Sitting up, she looked around the spacious but empty room. Ty’s new boots sat in the corner, the pants he’d flung to the ground lay bunched on the carpet with the pile of her clothes, and a tray of eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee sat on the small side table. She heard water running in the shower and took a deep breath.
Last night had been incredible—and unnerving. Physically satisfying and emotionally upending. Her heart did a flippy-floppy kind of beat. She leaned back against the cushioned headboard for support.
Despite all her attempts to resist him, she was falling for Ty Martin, this man of so many contradictions. How could that be when just a few days ago he’d been her sworn enemy, a man who had duped her grandfather and undermined her role?
She shook her head, hoping for some sense. This was temporary. No commitment. Six months and done. Sex and nothing more.
Reality hadn’t changed. Ty was still going to decide the fate of the company based on the numbers. He was still going to walk away at the end of six months. All they’d been doing last night was playing.
Easy as it would be to sentimentalize it, there was no romance here. Just incredible pleasure. If she could remember that, if she could keep it strictly physical, maybe she could enjoy the moment and keep the whole business side of their relationship separate. But could she keep the emotional side separate?
Her cell phone jangled, startling her. Scooping it up from the nightstand, she noted the caller was Harold. He’d already be at the Utah rodeo setting up, having headed there directly from Washington. The fact he was calling probably meant problems.
Though Harold was economical with words, it didn’t take many to tell her that Stan Lassiter had been brought in as “backup” at the Utah rodeo. Never in all the years her family had been in the rodeo business had someone been brought in to “back up” a Prescott-run rodeo unless Prescott had requested it. And now this rodeo committee had done it.
Just as she finished the call, Ty appeared in the doorway, looking like sex on a stick with nothing but a towel wrapped around his showered body. Playtime was over. Back to reality.
“That was Harold. We’ve got trouble in Utah.”
*
She admired the way Ty swung into action even as she resented the command aspect of it. Within the hour he’d permitted her for showering, dressing, and a bite to eat, he’d made the calls, filed the flight plan—since they couldn’t waste time driving—and packed the bags so they could take off by midmorning.
Mandy had steeled for the flight and given a prayer of thanks when the landing had been uneventful. She’d never get used to flying in such a small aircraft, no matter how often she’d be forced to use it for convenience’s sake.
Ty drove the rental car into the parking lot of the arena right after lunchtime, kicking up gravel as he aimed the vehicle toward the horse trailers parked in the distance. There was only one bearing the Rustic Rodeo insignia. Clearly Lassiter hadn’t brought the full complement of rodeo stock he’d had at Greenville, making her wonder why Stan had bothered himself for a dozen broncs and bulls.
He wouldn’t make a profit on that small amount, so he was likely here for next year’s contract, like a buzzard circling a young heifer. But young as she might be in Stan’s eyes, she wasn’t going to lie down and roll over.
She glanced at Ty, but with those aviator sunglasses on, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He’d barely mentioned their encounter last night. Maybe a one-night stand was all he was after. Maybe she’d disappointed. Maybe she was still a foolish seventeen-year-old thinking sex would change everything for the better.
Instead, on the flight they’d discussed the cowboys who were likely to show and the stock Harold was bringing. Ty had also asked for a rundown on the rodeo committee.
Though Ty had voiced surprise at the news of Stan’s arrival, that didn’t mean he hadn’t known. Or arranged it. Had the decision been made already? Maybe the roll in the hay had been a means of distraction. No doubt Ty was in a hurry to wrap things up so he could get on with his real life. And the way to do that was to sell the company. And fast. And Stan Lassiter was interested.
Running a rodeo company might be enough for her, but it would never satisfy a guy like Ty, who was used to big deals—and going it alone. If working with livestock had been for him, wouldn’t he have thrown in with Trace and run the family ranch, undoubtedly making it a going concern and giving little Delanie better prospects.
She gave a silent sigh as she thought about Delanie, born into such risky circumstances. If Mandy had a child, even on her own, there would be so many people who would love that child. Her child would want for nothing—except a father.
Which unnervingly brought her thoughts back to Ty and his plans to sell her company.
The night might have been filled with passion for her, but now it was back to reality, harsh reality.
“Have you talked to Stan since the Greenville Rodeo?” she asked.
He glanced in her direction as he maneuvered the car around the gravel potholes, but those sunglasses guarded his eyes. Even without sunglasses, Ty was a study in reticence.