The Bad Boy Prince in Love

Chapter 7: A Man of Many Personalities

Hallie found her mama in the study going over accounts. Her parents were really getting too old to do the tougher jobs around the ranch. They were usually just puttering around the house or the garden these days.

“I knew you'd do well," Vivian exclaimed on hearing how the purchase went. “And that Luke, he's quite a charmer. It probably helped to have him along."

“It certainly did," Hallie confirmed, even though Luke had done nothing. But who knew? Maybe his charismatic presence helped convince Mr. Thompson to lower the price.

After telling mama the good news Hallie decided to go back to the stables to help the boys with their work. She didn't dare to place all her hopes on Luke yet, but the way things were going, she might be able to keep her parents' attention long enough to prove herself as a solid rancher who is capable of taking over once they retire.

The stables had a strangely empty feeling. Most of the horses were there, munching away and swishing their tails around without a care in the world, but no sign of the workers. It was strange that they left so soon. Hallie looked into every stall to make sure each horse had some straw to snack on.

The last stall, which belonged to the little white mustang named Alice, was missing its share of straw. How could Johnny and Diego have missed it? They were usually more thorough.

Hallie shook her head and went to fetch the straw herself. After placing it in the stall and seeing the little horse begin to chew on the yellow stalks, Hallie wondered whether Luke had somehow kidnapped her workers. She had expected Diego and Johnny to start working in the fields by now, or at least to ride to the far fence for some repairs. The tractor was still parked in its usual place, and all of the same horses were there, but Diego's jeep was gone. She took out her phone and dialed Diego's number.

“Hello, hello," he sang out, and Hallie could hear loud pop music playing in the background. “Thank you so much for this much-needed break. We were starting to go crazy! Not that we don't enjoy the work, but honestly, we both know Terry doesn't do her share, and Johnny and I were a little exhausted."

“Where are you guys?" Hallie asked.

“The Oasis mini golf!"

“Hi Hallie," Johnny's voice came through he speaker.

“Luke says 'hi' too," Diego added. “So you're sure you don't mind if we take today off?"

She thought for a moment… She wanted to keep the ranch hands happy. It was true, they had been working overtime lately thanks to Terry's laziness. But Luke would pay for this! No doubt it was his idea.

“Of course not," she said, putting on a cheerful voice, “you deserve to let loose once in a while. Have fun!"

She let out a frustrated huff after ending the call. Who the h*ll did Luke think he was?

She would have to do all the work herself. Luke probably knew she would want everything to be perfect to impress her parents, and with Bill and Terry gone, it was up to Hallie.

Groaning and cursing to herself, she went to start up the tractor. It was going to be a long afternoon. The longer she worked, the more furious she became with the man who caused all this.

When mama called her, reminding her it was dinner time, she made an excuse, saying that she was meeting a friend at the Cactus.

There were still some repairs she had to do after she finished working on the tractor. It took until dusk, and Hallie finally trudged home having finished the day's work.

As soon as she entered the house, she threw down her work gloves and hurried to the kitchen. She was starving and mad as heck that she had to miss dinner.

She had just made herself a towering turkey and cheese sandwich when Luke traipsed in.

He didn't seem quite as plastered as he had been the night they met, but he was definitely tipsy.

“You have a lot of explaining to do," Hallie said, staring him down.

“What a night!" Luke said gleefully. “Johnny kicked our *sses at mini golf. I should have seen it coming: he's a teenager with too much time on his hands. The really great thing about this mini golf place is they serve alcohol, and you can drink as much as you want."

“Oh, that's just lovely!" Hallie said, “And what were you trying to prove exactly?"

“I have nothing to prove," he said in a nonchalant tone as he leaned back with his hips against the counter. “You're the one trying to prove things to your parents."

“I should kick you out of here after the way you've behaved."

“But you won't, because you need me."

“I don't need you!"

“Shh! Don't want your parents to think we're having a lovers' quarrel."

“I got on very well without you," Hallie continued as loudly as before. “And you are free to leave at any time. As soon as possible would be best!"

“Who's going to be your fake boyfriend then?" he asked with a teasing eyebrow raise.

“What's the point of having a fake boyfriend if he acts like a jerk? My parents think you're helpful and responsible, and then you just take off with the ranch hands? I had to do all the work for them just to cover up for your little escapade."

“This whole fake boyfriend thing really means a lot to you, doesn't it?" he suddenly said more seriously.

“What do you think? I'm trying to get my parents to understand that I'm an adult, and that I can run the ranch as well as Terry, probably better than Terry."

“That's quite a strange family you've got, I'll give you that," he said pensively.

That was certainly true. Hallie sighed and took a big bite of her sandwich. “If you don't want to be my fake boyfriend, that's fine, but don't go ruining my parents' trust in me."

“Yeah, that was pretty mean of me," he said with a shrug. “I'm unpredictable like that. I was just a little angry for being used as a fake boyfriend. But I can understand why you did it. Now we're even, and I'll be a good fake boyfriend from now on, okay?"

Hallie gasped in complete shock. “Suddenly you're all forgiving and generous and I'm supposed to believe you?"

“I don't see anyone else volunteering to help you out," he said, spreading his arms wide.

“And you somehow managed to convince Johnny and Diego to take a day off even though they're usually good workers. How many personalities do you have? Dozens? Hundreds?"

“Unfortunately, I have only one crappy personality," Luke said, “I'm just good at pretending to be suave and charming."

When Hallie thought back to how she got into this mess, she laughed out loud.

“What?" he asked.

“I might as well tell you the truth," she said, turning to him with a malicious smile. “When I first saw you, I wanted to play a prank on my parents. You were dead drunk, and I thought it would be fun to introduce you as my new boyfriend because you seemed like a real loser."

Hallie didn't really care if he got mad or if he left after this confession. She was angry enough to let him know exactly what she thought of him.