It was a few minutes past ten when Mandy, dressed in a Prescott rodeo T-shirt, jeans, and barn boots, walked into the café, her two friends already situated in a booth and waiting for her. At the last minute, one of Prescott’s best broncs had pulled up lame, but it turned out to be only a pebble caught in the hoof. Something Kyle should have checked for before sounding the alarm, but he was still learning.
Mandy slid into the booth just ahead of the waitress heading for their table. It was the same perky blonde from the other night, and they gave her their order before saying their hellos. Not quite ready to talk about herself, Mandy addressed Libby, who was wearing a cute blue-and-white maternity top with her jeans now that she was beginning to show. “So how are you feeling?”
“Good. The second trimester is a lot easier than the first, thank goodness.” The woman was beaming, and Mandy felt an odd sense of emptiness at the thought of never having children. Clearly Libby had found the right man. She wondered if she ever would.
“And, Cat, how are things going with that adverse-possession claim?” Mandy asked.
Cat was dressed in a white tailored shirt, skintight jeans, and a shiny pair of undoubtedly new cowgirl boots. She looked like she stepped out of a fashion magazine rather than a ranch pickup. Cat had always been the girly-girly type when they were growing up, while Mandy had been all tomboy. How her friend was going to run a huge ranch now that her stubborn father had passed away was beyond Mandy, but one thing she could say about Cat, she was determined—a trait they both shared.
“We’re still in the discovery phase. Our lawyer said he’ll be ready to file in a few weeks. I don’t feel right about it, but he keeps telling me it’s the law and it involves water rights, so it’s not something I can let slide.”
Mandy nodded. She understood not feeling right about something that was ostensibly legal.
“And how is Mrs. Martin feeling these days?” Cat asked.
“Confused.” And that was the truth.
Mandy elaborated, telling them about almost giving in to her raging hormones back in Abilene, the confrontation with Kendall, and her inability to concentrate, much less sleep, when Ty was in the same bed. “I’ve never been more attracted to a man, nor trusted one less than I do Ty Martin.”
“Maybe it’s more than attraction,” Libby said as the waitress set down their coffees, pastries, and the western omelet Libby had ordered. The woman was eating for two, after all.
“That’s exactly my fear. I thought being with him twenty-four seven would make me like him less. I hate to admit it, but he actually had some good ideas to help keep business. He’s smart, works hard, and doesn’t shirk difficult jobs or decisions. Those are traits I’d find attractive in anyone else. But it doesn’t change the terms of the will or his quest to sell the place. He’s still waiting on financials, which I know will show we are profitable, but I don’t know if that’s enough to convince him not to sell.”
“You’re afraid of getting too involved with him if you do have sex, is that it?” Cat leaned in.
“Exactly. I’ve no doubt that it is going to be great sex, which makes it even more difficult to resist him, but what if I end up caring about him more than is healthy, given he holds the fate of my company in his hands. I mean, I should hate the guy.”
“Maybe he’ll end up caring about you and won’t sell the company.” Libby always looked on the bright side.
“Or maybe you could use your feminine wiles to keep him from selling.” Cat wiggled her eyebrows.
“Not a chance. Ty is so goddamn objective, it isn’t funny. He revels in the fact that he’s all business, strictly business.”
“Reminds me of my father, and not in a good way,” Cat said. “If you want to have sex with him, though, how are you going to resist for six whole months? That’s an awfully long time to be in lust.”
“That’s the problem. He keeps saying that we have an end point, like that’s a good thing. At the end of six months, he could have sold the business and walked away, and I will have been left with nothing.”
“Nothing but a pile of cash,” Cat said and took a sip of her coffee.
Mandy sighed. “I want more. I want my company.” She hesitated a minute before confessing. “And I want a husband and kids. I want it all. And I’m likely to end up with none of it, especially if Ty takes my company.”
Libby rubbed her rounded tummy. “I can relate. It almost didn’t happen for me.”
Cat leaned back. “Well, I have two out of three—the ranch and the kid. Doesn’t stop me from hankering for a good man to call my own though. I’m just glad that I have Jake out of the whole sorry mess. I never understood how intense that special love for your child could be until I had my little boy.”
“How is it raising him alone?” Mandy asked. It was something she’d been wondering about lately.
“Not difficult, just time consuming. In these first few years, they pretty much need your full attention. I’m lucky to have my mom to help with Jake, and a foreman to run the ranch, though I wish I had more of a handle on what is going on, or at least knew the questions to ask. But as for raising Jake, it’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done.”