“I know you wanted to have a place to work out and all.”
“I haven’t used the facilities since we’ve been married. I’m too exhausted at the end of the day, and there’s too much to do at the beginning of the day.” He leaned over and nipped her ear. She smelled like him. “Seems my muscles are getting enough of a workout the old-fashioned way.”
She kissed his cheek. “I’ll ask Mrs. Jenkins to fix up the bedroom and tell her we are coming back. I think she’ll be relieved.”
His smile crooked up. “As long as it’s the bedroom with the king-size bed.”
*
Mandy sat on the sofa in the ranch house library and as her heart hammered against her ribs, the clock ticking the seconds away while she waited for Ty. He was in the kitchen, having insisted on fixing them coffee after the wonderful dinner of ribs and sweet potatoes Mrs. Jenkins had made before she’d headed out at her designated time of three o’clock. Mrs. Jenkins had seemed quite cheered by the news that Ty and Mandy would be coming back to the house and appeared relieved when Mandy had asked her to make up the guest room with the king bed. Mandy imagined she’d been a tad worried about her job, despite reassurances.
Talk over dinner had been about the preparations for the Cheyenne rodeo. Yet all she could think about was Ty’s mouth on her crotch and her straddling him on his desk. She flushed just remembering. And they might have made a baby. Right there.
Ty strode into the library, tray in hand. “Here you go,” he said, lifting the steaming cup of coffee from the tray. “Just the way you like it, strong, diluted with sugar and lots of cream.”
He’d remembered.
“Thanks.” She sipped the coffee. It had been so unlike her, having sex in the office. Oh, she’d had her share of sex in cars, sex in the living room, once even in the kitchen. But an office was a somewhat public space, and she’d never had sex in a public space, unless a campsite in Yellowstone qualified.
The coffee was strong, yet mellow. Just the way she liked it. “Good coffee.”
“Thanks. I’m actually pretty handy in the kitchen. Had to be if I wanted to eat, given I’ve been on my own all these years.”
“Really.” She tried to imagine him bustling about the kitchen, and failed. The man was full of surprises.
“If we ever find a weekend when we are at home, I’ll cook you something. I make a sausage and pasta dish that’s garnered a few accolades.”
She set her coffee down on the tray that graced the square walnut table in front of the overstuffed sofa. Ty sat on the edge of the cushion within arm’s length of her.
“You okay being here, in the ranch house?” Ty asked.
Her mother and Mrs. Jenkins had done a good job of clearing out the little things of her grandfather’s—framed pictures, many of his books, much of his private papers—as well as his bedroom. But all the awards the company and its livestock had earned over the thirty-plus years still hung on the wall or sat on a shelf. The overstuffed furniture covered in saddle leather, the worn rug, and the bookshelves that lined the wall and framed the big-screen TV were comfortingly familiar. It felt like home, in a good way.
“I think it was just the day, the funeral being so recent. It actually feels good to be here. And there’s more room for my boots.” Mandy had moved about half of them in already. She’d had to commandeer one whole closet in another bedroom to accommodate them. She’d have to get one of those closet companies to come in and organize them all.
“I never knew there were so many types of boots. How many do you have?”
She shrugged. “Have never counted them. But a lot.”
Ty chuckled. “You have enough inventory to start a business.”
“Speaking of business, how do you like it so far? Certainly not a nine-to-five lifestyle.”
He took a gulp of coffee before answering. “I never did work nine to five, so the hours aren’t much of a change. But I’m finding I enjoy it. I like working with livestock again. I like the business end too. Negotiating contracts, putting together budgets, looking at strategies to grow the business. Those are things I think I’m pretty good at. Seems it’s the best of both worlds. What makes you so committed to the rodeo business?”
“I like working with the animals and the people, establishing relationships with the committees. I think I’m pretty good at those things.”
Ty raised his cup in a toast. “Seems we make a good team. You know we’ll have to keep on trying until we get it right?”
“Get what right?”
“Making a baby.” His grin exposed his set of very white, very straight teeth.
A flush of heat washed over her.
“I suppose we will have to do it more than once.” She tried to keep her tone casual, but the thought of more sex with Ty had her pulse rat-a-tatting.