The Maverick Meets His Match

by Anne Carrole

  Maybe she should put Ty in for feeding-and-watering duty. He’d said he wanted to learn the business. No better place to start. The thought brought a smile, but another moment’s consideration had her thinking better of the idea. She needed everything to go well at this first rodeo since her grandfather’s passing, and if she had to pull double duty, so be it. She hit the Print button and sat back.

  She wished life was as easy as hitting a Print button. Her whole world had been thrown off its axis today. And the guy in the office held her future, and her happiness, in his oversized hands.

  Retrieving the sheets of paper from the printer located in the copy room, Mandy stood outside of the office door ready to knock. Only she didn’t. Instead she slipped the papers under the door and walked out into the sunlight of the early evening, headed toward the barns.

  Retrieving her saddle from the tack room, Mandy walked on the gravel path toward the paddock where Willow, her favorite riding horse, and some of her best broncs peacefully grazed. A horseback ride would be the best momentary antidote to that unnerving provision and the news that Ty would be running PRC for the foreseeable future.

  Looking out over the acres of dusky-green plains toward the mountains that stood sentinel in all their purple glory against a peacock-blue sky, she was grateful that at least the ranch wasn’t in Ty’s clutches.

  Why had JM drawn up such a preposterous will?

  JM had already named Ty acting president before his death, which assured Ty could temporarily run the company, so it wasn’t for business reasons. And if her grandfather was so concerned about her ability to lead the company, why had he proposed something that would have handed over the firm after only six months?

  Matchmaker. Had her grandfather harbored hopes of her and Ty being together? Had he learned about that summer when she had been seventeen and Ty nineteen, and she’d practically begged Ty to make love to her—and he’d walked away. Even now, that memory singed her cheeks with humiliation.

  She’d been young, still feeling the loss of her father, and vulnerable. And Ty had been confident, smart, and ready to accomplish all the things she hoped to do. He’d also captured much of her grandfather’s time and attention during that summer. Looking back, she recognized she’d been desperate for someone to notice, to care.

  Still, those seeds planted a decade ago had run deep, because, try as she might, she’d never been able to ignore Ty’s appeal, at least his physical appeal, despite the rumors of his less-than-generous business practices and playboy lifestyle. Even today, of all days, her pulse had raced in his presence. She could say it was because she’d been angry at him, but that wasn’t the whole truth.

  “Mandy,” a sharp, low voice called from behind her. “Where are you going?”

  She swung around as a fistful of irritation punched her stomach.

  Ty strode toward her clutching the sheaf of papers. Still in black dress pants and white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he looked as out of place as a sleek Rolls-Royce at a NASCAR race. So how come her heart took an extra beat as she watched his long legs close the distance between them? “I need to go over the Greenville Rodeo plans with you.”

  “You have the reports.”

  Without the cowboy hat, Ty looked like a corporate CEO. Something she shouldn’t find appealing at all, so why was her whole body tingling?

  “I have questions.”

  “I’m going for a ride.” The five o’clock shadow on his face gave him a bad-boy appearance. She’d always had a soft spot for bad boys.

  “Fine, I’ll ride with you.”

  “Alone.” No way did she want to share any more air with Ty than was absolutely necessary.

  Ty placed his hands on his hips and looked at her as if he could give her a spanking. “It may be past five o’clock, but we either talk in the office or on horseback. But we talk now.”

  A half-hour later, mounted on Willow, Mandy headed due west toward the mountains at a leisurely pace at odds with her churning insides. Ty rode alongside her on one of the parade horses, since the remuda of working ranch horses were either earning their keep on the range or grazing in one of the northern pastures. The ranch horses were kept separate from the rodeo parade horses since the former had to be trained cutting horses and the latter had to have gentle dispositions to carry riders of varying skill.

  Wheatgrass danced in the gentle breeze that blew off the mountains and swished against the legs of the horses. Mandy resisted the temptation to nudge Willow into a gallop, knowing Ty’s gentle, aging mare wouldn’t be able to keep up. Her day had already been spoiled. Might as well listen to the man.

  “You said you have questions.”

  “God, it’s beautiful out here,” Ty said, twisting in the saddle, no doubt to get the full view of nature’s vista.

  “You were raised in this county.”

  “I haven’t seen it on horseback for many years.”

  “That’s nothing to be proud of. Surprised you can still ride.”

  Ty shook his head, his ebony hair brushing against the back of his collar as a dark lock fell in sullen carelessness over his brow. Life would be a lot less complicated if he wasn’t so darn good looking.

  “I’ve been busy.”

  “Me too. And your question?”

  “Well first off, it seems like you are hauling a lot of livestock for a weekend rodeo.”

  Mandy shifted in her saddle to see if he was serious. He looked serious. “We only buck a horse or a bull twice during a weekend event. Any more and we risk the animal getting complacent and stalling in the chute. This is a popular rodeo and will draw lots of cowboys. As it is, Rustic Rodeo will be helping us out with some of their stock since they are Colorado based. JM set it up with them a while back.” If he knew anything about running a rodeo, which he clearly didn’t, he wouldn’t have had to ask.

  “Speaking of cowboys, why would we sponsor a rodeo cowboy?”

  There was only one cowboy they were sponsoring, and that was Mitch Lockhart. Her grandfather hadn’t liked it, but he’d approved it. That was before Mitch had dumped her.

  “Publicity?”

  Ty’s eyebrows arched as if he was having a hard time accepting that explanation.

  “I’ll have Karen notify him that we are ending sponsorship.” She should have done it the moment Mitch had walked out the door, but she hadn’t had time to think, with all the curveballs coming her way.

  “And I see we are going to be short a rodeo hand?”

  “Kyle Bradshaw is taking a six-week summer course and needed Fridays off. I think we can cover for him until I can find a replacement. We can usually find one of the competitors who is looking to pick up some money.”

  “Why did Kyle sign up for the course if he knew it met on Friday?”

  Ty obviously didn’t believe in providing flexibility for a valued employee. She shrugged. “He’s a good worker, and half his family works for us off and on, and he’s this year’s scholarship recipient. I made an accommodation.”

  “Without talking to me first.”

  “It was before the will was read.”

  “So you didn’t expect me to be here.”

  “Exactly.”

  Ty had nudged his horse so he was riding close beside her. He looked good in the saddle, even if he was in a dress shirt and pants. At least the man wore cowboy boots, fancy ones. The mare, being well over fifteen hands, often carried the rodeo chair at an event because tall men looked good on her—Ty was no exception.

  Over the years, she’d seen Ty at fundraiser events or at the yearly scholarship awards, which he attended at JM’s invitation. He was either in a tux or dark suit, and the moment he walked into the room, her pulse sped up and she broke out in a sweat. She’d always made sure someone was with her when she greeted him, to avoid an awkward moment. Of course, he usually had a well-endowed woman glued to his side.

  There may be no accounting for biology, but marry him?

  She’d told herself she’d do anythi
ng to get back her company. That was before she knew what “anything” was. How could she consider marrying him knowing how her body sparked in his presence and the extent of his deceitfulness? Six months. That would take them through the end of the rodeo season and into the fall, where things slowed considerably as they geared up for the National Rodeo Finals in December, the biggest event of all. If she agreed to such a crazy stipulation, she’d be free of Ty and the threat of a sale right before the NRF. But was that enough incentive to put herself through the torture of living with a man she despised—and her body craved?

  “Guess there was a lot in that will that came as a surprise,” he said, breaking into her thoughts as an animal, no doubt a prairie dog, skittered in the grass.

  No sense denying it. By virtue of that will, her grandfather was the third rider on the trail. “It was definitely a shocker, for me anyway.”

  “You think I knew what he was up to?” His eyebrows arched. “Marriage is not on my radar screen for any reason.” He shifted in the saddle, clearly uncomfortable with the thought. Which brought a smile to Mandy’s lips.

  “Not even for love?”

  Ty scowled and rubbed the back of his neck like he could dispel the thought. “Don’t believe in love—not the romantic kind, anyway. Marriage is like any other partnership, just with some side benefits.”

  “Sounds like you.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Well, in order to believe in love, you’d have to have feelings.” Score one for her.

  “Just because someone doesn’t show them doesn’t mean they don’t feel.”

  She turned just enough so he was in her line of sight. “Lust, Ty, doesn’t qualify as an emotion.” And score another one.

  He pulled up his horse.

  She reined Willow to a stop and twisted in her saddle to look behind her.

  For a guy who was always so controlled, a surprising amount of fire flashed in his eyes. She’d made him angry. Good. At least it qualified as a reaction from Mister Calm, Cool, and Collected.

  Turning back around, she nudged Willow into a trot and headed toward the hills. She heard the clacking of hooves behind her and knew Ty was following. The breeze whipped across her face, tangling with her hair. It felt good to ride, even with Ty in pursuit.

  Suddenly it dawned on her—they were riding toward the creek. Originating in the mountains, the rivulet cut across the western edge of the flatlands, so there was no way to avoid it and only a few places to cross it—like where she’d tried and failed to entice Ty that fateful day.

  She slowed Willow to a walk and pondered whether she should turn back. Before she could decide, Ty was beside her. He sat the saddle like he’d been born to it—because, as a rancher’s son, he had been. She wondered what had made him become a company man. Maybe he just loved the real estate game. No harm in that. She loved rodeo.

  “Let’s keep the discussion on the will,” he said, maintaining pace. “JM did give you a way to get me out of here in six months. I just want to be sure you’re dead set against it. Otherwise, I’d reconsider my stance if we could come up with a way to make it work for both of us.”

  Would he seriously contemplate marriage? To her? Impossible. Unless he had a way to circumvent the provision. After all, he was a lawyer, though he’d made his fortune on land deals, courtesy of JM’s connections.

  “Have you read it through?” She obviously hadn’t had time to take it to an attorney and wouldn’t know who to call, given Brian had always taken care of Prescott business.

  “I have.”

  “Please tell me there is an escape clause.”

  Ty shook his head, and the lock of ebony hair swished across his brow. He had thick hair that felt silky to the touch, if she remembered correctly.

  “No. Not in the sense of voiding it and still getting Prescott in six months. JM had obviously done a lot of thinking about this. Even down to the details of the prenup. If we entered into the marriage and didn’t follow every provision, the payoff is voided. We’d be back to me heading up the company for a year, at minimum.”

  “Is there nothing to be done?” Even the beauty of the mountains and the feel of the breeze against her skin couldn’t stem the hope leaking out of her.

  “It would depend upon us. If we decided to marry, all we need to be certain of is that we’d both walk after six months, because there’s nothing keeping us from divorcing after that time. We’d still get the shares. Nothing keeping us from making the marriage a real one during that time either.”

  She shifted so she could see his face. The smile he flashed brimmed with illicit promise, stopping her heart for a beat. With his dark eyes glinting in the rays of the sun streaming just over the mountains, he looked more devil than angel. A handsome devil built for sex, and just sex. The thought caused a volcano of lust to erupt inside of her, spilling its heat into her veins.

  He reined in the mare and cocked his head like he noticed the sizzling flush engulfing her. Lord, she hoped not.

  “You know we’d be good together—at least in that way. I’d even let you do the seducing…”

  The arrogance. “From what I hear, you don’t put up much of a fight with anything that wears a skirt.” Except me, ten years ago.

  He laughed as if he was pleased with her description. “Well, I don’t need that hundred acres or the ranch house, nice as it was of your grandfather to gift it to me.”

  A hawk circled overhead, silhouetted against the deep-blue sky and setting sun.

  “Don’t you have your family’s ranch anyway?” Then leave mine alone.

  “Hardly. My brother, Trace, owns that. And it’s not exactly profitable, I might add. He’d have been better off letting me develop the land before the economy tanked, small as it is.”

  “You put everything in dollars and cents, don’t you? Even your own heritage. Maybe Trace prefers scratching out a living on the homestead rather than selling off family history just to gain a buck.”

  Apparently for Ty, there wasn’t any reason to do anything but the almighty dollar. And this was who her grandfather wanted her to marry. Who her grandfather had given the keys to the company. Who her grandfather had trusted to make the decisions about Prescott’s future, including if it even had a future. And who her body wanted with frightening insistence.

  A tick appeared in his jaw. “Let’s keep things on topic, Mandy.”

  “As I see it, you take the ranch house or you take half the remaining shares. Either way, I lose. I’ll wait the year.”

  “Could be two years.” He was back to cool, implacable Ty. Caught on a breeze, the wayward lock of his hair blew across his brow. She’d love to really mess up his hair, run her fingers through it. Instead she watched as he finger combed it in place.

  “Is that the creek up ahead?” he asked as a sliver of blue came into view in the distance.

  She wondered if he even remembered that day, a day she would never forget.

  “Yup.”

  “I hadn’t realized we’d ridden so far. Race you.” With that he took off on the mare, only it was more of a lope than a gallop, given his horse didn’t often go above a trot.

  She fought the urge to ride in the opposite direction, like he’d left her that day, but then she’d be admitting to herself, and him if he remembered, that the day had mattered to her. She lightly kicked Willow into a gallop and, with the wind sounding in her ears, quickly overtook him.

  She pulled up just shy of the bank, not wanting to risk Willow’s legs to uneven ground. Water gurgled below them. The drought had taken its toll, and the stream was but a thin ribbon winding through the encroaching banks. Right now it looked barely knee deep.

  The slash of water against the brownish-green land, along with the smoky-purple of the mountains and the setting of the fiery sun in a blue sky, was a testament to Mother Nature’s handiwork. A stand of cottonwoods provided shade along the bank. And there was that large boulder jutting out into the water. Funny how she had c
ome to the exact spot.

  “I have very fond memories of this place,” Ty said, walking his mare up to stand alongside her. He leaned forward to rest his arms on the horn of his saddle.

  Could he be referring to that time? Her memory of that day was far from fond.

  “Aren’t you anxious to return to your real job rather than traipsing around ranches and rodeos? Being away even a couple of weeks, I’m guessing, is killing you. To take a leave of absence for a year must seem the equivalent of a prison sentence, regardless of whether you are doing it for the right or the wrong reasons.” She prayed her assessment was correct. She was having a hard time getting through a day. How would she get through a year?

  “I made a commitment to JM. One I take seriously and wouldn’t have made if my circumstances hadn’t allowed me to fully meet that commitment. I wouldn’t count on less than two years unless I sell the company. I’ll do what I think JM would have wanted me to do. So if you want to run Prescott in six months and keep the ranch house, seems the solution is easy.” There was that devastating smile again. “We’ll probably end up in bed together anyway, even if we don’t marry. Marriage would be in keeping with your grandfather’s wishes, is all.”

  His audacity was only equaled by the smug smile on his face. Yet she feared his prediction had more truth to it than was good for her emotional health.

  “Just so you’d get an additional fifteen percent of the company, and I’d come away without controlling interest. And what’s to say you wouldn’t sell the business within that six months’ time frame anyway. Where would I be then?” Willow stretched her neck for some grass, and Mandy gave a tug on the reins, then lightly petted Willow’s neck. The horse’s weight shifted, but Willow obeyed.

  “A very wealthy woman. But it won’t be easy, especially at this time, to find a buyer in six months, if the analysis warrants that. But I won’t lie to you. It is possible.”

  “So why would I marry you? It’s like you’re asking me to prostitute myself to save the ranch house.” Although at the moment, staring into the eyes of tall, dark, and handsome, the prospect wasn’t as insulting as it should have been.