Mandy sank her head into her hands. “That’s what I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of it. Did he think me so incapable he had to go through all of this?”
Her mother’s warm hand rested on Mandy’s back. “I don’t think his motive had anything to do with your capabilities. I think he was concerned about the shenanigans the other stockmen might pull. And he was concerned about your happiness. He thought Ty the solution to both, is all.”
Mandy wished she could believe the part about it having nothing to do with her capabilities. As for Ty being the solution, that marriage provision in the will made him the problem. She shuffled the papers before her into a semblance of a pile. Last evening Ty had asked her to consider marriage and told her they were going to wind up in bed together anyway. If she agreed, she’d be playing right into his hands. “JM put up his ranch house for me to lose if I don’t marry, in addition to the threat of Ty selling the firm. He’s put me between the proverbial rock and a hard place.”
If anywhere felt like home, it was her grandfather’s house, built just up the road. It had always been full of people coming and going, even after her grandmother passed away.
Shelia leaned over and picked a stray hair off Mandy’s sleeve. “JM must have seen that spark of attraction between you two. He thinks he can fan it, even from the grave. And he’s willing to put up Prescott shares and the ranch house. That must mean he’s pretty certain of the outcome.”
Mandy shook her head. Obviously, her grandfather had been losing it toward the end. Engaging in fairy-tale notions that weren’t based in reality. “JM was wrong. There is nothing I find admirable about Ty Martin.”
Her mother’s smirk poked her like a cattle prod.
“All right, except maybe his body,” Mandy relented. “You happy?” It was way too awkward speaking about lust with her mother, of all people. “And Ty Martin has never given one hint he’s attracted to me, other than as a way to pass some time.”
We’d be good together.
“Really? I don’t think you’ve been looking too hard then.”
Mandy sighed. Her mother was just being a romantic, a perspective Mandy didn’t share. “How can I give up controlling interest in the company and endure a sham of a marriage just to save the ranch house? No, JM has actually made it an easy decision. One year, even two years, is not such a long time. I’ll just have to tolerate having Ty around until then.”
I can guarantee you a pleasurable time if you’re open to it.
Sheila slipped into the chair beside her. “Can you? From what you’ve told me, Ty’s going to have full authority to sell the business if the numbers don’t work. I don’t care much if the business is sold, except for the fact I know how upset you’d be.”
“If I am to believe Ty, and I don’t entirely, we’d be well off if we sold out. But it’s not just about me or you, Mom. What about everyone who depends on Prescott for their paycheck? For several families, we are their livelihood. Fathers and sons and even daughters. We’re like a family at Prescott. And Daddy? It was his dream to have a premier stock company. What about that dream?”
Sheila shrugged. “That was your father’s dream. You could make your own dream. But if you really are against selling, then I think you should consider doing what JM proposes. It’s obviously what he wanted you to do. Wouldn’t it make it tougher for Ty to find a buyer if he only has six months?”
“I don’t know if I could marry a man I don’t respect, much less like, even if it is only a few months.” Mandy closed her eyes, hoping she could block out the whole idea. “And he could still sell it within six months anyway. Then what? The best this marriage may allow is for me to keep tabs on him. It’s not enough.”
“Mandy, look at me.” Mandy opened her eyes and stared at the familiar gentle smile on her mother’s face. It was the same smile her mother used when telling Mandy she’d feel better soon or getting a B in math wasn’t the end of the world. “You’ll be working with him for even longer if you don’t marry him. Suppose you do fall for him, you fall for each other? If you think there’s any chance you two will have an affair of some sort, why not go with this proposal?”
We’ll probably end up in bed together anyway, even if we don’t marry.
By the time he’d uttered that sentence, she’d been ready to wrap her fingers around his throat and squeeze. True, she doubted she’d be able to spend a year or more working with the man, but not because she was tempted by him. Because she didn’t like what he stood for. So how could she stand six months living with him?
“I’m not worried about falling for a man I don’t like.” Even if she had a history of falling for the wrong kind of guy.