His jaw bunched. “I don’t know. But I don’t know the answers for you either, and I married you.”
“Very funny. Just so you know, I want to run Prescott Rodeo Company, marry, and raise my children to be good upstanding and productive citizens. And I believe a woman’s role in this life is the same as a man’s—to leave the world a better place than she found it—for as many people whose lives she can affect. So what does Kendall care about?”
Okay, so he didn’t know what Kendall’s “values” were. And yes, he’d dated her mainly because she charged his jets. But that’s all Ty was looking for.
Mandy also charged his jets. More than Kendall. Much more. To his way of thinking, her curves were far more alluring—and dangerous. He liked her frankness, admired her integrity. But she was a lot more work, heaven help him. She challenged him, made him uncomfortable for reasons he’d yet to understand. He hadn’t wanted to marry either woman.
So how the hell had he ended up married to the one he hadn’t slept with?
“She met my requirements, Mandy.”
“For a trophy. I understand, Ty. I really do.”
Her smugness was damn irritating. “And Mitch?”
He heard her draw a deep breath before she answered.
“I’m not sure why you keep bringing up Mitch, especially since we are no longer a couple, unlike you and Kendall—”
“I said I’ll fix that.”
“But to answer your question, his goal is to get to the National Rodeo Finals. He doesn’t want to be tied down with a wife and kids, and he believes a guy’s role in life is to have as much fun as he can for as long as he can before he gets lassoed by some woman. Except for wanting to be in the NRF, I’d say you two had a lot in common.”
She shot him a self-satisfied smile, but her leg jiggled. The woman could be goddamn infuriating. And Mitch sounded like a saddle bum. How could she compare Ty to him?
“What’s this really about, Mandy? I didn’t initiate the contact with Kendall. Yet you seem intent on making me pay for her contacting me.”
She scrunched down in her seat as if she could hide that tall, nicely curved body of hers, and her brows knit together in a frown. “Are you sure you can break it off with her? I mean, you guys obviously have been going out, and this, this marriage is a little hard to explain.”
“I won’t have any problem breaking things off with Kendall.” Or the three other women he dated when he was in their city. It was only six months anyway. He’d never admit it to Mandy, but she was right. They were trophy girlfriends. Though he doubted they would appreciate that description.
He’d intended to call the women and tell them he’d be involved in a business deal for the next six months. It wasn’t exactly a lie, just not the whole truth. He wasn’t dating any of the women with an eye on the future. If they didn’t want to wait, he’d no doubt find other willing females when the time came. Somehow that thought wasn’t as comforting as it should have been.
“So can I assume you won’t be seeing Mitch, or anyone else, either?”
He knew little about the tie-down roper except JM hadn’t thought much of him. And the guy hadn’t won much, according to the Professional Rodeo Rider Association site he’d checked. Yet it was probable they would run into him on the circuit.
“I said I won’t, and I won’t.” She lifted her chin up as if daring him to say otherwise.
Feisty woman. But he believed her. One thing he’d noted right off about Mandy. She didn’t fabricate. She came right out and told you what she thought, whether you liked it or not, whether you wanted to hear it or not.
“You want children?” That was one thing he hadn’t expected her to say. Or that she wanted a man in her life. She was an independent sort, like him, and she’d certainly given him the impression she liked it that way. Domesticity and Mandy was a new thought.
“What?”
“You said you wanted to marry and have children.”
She stared at him like he’d grown another head. Seemed like a reasonable question to ask one’s wife.
“Of course I want children.”
“I thought you just wanted to run Prescott.”
Her brows drew even closer together. “If a man said he wanted to run a company, would people think he didn’t want to have children as a result?”
The tone of her voice had changed to a higher, louder pitch. He’d ticked her off. He hadn’t meant to. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“You shouldn’t have been surprised.” She had a point. “How about you? You want to become a dad anytime soon?”
His first impulse was to say no. But lately, since JM had gotten sick, he’d been thinking about kids. Having them. Raising them. Maybe. But if he did, he’d have to think about settling down and getting a wife. And he hadn’t met a woman yet who seemed a good fit. They all seemed to care a lot about looking good and not much about doing good.
“Maybe.”