"I'm not going," she said, cursing inwardly for sounding like a spoiled child. So much for the corporate executive touch.
Beau's lips curled into a slight grin. He wouldn't win any points if he ticked Mandy off by laughing at the way her chin tilted up in defiance. That hadn't changed much. Or the flash of fire in her deep brown eyes. They still looked as black and contrasted wildly with the natural streaks of blond in her hair. He'd always found that appealing, adorable as all get-out. Already his fingers itched to dig in and let the soft curls of her hair tumble in his hand.
But she had changed. Any fool could see that Mandy Morgan had blossomed into a five star beauty while he'd been out roaming the country these last eight years.
She was still slim as she was at sixteen, but her figure had filled out in all the right places that made a man take notice. The light rock in her hips that had taunted him when she was sixteen had matured into a graceful sway he found hypnotizing. Although she'd chewed off most of her lipstick, he noticed she now wore a slight hint of makeup on her cheeks and eyes, giving her the more exotic look of a woman.
And she still had the power to make his head spin like a lasso chasing a calf. He longed to see her smile again, hear her laugh bubble up from her soul. But given the way things ended between them, and the way she stood before him now with her arms knotted tightly in front of her chest, her jaw set, he knew she wouldn't crack a smile just to spite him.
Lord only knew why Hank insisted he be the one to pick her up at the airport.
"Did you hear me?" she finally said when he didn't answer her.
"Yeah, I did."
Her dark eyes widened slightly. "Oh. Good."
Beau reached down and picked up her leather garment bag, watching as her bewildered eyes followed his movement.
"It doesn't change anything though. Hank asked me to pick you up at the airport and bring you home, and that's what I'm doing if I have to toss you over my shoulder and drop you in the pickup."
Mandy gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Wanna try me?" He couldn't help but smile. She just looked too darlin' getting all hot and flustered. She had to know he wouldn't give up. Not just because she was virtually stuck, and knew it, but because she knew he would never refuse Hank's request.
She sighed and closed her eyes. "You touch me and I'll..."
"What?"
"I'll..."
"Afraid of what you'll do?" His smile widened just thinking. "Or are you afraid of how you'll feel in my arms again?"
A veil of pain hooded her delicate features. She wasn't just defeated, he realized. She still hurt after all these years. Guilt stabbed at his gut just thinking of how she was going to feel when she finally reached the Double T and she learned the real reason she was called back to Texas.
Somehow, on those long drives from rodeo to rodeo these past eight years Beau had fantasized about Mandy forgiving him one day for what he'd done. Maybe even understanding why he'd had to do it. As the years went on, he figured she'd have forgotten all about what the two of them had shared that summer, and moved on with her life. He didn't want to think of her finding comfort with another man, forgetting the way she used to melt like butter in his arms, the way they breathlessly clung to each other to steal just one more kiss before turning in each night. But it would have been easier for her if she had.
Looking in her haunted eyes now, Beau realized that was truly a fantasy. Her pain was still as raw as the day he'd left her eight years ago.
He gripped the bag of chips he'd just bought from the vending machine so hard it popped.
"Look, we have a long ride ahead of us. If you want, you can blast the radio with any station you want and pretend someone else is driving."
"You'll just start whistling to remind me you're there," she said, staring at the ground.
She remembered. Every trip to the local rodeos he'd been pent up with anticipation. She liked to listen to the radio in the truck and when he was nervous, he'd whistle and it annoyed the tar out of her. But she teased him anyway, telling him if he was going to whistle, he could at least do it in key.
Having her remember that one small detail gave him a slice of hope. No, they'd never be able to pick up where they'd left off eight years ago. That part of his life was dead and buried. But maybe he'd have a chance to repair the damage he'd done. Maybe they could be friends.
Mandy threw her purse over her shoulder and headed toward the parking lot, leaving him to deal with her luggage. His eyes were drawn again to the graceful sway of her slender hips and the memory of her silky soft lips against his.
Being friends with Mandy as a consolation prize to having her in his arms did nothing to dispel the loneliness he suddenly felt in seeing her again after all these years. But it would have to do.
# # #
Chapter Two
Beau carefully settled Mandy's suitcase in the back of the pickup, being mindful to cover it with a thick tarp to protect it from the hot sun. Mandy hadn't waited for him to extend his Texas charm by opening the door for her. Instead, she climbed into the cab herself, and practically slammed the door in his face.
He supposed he deserved that. She wasn't happy having been forced into this position any more than he was.
Hank had asked him to pick Mandy up at the airport this morning. These past three weeks Beau had been at the Double T, Hank had made no mention of Mandy at all except to say that she was doing well. And he had only offered that little tidbit of information when Beau's curiosity had won out and he finally asked Hank directly about her.
Hank had to have known Mandy was on his mind. It was no secret to anyone that he and Mandy were an inseparable pair that summer they were together. But Hank never uttered a word, even a month ago when he called Beau asking for help.
After all the things Hank Promise had done for Beau, Hank had only ever asked two favors of him. It wasn't the most opportune time for him to drop everything. Lined up ahead of him were some of the best rodeos of the year. He'd been in top form all season and he knew this year he had a shot at winning the World Championship. He'd won other championships before, competed against the world's best, but never managed to win the title for himself. This year was his year. He was sure of it.
But then Hank had tracked him down while he was on the road. His old friend would never had made such a request if it wasn't exceedingly important. Beau owed all he knew about rodeo to Hank Promise. In many ways, Hank had formed him into a man far more than his old man had, much to Beau's dismay. Maybe if Mike Gentry's vendetta against Hank buying the Double T hadn't been so strong, Beau wouldn't have been so drawn to it in the first place.
But regardless, here he was eight years after walking out of his father's home, after walking out of Mandy's life in search of world fame and fortune on the rodeo circuit. It had torn him apart to leave her behind, but in an ironic twist of fate, he'd come full circle. He was back in Texas, back at the Double T with Mandy Morgan by his side.
Only this time, instead of loving him with all her heart and soul, she despised him.
Jamming the key into the ignition, Beau gunned the engine. Mandy was sitting so far on the other end of the wide bench seat her hip was pressed against the door. He turned on the radio to hide his disappointed sigh as he pulled out of the airport parking lot.
Was this what it was going to be like? With him living in the bunkhouse, working at the Double T, and Mandy living in the house, they were going to run into each other. And if Hank was serious about his plans, they'd be running into each other a great deal.
They'd only gone a few miles on the interstate when Mandy leaned forward and switched off the radio. Beau took his eyes off the road only long enough to glance at her and see that she was staring at him. Questions shadowed her deep brown eyes, making her appear almost lost.
"Why did you really come back, Beau?" she asked softly.
"I told you. Hank asked me to."
"That's it?"
He nodded, making sure hi
s right hand was firmly on the steering wheel while his left was lazily draped along the open window.
"And you just said yes? Just like that. You just dropped everything and decided to come running back to Steerage Rock after years of staying away?"
Beau heard the unspoken question, even if she didn't say it aloud. Was the reason you hadn't come back in eight years to avoid seeing me? That was a little harder to answer than the rest. He hadn't come back to Steerage Rock for a lot of reasons. Partly because he didn't want to keep hashing out why he wasn't settling down and working the Silverado Cattle Company with his father. Mike Gentry never understood anyone else's goals but his own. There wasn't a way in the world his old man would ever understand why he couldn't work alongside him at the ranch.
Beau had reconciled himself to that long ago. He'd tried to be what his father wanted. He'd learned all about ranching with the intent of one day taking over the family spread with his three brothers. But it had never been his dream.
Beau had the fever for rodeo even before that first time he'd ridden over the pasture trying to steal a peek at the Double T when he was ten years old, just to see what his dad was fussing and fuming about. He'd never understood his father's vendetta against Hank Promise, but he understood the fever for riding a wild bronc. And with Hank's help, he'd become one of the best bronc bareback riders on the circuit.
"Yeah, Mandy, Hank said he needed me and I left everything behind. I owe him a lot."
Shaking her head, she stared out the window, averting her gaze. She had her elbow pressed against the door and her fist tucked under her chin. Every so often, a gust of wind whipped wayward strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail around her face and she'd briskly push them away.
Silence dragged on for a few minutes and Beau contemplated turning the radio on again to drown out his hammering heart and the vacant sound of tires eating up the miles of road ahead. Then Mandy spoke again.
"I can't imagine why my uncle would forgive you for what you did. I told him, you know. Right after you left, I told him the real reason you'd been hanging around the Double T. You must have done some smooth talking to get back into his good graces."
"Hank doesn't harbor any bad feelings for what's happened over the years."
She snapped her gaze at him. "What makes you so sure?"
"Mandy, it was no secret my father lived and breathed to make Hank's life miserable. It wasn't going to happen, of course, because Hank's not that kind of man. Dad had never gotten over the fact that Hank outbid him for the Double T all those years ago. He's always wanted that spread as his own and Hank knew it."
"Uncle Hank bought the Double T fair and square."
"I know that and you know that. If my father wasn't so stubborn, he'd probably see that, too. But after all these years, I doubt that will ever happen. It would have been a lot better if ol' man Barrows hadn't promised he'd sell the land to dad before he died. Once the family and lawyers got hold of the estate, none of that mattered."
"Then why did Hank ask you to come back when he knows..."
"Despite what you think, I'm not the enemy. If it's good enough for Hank, why can't it be good enough for you?"
A cold cloud swiftly covered her features. "You know it's different," she answered quietly.
He glanced back at the vacant roadway ahead. "Yeah, maybe you're right. Why didn't you ever come back?"
"How do you know I didn't?"
"I've been at the Double T for three weeks now. Cowboys may not say much, but when they do, they're direct. You remember Mitch? He started working as a hand the last summer you visited the ranch."
"Vaguely. Lanky kid with freckles?"
Beau couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call him lanky, but he remembers you quite fondly and mentioned you hadn't been back. How come?"
"What do you want this time?" she asked, ignoring his question.
It was his turned to be confused. "What do you mean?"
"You must want something if you're giving up everything you love, everything you've worked so hard for, just to come back to Steerage Rock to work as a cowpoke for my uncle. Come on now, Beau. You have a shot at World Champion this year. It had to be something big."
His lips curled into a slow grin, earning him a bigger scowl from Mandy. "You keeping tabs on me?"
"Never mind. Forget I asked."
He should, Beau thought. It wasn't a good idea to be flattered she'd gone to lengths to find out how he'd been doing. And it wasn't his place to reveal to her the real reason he'd come home from the circuit. Even if it was only for a short time. But something deep inside told him he'd be repeating the mistakes of the past if he didn't at least warn her. He'd kept his mouth shut eight years ago because it had been the right thing to do. This was different. This time they were talking about Hank's life.
"What made you come back after all this time?" he asked, figuring if there was even the slightest chance she knew something, he could unload the rest. After all, she'd come running, too.
"Mom said uncle Hank hasn't been himself. It's been a while since I've come out for a visit. She thought it would help lift his spirits some. Although I can't imagine how."
"I think she's right."
Mandy stared at him for a long moment, much like she used to do years ago when she was deciding whether to tell him a secret or keep it to herself. Back then, she'd always end up climbing right across the cab, turning his head and kissing him right while he was driving. He'd end up swerving across the road recklessly until his heart stopped pounding and she settled next to him in the middle of the seat.
His heart pumped furiously now just with the memory, and he felt himself grow hard. Those were foolishly wild times for them when all he cared about was having Mandy Morgan in his arms as he rode from one local rodeo to the next. Recklessly passionate times they'd shared.
But this time, she wasn't climbing across the seat to saddle up next to him. This time Mandy just stared with suspicion flooding her expression. Her voice was grave as she spoke. "What aren't you telling me, Beau Gentry?"
He hesitated. In a few hours, she was going to hear the truth anyway. What did it matter if he was the one to tell her? The least he could do was warn her. Give her time to come to grips before she saw her uncle.
"It's Hank's heart," he said quickly.
The small gasp that escaped her lips had his chest constricting. He longed to reach across the seat and touch her. To give her an ounce of comfort for the fear she must be feeling. But he knew comfort from him was probably the last thing she'd accept.
"Hank's always been healthy as a horse."
"I know."
"H-how bad?"
He swallowed as he glanced at her. Her eyes had filled with moisture, but her tears remained unshed. "He needs surgery very soon or he won't make it."
"Oh, God." She buried her face in her hands. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Why didn't Uncle Hank or Aunt Corrine...or my mother tell me?"
"Does it matter? You know now."
"When is he going in for surgery?"
"That's just it, he's not."
"What? You just said he needed surgery or he'll...die."
"I suspect that may be why your mother urged you to come for a visit. To talk some sense into him. He has this foolish idea that he'll go when the Good Lord says it's his time. He wants nothing to do with bypass."
"But that's ridiculous. People have bypass surgery all the time and live normal, healthy lives for years afterwards. Why would he risk his life this way?"
"I'm not sure, but no matter what anyone tries to tell him, he insists he's not going under the knife. Maybe he'll listen to you."
Determination flared up in her tear-filled eyes. "You'd better believe he will. I can't believe he's being this foolish."
"I'll probably get my hide chewed out when we get back to the Double T for me telling you like this, but at least it won't be a shock when you finally get there."
The sound of the truck's tires
rolling down the highway filled the air between them. Mandy stared vacantly out the window as the breeze blew the tendrils of hair framing her face about in a wild fury.
"Have you tried talking to him?" she asked quietly after a few moments had passed.
Beau nodded. "I tell you, he's not listening to anyone."
They rode the rest of the way in silence. They didn't talk, they didn't listen to the radio, and Beau didn't whistle. Oh, he was anxious as hell all right. Just being with Mandy had him on edge, ready to jump out of his skin more than any wild bronc ever could.
But he knew Mandy needed to be with her thoughts. Needed time to come to grips with what she'd face before they made it back to the Double T. Coming home had a way of doing that to you. But then, the Double T had never really been Mandy Morgan's true home.
* * *
Mandy gazed at the long stretch of road ahead, the rolling pastures of grazing cattle, and endless fields of corn on both sides of the road. Uncle Hank was sick. Good Lord, he had the biggest heart of any man she knew and now his heart was failing him.
She should have known that. Beau Gentry shouldn't have been the one to tell her something so important.
Guilt consumed her for not staying in touch with him and Aunt Corrine more. The last time she'd seen them was when she'd graduated from college. They'd come up to Boston to attend her graduation from Boston University, but had only stayed on a day more before returning to Texas. Mandy had been anxious to get on with the graduation celebration with her friends from school before she had to go back to Philadelphia and start the job at her father's advertising firm.
Her Heart for the Asking Page 2
