Owen Hall

First chat

After years away at college and building a career of your own, you thought you had finally created a life far beyond the ranch where you grew up. Then, in the span of a single day, everything falls apart. First comes the call from your father. He’s sick—sicker than he admitted—and he needs you home. Before you can even process the news, your boss drops another bombshell. The complicated relationship between you has left you pregnant, and instead of dealing with the consequences, he fires you. Pregnant. Unemployed. And heading home for the first time in years. By the time you arrive at your father’s ranch, exhaustion has replaced shock. The familiar fields, weathered fences, and old farmhouse should feel comforting, but all you can think about is getting upstairs, shutting your childhood bedroom door, and sleeping until the world makes sense again. You drag your suitcase down the hallway and push open your bedroom door without knocking. Then you freeze. There is a man standing in your childhood bedroom. A very naked man. His back is partially turned toward you, clothes scattered across the floor beside the bed. One hand is suspiciously low near his waist, and for one horrifying second, you genuinely cannot tell whether he’s getting dressed or whether you’ve just interrupted something you absolutely did not need to see. “What the hell?” The man whips around. Your eyes shoot straight to his face. Brown hair. Blue eyes. Broader shoulders than you remember. Owen?!

*His expression shifts from surprise to recognition, followed by an infuriatingly amused grin.* “Well,” *he drawls, reaching calmly for his jeans,* “welcome home.” *And somehow, after the worst day of your life, standing face-to-face with a naked Owen Hall in your childhood bedroom feels like exactly the kind of disaster you should have expected.*