Branded (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Special Edition) Read Online Free PDF Page A

are they so excited to see Dixie?” Erin asked.
    “Food,” the three men said in unison.
    Scotty looped his arm around Erin, and to his surprise, she reciprocated. His stomach growled, but walking with Erin tucked against his body for a few minutes felt better than a belly full of breakfast ever could.

Chapter Three
     
    Erin sat in her office, going over the financial books again. The bank had given her thirty days to come up with a large sum of money to pay off the leans her father had put on the ranch. Otherwise, they planned to take the ranch. She rubbed her forehead. Even with all the men helping and the cattle sales she planned to do, she still didn’t have enough time to make the kind of money the bank wanted.
    “Hey.” Dierks stepped inside her office. “I hadn’t seen you since breakfast. Are you hiding out in here or something?”
    She smiled. “I wish.” She tossed the accounting books aside. “My father was an idiot.”
    Dierks laughed and moved closer, shutting her office door behind him. “I’m sure we all have our reasons for believing that, but I’m curious about yours. What happened?”
    She leaned back in her chair. She debated what to tell him. When they first came, she really didn’t trust any of the men to know her secrets. Then they all chipped in to help her without being asked. During breakfast, they caught up with each other. Kade and Devin placed high in the team roping category. Scotty, Dierks, and Blaine all did well at bull riding. It was almost as if five years hadn’t passed.
    And with Dierks standing before her, honestly caring about her well-being, she couldn’t lie to him. “I’ve recently discovered he had a lot of debt, and stupidly, he put the ranch up for collateral. I don’t have the kind of money I need to cover his ass. I swear if he wasn’t already dead, I’d shoot him myself for being so stupid.”
    Dierks took a seat in the pink chair next to her desk. He looked odd and out of place in the newly decorated, pink-themed office. “What kind of money are you talking about?”
    “Six figures.”
    He blew out a low whistle. “Damn.”
    She nodded. “I’m planning to sell the cattle I have next week at auction. Hopefully, that’ll bring me enough money. If not, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
    Dierks sat quietly for a moment. It surprised her that he, of all the men, came to check up on her. He normally left the fussing to Blaine or Scotty. She took in his appearance. He still favored his ratty old Atlanta Braves ball cap over any Stetson he owned. The guys used to give him a hard time about it, saying he wasn’t a real cowboy unless he had a Stetson. Erin remembered him trading his Braves cap for a Dallas Cowboys ball cap just to piss them off.
    “If there was another way to get the money, would you consider it?”
    She frowned. “There isn’t another way, D. Not legally anyway.”
    He held up a hand. “Answer my question.”
    “If there was another way, that was legal and didn’t involve me prostituting myself or robbing a bank, yeah, I would.”
    He grinned. “You know someone with money. It really wouldn’t be that much trouble for him to loan you a few bucks until you could pay him back.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “You have this kind of money?”
    “Not just me.” He licked his lips. “We all have money. And you know any one of us would be willing to help you out.”
    Erin’s heart melted at his sweet offer. “And you’d just loan it to me? It would take me years to pay it off.”
    Dierks grinned. “I guess that’ll give us a reason to stop by more often.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Blaine stood next to the tailgate, taking a break. The ranch was honestly in bad shape. A lot of repairs needed to be made, and a lot of replacements needed to happen. Some were necessities, and he’d made a list to take to Austin when he went in two days. He knew Erin didn’t have the money, and the less she knew about him helping her, the less she’d fuss