The Cowboys and the English Teacher [Hot Off The Ranch] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Luxie Ryder Page A

lodged in her chest. The thought of being away from them caused her more pain than she could ever have imagined. ‘Our little family’ as she referred to them all, would soon be apart, separated by an ocean, a culture, and thousands of miles.
    Experience told her that holiday romances never worked, or if they did, it came at great emotional and financial cost to the parties involved. Believing in an unsustainable love affair seemed easy when she didn’t have the reality of everyday life to drag her down. Thoughts of what she would tell her family and friends, if their relationship even survived the initial separation, began to nag at Betsy. They would never understand, her mother especially.
    Not that they’d given her the slightest reason to believe that they even wanted the relationship to continue. They made her feel like the most wanted woman in the world, but they never talked of the future. Maybe they had more going on back in Texas than they had let on?
    Wyler and Jack seemed more withdrawn as their final weekend together had arrived. They insisted on taking her out to one of the island’s best restaurants. She wished they had let her go shopping. The evening would be a special one, and she’d wanted to find something a little more glamorous than usual to wear, but they reassured her that it wasn’t necessary. Betsy felt certain this would be the night they would explain, albeit kindly, that their romance was over.
    Sitting between them in the small booth later, she perused the menu without really taking any of it in. Part of her felt sure they were no more able to concentrate than she. Jack confirmed this by looking at his for a full five minutes before folding it and starting a conversation about something completely different.
    ‘So, Betsy, what are we going to do?’
    His question should have surprised her, but she knew what he meant. Their time together had run out, and the moment for decisions had arrived. ‘I don’t know,’ she said quietly, the sadness beginning to pull at her insides.
    ‘When are you due back?’ Wyler’s question referred to the start of the school year in England. Her headmaster had only agreed to let her go on sabbatical provided she return by then.
    ‘Next week. Some of the other schools vary by a few days, but it’s usually always the first week in September.’ He sighed and pushed back from the table, as if disappointed by her answer.
    Jack’s head snapped up and he stared at his brother. ‘Do you think…no. Forget it. The old man would never go for it.’
    Wyler shook his head. ‘Whatever you were gonna suggest, if it means we stay away any longer, he’s going to write us out of the will.’ He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
    ‘What are you talking about?’ Betsy asked, afraid to believe the hope flickering to life in the back of her mind. Two sets of green eyes turned her way, confusion clouding them. Wyler looked a little hurt. What had she said?
    Jack put his hand up as if to halt whatever Wyler had just taken a breath to say. ‘We are trying to find a way to make this work, so we don’t have to let you go.’ She wanted to speak, but the lump that formed in her throat blocked the words — so her eyes filled with tears instead.
    ‘Don’t cry, Betsy, please,’ Wyler whispered, then reached around her back and lifted her into his lap. Jack scooted along the seat, adding his voice and hands to the ones already trying to soothe her.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, when she could speak again.
    ‘It’s okay, honey. We’ll find a way to make this work.’ Jack’s words made her cry again.
    ‘It’s not that,’ she sobbed, muffling her words by burying her face in Wyler’s shoulder.
    ‘Then what is it?’ His voice became slightly colder. ‘Are we misunderstanding the reason for your tears?’
    The knowledge that she was hurting and confusing them with her strange reaction sobered her. Betsy sat up and tried to clear her head with a shaky breath.