When Dreams Collide Read Online Free PDF

bankers back in Texas where he’d grown up.
    The summer he turned ten he was legally adopted by a son-of-a-bitch, shit-for-brains father and a lovely church-going mother. His new Pa saw him as free ranch labor; his Ma loved him with all her heart. He’d loosened the noose of abuse his father fastened around his neck years ago, but sadly, the last maternal apron string was severed only recently.
    Susan picked up her phone when it rang and spoke briefly to the person on the other end. Once the call was finished, she picked up the receiver again and instructed her assistant to hold her calls.
    Dusty shifted in his chair, set his Stetson on the seat of the other customer chair. When he’d first laid eyes on Susan with her skirt up around her waist in the hotel cloakroom, he hadn’t realized she was the talented banker he’d inquired about. Her internet picture didn’t do her justice. Mr. Stevens, the lawyer who’d handled his recently deceased ma’s investments, had assured him that Ms. Sanders was exceptionally competent at her job and would meet his requirements nicely. He smiled to himself. After meeting her in that cloakroom, he’d imagined her handling numerous requirements. Most of them had nothing to do with his project, and everything to do with his body.
    Susan leaned her arms on the desktop. “So, what did you want to discuss with me?”
    Dusty wondered if he looked as nervous as he felt. “I’m buying a ranch, and I’d like your help,” he stated.
    Susan leaned back in her chair as if she’d gotten a whiff of something odorous.
    “Perhaps I should have worked my way up to that. You appear shocked.” Dusty squirmed in his chair. Surely, he hadn’t blown his chance already. He hadn’t been in her office for five minutes. “What I meant to say...”
    “Do you know what a ranch would cost?” blurted Susan. “Even a small ranch could run you a half million dollars. Is this a joke? Did Amanda put you up to this?”
    “No, ma’am.” Dusty shifted in his chair again. “I’m fully aware of the price of land in Montana. I’ve been checking online, and I found a couple properties that might have worked, but they were located too far south of here.”
    Susan gaped. “You’re serious!”
    “Yes, ma’am. But I bet you assume I’ve only got a couple nickels to rub together the day before payday. You consider me nothing more than a ranch foreman with less ambition than a horny rooster in a henhouse.” He felt his face redden when he realized what he’d blurted out.
    “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you...” began Susan.
    Dusty held up his hand, stopping her mid-sentence. “I apologize for my off-color remark. Actually, if the adoption gods hadn’t chosen the parents for me that they did, or the lottery gods hadn’t shone on me with a two hundred thousand dollar win ten years ago, you would be absolutely right in your assumption.”
    Susan’s mouth dropped open.
    “I’ve shocked you again.” Dusty flopped against the chair back. “I’m not doing a very good job of explaining myself.”
    “How much?” inquired Susan.
    “How much explaining will I have to...?”
    Susan shook her head. “How much money do you actually have available as a down payment on a ranch? I assume you’re here in hopes of arranging a mortgage on the balance of the purchase price.”
    “Well, I won that lottery and promptly blew five grand in Vegas on a weekend runaway with Jeremy and David. But I’ve kept the remaining funds a secret and invested it wisely. It’s grown to a tidy sum over the years. Last time I checked the balance was approximately three hundred forty-five thousand.”
    “That’s wonderful and it sounds about right, Dusty. Nice investment. And if you’re only considering a very small ranch, you wouldn’t require a mortgage. I’m not certain you would qualify anyway without a definite source of income.”
    “Well, I’m also expecting an inheritance check from my mother any day now. But