Page 1 of The Billionaire Who Saved My Cat From The Mafia

CHAPTER 1

Special K

Diego Guapo bends his head toward the ground, determined to munch on more cornflowers.I let my red roan stallion have his fun.He’s earned it.

We’ve been out for three hours already this morning, looking for the five head of cattle gone missing.I figure they’re probably doing the same thing we’re doing—enjoying the spring breeze as it flows through the valleys and ridges of Yosemite Ranch.

Can’t say that I blame them.

I tip my head back and close my eyes, feeling the sun’s warmth on my face as it filters down through the pine branches.I inhale the tangy scent of the earth coming alive after a long and brutal winter.The worst anyone can remember.It was a “Blizzard of the Century” kind of season.

We’re all glad to see it go.

This high up on Washoe Ridge, the only sounds I detect—other than DG’s crunching—are the calls of hawks and eagles, the rustle of wind through the evergreen needles, and the creeks flowing with melted snowpack.I hear the squeak of my boots in the leather stirrups when I shift my weight in the saddle.

I’m in no hurry.In fact, if I could get away with it, I’d stay up here in the quiet for days.Weeks, even.Honestly, I’d prefer to live in this kind of quiet.

This kind of solitude.

For now, I’ll take whatever time I can manage away from the MacLaine compound.There’s too much going on in the residential center of the ranch.It’s too crowded these days.There’s enough happy excitement down there to pucker my sphincter and chap my ass.

Three of my brothers are already married and one is in the middle of wedding preparations.One is expecting a baby.

Cal has Victoria.Finn has Emma.Evander is planning his wedding to Phoebe, and they’re racing against the clock so that her sick father can see his only daughter walk down the aisle.Declan and Summer are parents-to-be.

I don’t even recognize my family anymore.

I’m off balance.

Disoriented.

And I don’t like that sensation.Not one damn bit.

I notice that DG has decided to sample a nearby patch of Lupine, which can be poisonous.“Cut it out,” I tell him, giving a quick tug on one rein.He tosses his head in complaint but goes back to the cornflowers.

DG lives up to his name.He’s a handsome devil, no doubt about it.He’s got an elegant head and a speckled strawberry-blond coat.He’s sixteen hands of solid muscle and possesses impeccable cow sense.

But the guy can be a total butthead sometimes.

Summer says that’s to be expected, since he’s male.She’s always saying shit like that, and I sometimes find myself missing her snarky comments.

Because even that part of life is out of balance now.

Summer’s the finest ranch worker we’ve ever had and my go-to companion for long days working cattle on the range.If things were normal, she’d be up here with me this morning, tracking down the missing head.

But things aren’t normal.She’s far enough along in her pregnancy that her doctor doesn’t want her working on horseback, especially chasing down strays at a full gallop the way she does.She’s restricted to calm trail rides on bomb-proof horses, which means that most days, I’m out here on my own.

I’m okay with that.These days, I seem to enjoy my own company even more than usual.

I think the solitude gives me time to put things in perspective.I don’t have to answer to anyone who asks about what I’m doing or where I’m going or what I’m thinking.

It gives me time to separate how others see me versus what I really am and what I really want.In other words, the more time I have in solitude, the more I can focus on reorienting myself and regaining my balance in a world gone batshit crazy.

I’m the youngest of the MacLaine boys.I’m thought of as the oddball outlier.Too quiet.Too grouchy.Too blond when everyone else has nearly-black hair.

The family still sees me as the baby, even though I’m bigger than every one of my brothers.Nobody even uses my actual name—Kevin—unless they’re giving me shit.

As the story goes, my parents weren’t expecting a fifth kid, and when I arrived as fair as my brothers were dark, my mother said I was her “special” gift.I’ve been known as Special K ever since.