Winning the Cowboy: A Small Town, Enemies to Lovers Romance (Circle B Ranch Book 6)

PROLOGUE GRAYSON “Grayson, I’m sorry. I really thought he was yours,” Bella tells me, but there’s zero remorse in her voice. “Or you figured since Grant and I are brothers, he’d look like me no matter what,” I retort. I’ve fed into her bullshit long enough to know when she’s lying through her teeth. I’ve given her the benefit of the doubt for too long. “No, I’m serious. I want him to be yours. And he will be. DNA shouldn’t matter when we’re in love.” She steps closer and places her palm on my cheek. “I made a mistake. Don’t let it affect our future.” For a split second, I’m pulled into her trance but somehow manage to blink it away. “No. You cheated on me. You made me believe that was my son.” I point at her belly. She’s seven months pregnant and convinced me that we were starting a family. After I caught her getting railed doggy style by my brother, I demanded a paternity test. “We’re engaged, Grayson. We can work through this.” I almost buy into her pleading voice, but I’ve lost the desire to be near her. If the baby was mine, I had considered giving her a second chance because I wanted to make it work for his sake, but that’s not happening now. There’s no doubt that she’ll run right back to Grant. God only knows how long their affair has been going on. When I asked her, and she refused to give me a straightforward answer, it was all I needed to know. When we fell in love during high school, it was effortless. The two of us were inseparable, and I knew she was the woman I’d marry someday. Finding out she was pregnant was one of the happiest days of my life. Even though we were young and clueless, I was ready to become a dad and husband. Each day had started and ended with Bella. She took our future and ripped it apart. I take two steps back, shaking my head. “No. The thought of touching you makes me sick.” “Grayson!” she snaps with a glare, crossing her arms. “I’m not giving you back the ring. You’re breaking us up, not me. Right before Christmas, nonetheless.” I fight the urge to roll my eyes. On a good day, Bella’s a manipulative b***h, so this comes as no surprise. She’ll tell our family that I called off the wedding while conveniently leaving out her infidelity. Bella will say whatever it takes to paint me as the bad guy. But I’ll know the truth—so will she and Grant—and as long as it means I get out of this nightmare, I don’t give a f**k. “Fine with me.” I swipe my keys and wallet off the counter. “Where are you goin’?” she demands, following me to the door. “Don’t worry about it. I’m none of your concern anymore, Bella. I expect Grant will move in shortly,” I tell her with a forced grin, then grab the bag I packed earlier. Before she tries to stop me, I go to my truck. Though my windows are up, I can hear her screaming at the top of her lungs. “You’ll be back, Grayson! This isn’t over!” I don’t know if I should be amused or upset by how narcissistic she is and how I always ignored it. My eyes have finally opened, and nothing she could say or do will convince me to stay with her. After I check into my hotel—my new home until I can find another place to stay—I shower and order food. Then I turn off my phone and pass out to reruns of CSI. The following morning, I’m flooded with voice messages from Bella, but I ignore each one. I send my mom a quick text so she knows I’m okay, but I don’t tell her where I am. I wouldn’t put it past Bella to get it out of her somehow. Though I’m grateful I don’t work this weekend, I could’ve used the distraction. Working in construction in the San Antonio heat isn’t for the weak. It’s miserable most days, but I love staying busy and working with my hands. At the end of each shift, I have a sense of pride knowing I’m making a good living for my family. Now I’m wondering why I even bothered. One of the worst parts of this whole situation is that my brother hasn’t apologized. If not for having an affair with my fiancée, then at least for hurting me and lying. Considering they’re both self-absorbed, perhaps they’re meant for each other then. “Hey, man,” my friend Jase says when I answer his call. “Let’s go out tonight.” I groan. “Not sure that’s a good idea.” “I know you’re sulking, and that ain’t good for ya. Let me buy you a few drinks and find you a good lay for the evening.” He chuckles, though I don’t find any humor in his words. I’m not a one-night stand kinda guy, never have been. I was always so devoted to Bella. Stupid, stupid, stupid. “Where?” I ask. “Downtown…we’ll barhop until we find the ladies.” Since I have nothing else to do and don’t want to think about her anymore, I agree. We plan to meet in a couple of hours, so I take a shower and get ready for a possible disaster. “Duuuuude. Ya came!” Jase wraps me in a bear hug against my will, and I try to relax. “You coerced me with free liquor.” I shrug. “I gotchu. Four double shots of tequila.” My eyes widen, then blink a few times at the shot glasses lined up. “Jesus.” “Gotta find you a rebound. Can’t let you do it sober.” He hands me one, then clinks it with his. “Bottoms up, Harding!” I’m usually a beer guy, but I shoot it down because why the hell not? “By the end of the night, you’ll be pushing the girls off ya,” he reassures, handing me the second one. “You won’t even remember their names in the mornin’.” “If we keep this up, I won’t know my name.” Jase laughs, and we slam the tequila down. When I can’t taste the liquor anymore, I switch to beer. This goes on for hours. Eventually, we make our way to the dance floor and find a group of ladies. My mind is clear for the first time in weeks, and I relish it. The more I drink, the happier I feel, and I don’t give a s**t that I’ll pay for it tomorrow. My head throbs when I open my eyes and find the bright sun beaming through the half-opened curtains. f**k, I forgot to close those last night but am glad I made it back to my room at least. The night is one gigantic blur, and I’m pretty certain I was one drink away from alcohol poisoning. Jase is a bad influence, and apparently, I can’t say no. He kept feeding me shots, then we met some girls. Between the loud music, barhopping, dancing, and alcohol—a hangover doesn’t give justice to how shitty I feel right now. When I throw off the covers, I realize I’m buck-ass naked and not alone. Then I vaguely remember one of the girls coming back to my room. Most of last night is fuzzy, but I know we had a ton of fun. Deciding to get in the shower, I leave her in the bed and start the hot water. As I wash off the night, more details flood in. Kissing her felt foreign because I haven’t touched a woman besides Bella in years, but I actually felt something that could turn into more. Though I’m not sure I’m emotionally ready for a relationship, I won’t allow what Bella did to hold me back either. I refuse to give her that sort of power over me. My heart races as I wrap a towel around my waist and contemplate asking the woman sleeping in my bed out for lunch. I’d love to know more about her, and maybe she can recall the events of what happened when we came back last night. But unfortunately, that part of my memory is fuzzy too. “You son of a bitch.” Bella appears as soon as I open the bathroom door and throws a pillow at me. I catch it and toss it aside. “You just couldn’t wait to get into bed with some slut, could you?” “What the f**k are you doin’ here?” I glance around the room, noticing the bed is now empty. “What’d you say to her?” “Nothing that wasn’t the truth,” she states with venom in her tone. “So I guess we’re even now, right? You got your revenge even though I apologized.” I’m disgusted that she thinks this has anything to do with her. When I walk over to my suitcase, I pull out some joggers and a T-shirt. “I didn’t do it to get back at you. Believe it or not, I don’t sleep with people out of spite.” When I first caught her cheating, she tried to blame me for seeking affection somewhere else. Bella claimed I worked too much, and when I was home, I was too tired to give her attention. Hell, I worked twelve-hour days and got stuck in traffic for two. Then after I wouldn’t give in to her reasoning for breaking my heart, she said she only did it to get me to notice her and not take her for granted. More bullshit. Nothing I did warranted her sleeping with my brother and getting pregnant with his baby—then lying about it being mine. I put her on a pedestal and treated her like a queen. Her actions showed me how much I meant to her. “I need to get dressed. You know where the door is.” “We need to talk about this, Grayson. You went out and had your little fun, so now it’s time for you to come home.” Instead of arguing, I grab my clothes and go back to the bathroom. I don’t bother assuming she’ll be gone after I’m dressed and avoid her stare when I come back out. “Why the hell are you still here?” “Grayson, please.” I gently grab her arm, and she thinks it’s to bring her closer, but instead, I lead her across the room. “You need to go.” As I guide her into the hallway, I give her one more look. “We’re over. Deal with it or don’t, but you’re not welcome in my life anymore. You’ve stolen enough from me already, Bella.” “We’re family, Grayson!” she shouts after I close the door, then pounds her fist against it. “You can’t avoid me forever! I’m your stepsister!” I close my eyes because she’s right, and I hate that she is. Broken up or not, we’ll always be linked together because our parents got married, and the baby I thought was mine will now be my nephew. Maybe it’s time I get the f**k outta this town. Right now, all I want and need is a fresh start.