a call when you meet up with Henry.”

  “I love you, Grandpa, and when I get home we need to have a long talk.”

  Her grandfather had been forgetting things lately. Nothing that couldn’t be explained by his age, but still she hated to see it. She had so many memories of long talks with him. He had a great mind and a wide wealth of knowledge. They had spent hours discussing everything from black holes to gardening. He had been a huge influence for good in her life, and she would do anything for him. Even this, whatever it turned out to be. He would not have asked her if he could have done it himself. She was sure of that.

  Elsie paced back and forth while she was on the phone, barely noticing the men checking her out. Her full attention was on Colton in her peripheral vision. Until she could find out more about him, she didn’t trust him. Colton had some assignment which possibly involved her and this package. Why would the military have anything to do with her grandfather, who had been retired now for 40 years? The first thing she needed to do was to try to find out what Colton knew.