Gentle rancher: Cowboys of Montana, #3

By Maya R. Stone

Brad Sullivan lives alone now that his brothers, Rex and Ted, are happily in love.
Does he feel lonely? Hell yes. Does he miss his old fancy life as a country singer star surrounded by fame and fans? Not so much.
Singing is his thing, but he paid a high price when he followed his dream. The tours, the fans, the rush, the wild sex... It was too much. He lost himself and the love of his life in the process. He lives to regret it until a second chance knocks at his door.
Reporter Gina Lovell is in town to interview Brad Sullivan. She doesn't want to, but her boss said this is her opportunity to get a promotion. One she wants and deserves badly. The only problem? Brad broke her heart years ago.
She can be cold and professional, but Brad seems to think this is a new beginning. She will show him she isn't a toy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maya R. Stone
• Release date: Dec 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215881415

Book preview

SUMMARY

Brad Sullivan lives alone now that his brothers, Rex and Ted, are happily in love. Does he feel lonely? Hell yes. Does he miss his old fancy life as a country singer star surrounded by fame and fans? Not so much.

Singing is his thing, but he paid a high price when he followed his dream. The tours, the fans, the rush, the wild sex... It was too much. He lost himself and the love of his life in the process. He lives to regret it until a second chance knocks at his door.

Reporter Gina Lovell is in town to interview Brad Sullivan. She doesn’t want to, but her boss said this is her opportunity to get a promotion. One she wants and deserves badly. The only problem? Brad broke her heart years ago.

She can be cold and professional, but Brad seems to think this is a new beginning. She will show him she isn’t a toy.

One.

Gina.

Gina was mesmerized by the gorgeous man on stage. Brad Sullivan was back, and his fans were delirious. So was she, although she would like to deny it. 

He was exactly as she remembered him. Handsome. Vibrant. Masculine and charming in his faded jeans, flannel shirt, cowboy boots, and Stetson. 

But she saw more. She was sitting in the press sector, near enough to realize the differences. He was bulkier. His chest and biceps had grown. His back was wider. 

He had a well-trimmed beard, which suited him pretty well. The man was sexy as fuck. He had always been.

She sighed and shook her head in defeat. Her mind tried to stop her heart from beating so fast, but it was useless. 

This man had always made her weak in the knees. Brad. Her ex-boyfriend, the love of her life. 

The amazing singer who she had watched growing on stage and gaining more and more fame, till the day he left her behind. 

No, no, no. She had to stop herself from walking this path of auto commiseration and sadness. She was over him and had moved on. 

She used to love him. Five years ago to be exact. They were a couple, or so she thought. Then she realized she was just a thing for him. Leverage. 

It was hard and painful, but life was like that. Sometimes you won, sometimes you lost. She was happy enough.

Her job was pretty cool, and she had some friends. Only two, to be fair, but they were the best. 

Her tiny apartment was cozy, and she had all she needed. Enough. She even got herself a pet, a fish. A silent, big-eyed, and sort of cold pet, but it was growing on her.

She had built a new life after she left this man behind. 

He wasn’t her Brad, the man who made her laugh, and she loved more than she could put into words. 

The sweet boyfriend who bought her pastries and flowers when coming back from rehearsal. The one who used to sing her his lyrics when writing them and swore she was his muse.

Now he was just a former lover and the country singer whose performance she had to review for the blog she worked for. 

Her boss had been so excited when he asked her to attend and review the concert that she couldn’t say no. It was the news of the year for country music lovers. 

Brad disappeared from the scene three years ago when he was on top of the country music world. Nobody knew what had happened to him. 

Lots of gossips had been around, but nobody knew the truth. He just went from performing almost every week and recording amazing hits to nothing.

He could have been enjoying the big life in a mansion in the Bahamas, traveling around the world, or searching for life’s meaning in India. Those were some ideas going around on the Internet. 

Gina believed he probably had retired to his ranch, the one he owned with his two brothers. Brad used to say it was his place in the world, although he had left it behind to go for his dream. 

Being a star in the musical scene. Playing his songs on a stage while thousands of fans cheered him. He made it happen, didn’t he? 

And when he was almost stepping on the red carpet of the Grammy awards, he disappeared. There were a lot of speculations around, most of them involving fights with the band and his agent.

He didn’t give reasons, and it was okay. Why should he? He could do as he wanted. Free country, free will. He wasn’t in need of money. 

He had earned millions with his tours, his royalties from his own recordings, and from the songs he wrote for other country stars. 

She didn’t care. She had never cared how wealthy he was, how his bank account grew and grew. She had enjoyed traveling, his gifts, his fancy dinners, the amazing hotels, but she had loved him for who he was, not what he gave her. 

His best gift had been songs. Laughter. Moments. The love. Till this one disappeared and left her lonely and shivering, wondering what had happened.

Why are you thinking of this now, Gina? she admonished herself. Pride yourself, lady. Take the damned pictures and stop fussing over the past. It