The Rancher's Fake Fiancée. Amy Vastine

       CHAPTER ONE

      “FOR THE LOVE of all that’s good in the world, would you please call your brothers back?”

      Tyler Blackwell glanced up at his obviously infuriated employee. Tucking her wavy blond hair behind her ears, Hadley Sullivan scowled. That meant she was serious this time.

      Tyler’s gaze returned to his computer screen. Regardless of her ire, finishing the presentation for Lodi Organics was a bit higher on the priority list than his bothersome brothers. “Which one?”

      Hadley let out an exasperated sigh. “Take your pick. That was Ethan just now, but Ben has bombarded the office with at least a dozen calls this week and Jonathan phoned yesterday while you were at lunch. I know you know this. We put all the messages on your desk.”

      Tyler had seen the notes and promptly tossed those slips of pink paper in the recycling bin because he was nothing if not ecologically minded.

      “The next time they call, tell them I can only be reached on my cell.”

      “The same cell they’ve called five hundred times already?” Hadley paused even though it was a rhetorical question. “They’ve caught on to the fact that you’ll decline their call, Tyler. They’ve resorted to harassing the people in this office who actually answer their phones.”

      Clicking Save on the Lodi Organics file, Tyler ran a hand through his thick hair. He’d successfully made himself too busy to return a hundred phone calls from his overreacting brothers but also too busy for a much-needed haircut.

      “I’ll talk to Kellen about hiring a real office manager who will help us screen all of our calls.”

      Hadley wasn’t appeased. She mumbled something about how she’d love to talk to Kellen.

      Tyler wasn’t Hadley’s favorite person at 2K Marketing. He wasn’t sure why that was. He thought she was competent at her job and often asked her to do things for him because he knew she’d get them done. It seemed strange that she was so bothered by his brothers’ constant calls. They weren’t really her problem. They were all his.

      “They’ve got to be close to giving up,” he said.

      “Ethan said it was an emergency.”

      “That’s what they keep telling me.” For the last three months. He dropped his chin to his chest. These calls were literally a pain in the neck. He gave it a rub.

      First, their grandfather ran away from home. The way Tyler saw it, Big E was a grown man with every right to go where he pleased. That was hardly an emergency.

      Jonathan and Ethan came to the rescue and managed to get the guest ranch ready for the summer rush. Obviously, they wouldn’t be able to manage it forever. Jonathan had his own ranch to run and Ethan couldn’t do it on his own. If that meant they had to get rid of the Blackwell Family Ranch, so be it. Tyler wouldn’t shed any tears over the end of it.

      “Maybe they haven’t been able to get things settled with the water,” Hadley offered. She’d been privy to more information than she needed because she didn’t have the option of hanging up the phone when they called. “Maybe they need your help with that.”

      Emergency number two had to do with water rights and bad deals Big E was most likely responsible for orchestrating. Tyler had replied via text that he was way too busy at work to talk about something he had no control over. “Ben’s the lawyer, not me. From what I heard, they got it settled.”

      “Knock, knock.” Tyler’s business partner pushed open the door. Kellen Kettering clearly had more time on his hands and less stress than Tyler did given his perfectly coiffed hair and easy smile. “Is this a bad time?”

      Hadley sighed as if relieved. “You’re back.”

      Kellen gave her a crooked smile and adjusted his black-framed glasses. His salt-and-pepper hair was damp from the morning rainstorm that had swept in. “My flight got in early. I hear I’ve been missing all the fun around here.”

      “If by fun you mean work, you are correct,” Tyler said, leaning back in his chair.

      Kellen had the title of company president while Tyler was the executive creative director. When they started the business five years ago, the two of them worked on every project together. In the last year or so, their accounts had almost tripled. It could have been more, but it seemed the harder Tyler worked, the more Kellen pushed him to slow down.

      “Well, I will let you two catch up,” Hadley said to Kellen before turning her baby blue gaze on Tyler. “Call your brothers back, Ty. I’m begging.”

      Kellen picked up the shadowbox of arrowheads Tyler had on display on his bookshelf. Tyler resisted the urge to wrestle them away. They had belonged to his father, one of the few mementos he had from either of his parents.

      “I heard you accepted a meeting with Rockwell’s Hardware,” Kellen said, setting the box down. “I thought we agreed we weren’t going to take on any other clients until we cleared a couple projects.”

      “It’s a simple rebrand.”

      “I’m not sure Eric’s ready to take on another rebranding account. He’s still trying to get his bearings here.”

      “I’ll do most of the work.” If he didn’t bother sleeping, he’d get it all done easily. Tyler didn’t have any other choice. Eric would most likely never find his bearings.

      Kellen sat down across from him. “Tyler, you know I appreciate your drive. It’s why I partnered with you. But we can’t overextend ourselves. We run the risk of choosing quantity over quality.”

      Tyler tried to sound reassuring. “I got this. Don’t worry.”

      “You sent me thirty-two emails between the hours of nine at night and six in the morning. I hate to say it, but you’ve got to slow down.”

      This was how Tyler worked. People appreciated hard work. If he wanted to get noticed in this competitive world of marketing, he had to rise above the rest. “All of this will be worth it. We’re going to be the number one advertising agency in Portland this year.”

      “Tyler.” Kellen rested his elbows on his knees. “Maybe after the Lodi Organics presentation, you should take some time off. Relax. Get away for a couple weeks.”

      Tyler’s brow furrowed. He must not have heard Kellen correctly. “Are you suggesting I take a vacation?”

      “I’m not suggesting. More like telling you. You need a break. We all need a break.” Kellen sat back and seemed to struggle with the right words. “Let me be straight with you. There’s been some grumbling. People are feeling...stressed.”

      “Like who?” Tyler looked out at the office cubicles. The eight-person staff all scurried around, refusing to make eye contact.

      “Like everyone.”

      They had planned this. They had gone to Kellen behind his back. He felt his blood pressure