Intimidated by the man, Mandy had visited the Terrell house only when Wilton was away. Thankfully, he was away quite often. The very definition of a crotchety old man, he seemed to prefer the company of cattle to humans, and he spent many nights in line shacks on the range.
She’d done everything she could to support Reed. When she was sixteen and Reed was twenty, Wilton had ended a particularly hostile argument by whacking Reed’s shoulder with a two-by-four. Mandy had impulsively offered to marry Reed so he could move to the neighboring Jacobs ranch.
But he’d had laughed at her and tousled her hair, telling her he loved her like a sister, not a wife, and he wouldn’t turn his back on his father ever again. And by then, he was big enough to defend himself against Wilton.
“He should have left when I did,” Caleb broke into her thoughts again, his voice brittle.
“You should have stayed,” Mandy countered, giving him her unvarnished opinion. If Caleb had been around, it would have been two against one, and Wilton would not have gotten away with so much cruelty.
Caleb’s eyes crackled like agates. “And rewarded him for killing my mother, by breaking my back for him day after day?”
“Reed saw it differently.” Mandy understood just how differently Reed had viewed the situation. And she admired him for it.
The Terrell Cattle Company had been the merging of both Wilton Terrell’s family holdings and those of his young wife, Sasha’s. After her death, through thick and thin, Reed had vowed to protect his mother’s heritage. He had plans for the ranch, for his future, ways to honor his mother’s memory.
Which made his disappearance, particularly now, even more confusing. Where was he?
“Reed was a fool,” said Caleb.
Mandy found herself taking a step forward, squaring her shoulders, hands curling into fists by her sides, her anger rising in her friend’s defense. “I love Reed.”
“I thought you said—”
“Like a brother.”
“Yeah?” Caleb scoffed, blue eyes glaring right back at her. “Why don’t you tell me what that’s like?”
His mocking tone was at odds with the trace of hurt that flashed through his eyes, and her anger immediately dissipated.
“Why did you come?” she found herself asking.
Did she dare hope Caleb had reconciliation on his mind? She’d be thrilled to see the two brothers bury the hatchet. She knew that, deep down, Reed missed his brother, and she had to believe Caleb missed Reed.
Suddenly, she remembered one of the letters she’d sorted this morning. Her heart lifted, and her chest hummed with excitement. That had to be the answer. “He was expecting you.”
“What?”
She pivoted on her heel and headed for the kitchen, bee-lining to the pile of correspondence that hadn’t yielded a single clue to Reed’s whereabouts.
Caleb’s footfalls sounded in the hallway behind her as she entered the bright, butter-yellow kitchen, with its gleaming redwood cabinets and granite countertops.
“Here it is.” She extracted a white envelope with Caleb’s name scrawled across the front. It hadn’t made sense to her at the time, but Reed must have known his brother would be here. Maybe this was the clue she needed.
She strode back across the big, bright kitchen and handed the envelope to Caleb. “Open it,” she demanded impatiently.
Caleb frowned. “I didn’t tell him I was coming.” The messages had been a cryptic “call me, we need to talk.” He hadn’t doubted for a second Reed would understand.
“Then why did he leave you a letter? It was sitting on the island when I got here this morning.” She pointed out the spot with her finger.
Caleb heaved a deep breath, hooking his thumb beneath the end of the flap and tearing open the flimsy paper.
He extracted a single, folded sheet and dropped the envelope onto the countertop next to the telephone. He unfolded the paper, staring at it for a brief moment.
Then he uttered a sharp, foul cussword.
Mandy startled, not at the word, but at the tone. Unable to control her curiosity, she looked around the paper, her head next to Caleb’s shoulder and read Reed’s large, bold handwriting. The message said: Choke on it.
She blinked and glanced up at Caleb. “I don’t understand. What does it mean?”
“It means my brother’s temper hasn’t changed one bit in the past ten years.”
“Do you know where he went?” The cryptic message didn’t help Mandy, but maybe Caleb understood.
Caleb growled at the paper. “You stupid, stupid idiot.”
“What?” Mandy demanded.
He crumpled the paper into a tight ball, emitting a cold laugh. “He doesn’t trust me. He actually thinks I’d screw my own brother.”
“Screw him how?” She’d been telling herself Reed was off on his own somewhere, reconciling what had to be conflicting emotions about losing such a difficult father. But now Caleb had her worried.
He stared down at her, blue eyes rock-hard, jaw set in an implacable line. She could almost see the debate going on inside his head.
Finally, he made a decision and spoke. “Wilton Terrell, in his infinite wisdom, has left his entire estate, including the Terrell Cattle Company, to his son…Caleb.”
Mandy braced herself on the edge of the island, her breath hitching inside her chest. “He left it to you?”
“He left it to me.”
A thousand emotions burst through her. This was colossally unfair. It was ridiculously and maliciously, reprehensibly… Reed had given his blood, sweat and tears to this place, and now Caleb was simply going to ride in and take over?
Her voice was breathless with disgust. “How could you?”
“How could I—” He gave a snort of derision. “Wilton did it.”
“But you’re the one who benefited.”
“I’m here to give it back, Mandy. But thank you for the faith in my character. Your low opinion of me is matched only by my idiot brother’s.”
“You’re going to give it back?” She couldn’t keep the skepticism from her tone. Caleb was simply going to walk away from a ranch worth tens of millions of dollars?
“I live in Chicago now. Why in the hell would I want to come back to a place I hated, that holds nothing but bitter memories? And he’s my brother. We hate each other, but we don’t hate each other.”
Judging by his affronted expression and the passion in his tone, Caleb truly was going to do the honorable thing. But Reed must have been as skeptical as Mandy. The anger in the note was plain as day, and he’d obviously hightailed it out of there before he had to watch his brother come in and take over.
Fresh worry percolated to life inside her. “We have to find him. We have to explain and bring him home.”
“He’s not a lost puppy.”
“He’s your brother.”
Caleb seemed singularly unmoved. “What exactly does that mean?”
His brother’s house was the last place Caleb wanted to be. He didn’t want to eat in this kitchen or sit in that living room, and he definitely had no desire to go upstairs and sleep in his old bedroom.
He’d had enough déjà vu already.
The kitchen might as well have been frozen in time. A spider plant sat in the middle of the island, serving utensils upside down in a white container next to the stove, a bulletin board above the phone, a fruit bowl under the light switch and the coffeemaker beneath the built-in microwave.
He knew the sugar would be on the third shelf of the pantry, the milk in the door of the stainless-steel refrigerator and the coffee beans on the second shelf in the pantry next to the dining room. He’d kill for a cup of coffee, but there was no way he was making himself at home.
Mandy, on the other hand, seemed to feel completely at home. She’d perched herself on one of the high, black-cushioned chairs at the center island, one booted foot propped on the cross piece, one swinging in a small arc as she dialed her phone.
“Are you here often?�
� He couldn’t help asking. He didn’t remember anyone ever looking relaxed in this house.
She raised her phone to her ear and gave a small, wry smile. “Only when your father was away. Reed and I used to drink cheap wine and play poker.”
“Just the two of you?” Caleb arched a brow. He didn’t yet have a handle on the relationship between his brother and Mandy.
She raked her loose hair back from her forehead. “I told you I wasn’t sleeping with him.” She left a deliberate pause. “When I stayed over, I slept in your bed. Oh, hey, Seth,” she said into the phone.
Absurdly rattled by her taunt, Caleb withdrew into the living room to clear his head. This trip was not going even remotely as he’d planned.
It was two hours to the Lyndon airport. He could drive there and fly back to Chicago tonight. Or he could get a hotel room in Lyndon. Or he could stay here and figure out what on earth to do next.
His gaze strayed to the staircase at the opposite end of the living room. His old bedroom was up there. Where, apparently, Mandy had been sleeping. Of course, she could have been lying about that, simply amusing herself by messing with his head.
Then again, even if she had slept in his bed, why should he care? He didn’t. The woman could sleep wherever she wanted.
Her footfalls sounded on the kitchen tiles. Seconds later, she strode through the archway between the kitchen and the living room, tucking her phone into the front pocket of her jeans. “Seth’s going to send a couple of hands.”
“Send them where?”
She did a double take. “Here, of course.”
“Why?”
“To help you out.”
“I didn’t ask for help.” Caleb didn’t mean to sound ungrateful, but he didn’t need Mandy waltzing in and making decisions for him. He didn’t know what happened next, but he knew he’d be the guy calling the shots.
She blinked. “I know. I did it as a favor.”
“Next time, please ask permission.”
“You want me to ask for permission to do a favor?”
“I want you to ask permission to meddle in my business.”
“Meddling? You call lending you two highly qualified hands to take care of your ranch while we look for your brother meddling?”
Caleb took in the determined tilt of her chin, the squared shoulders that said she was ready for a scrap and the animated flash in her jewel-bright eyes. He decided it wasn’t the right time for a fight.
“Next time,” he told her more softly, “please ask first.”
“I wouldn’t worry about there being a next time.”
Fine. No problem. He’d dealt with everything else in his life without help.
He’d find his brother. He’d find him fast and get his life back to normal.
He couldn’t help thinking about how his financial lawyer, Danielle Marin, was going to react to him being stuck in Colorado.
Active Equipment was at a critical point in setting up a new division in South America. Danielle was wading her way through Brazil’s complicated banking and accounting regulations.
Mandy moved in closer. “What are you going to do now?”
“Find Reed.” And drag him home.
“And in the meantime? The ranch? The animals?”
“I’ll deal with it.”
A mocking lilt came into Mandy’s voice. “Sure would be nice if you had a little help.”
“Sure would be nice if you minded your own business.”
“I’m only doing my duty as a neighbor.”
“Are you going for the good-neighbor merit badge?”
She perked up. “There’s a badge?”
“Were you always this much of a smart-ass?”
“You don’t remember what I was like?”
“You were four grades behind me. I barely noticed you.”
“I thought you were hot.”
Caleb went still.
“Schoolgirl fantasy,” Mandy finished smoothly. “I didn’t know your true character back then.”
“You don’t know my true character now,” he retorted.
But her words triggered some kind of hormonal reaction deep inside him. He thought she was hot, right here, right now, right this very minute. And that was a complication this situation definitely didn’t need.
“You married?” he asked her hopefully. “Engaged?”
She wiggled her bare left hand in front of his face.
“Seeing someone?” he pressed, praying for the yes that would make him honor bound to quit thinking of her naked in his arms.
“Why do you want to know?”
“I wondered who I should pity.”
Despite the insult, their gazes locked. They flared, and then smoldered. He couldn’t seem to tamp down his unspoken desire.
“No,” she told him flatly.
“I didn’t ask you anything.” He didn’t want to kiss her. He wouldn’t want to kiss her.
She tipped her head to a challenging angle, her rich, dark hair flowing like a curtain. “I’m helping you find your brother. Don’t get any ideas.”
“I didn’t ask for your help.” What he really wanted was for her to go away and stay away so he could keep him emotions on an even keel.
“You’re getting it, anyway, neighbor.”
“There isn’t actually a badge, you know.”
“I want him back, too.”
It wasn’t that Caleb had an interest in ferrying Reed back to Lyndon Valley. He had an interest in the Terrell ranch no longer being his problem. And there was more than one way to accomplish that.
“I could sell the place,” he pointed out.
She stiffened, drawing back in obvious astonishment. “You wouldn’t.”
“I could.”
“I won’t let you.”
The threat was laughable. “How’re you going to stop me?”
She lifted her chin. “I’ll appeal to your honor and principles.”
“Fresh out,” he told her honestly, his desire for her starting a slow burn in his body. There was certainly no honor in lusting after his brother’s neighbor.
She shook her head in denial, the tip of her tongue touching her bottom lip. “You’re here, aren’t you? You came all the way out here to give the ranch back to Reed. You can’t undo all those good intentions because you’ve been slowed down by a day or so.”
Caleb hesitated. The faster the better as far as he was concerned. “You think we can find him in a day or so?”
“Sure,” she said with breezy conviction. “How hard can it be?”
Caleb wasn’t touching that one.
But the flash in her eyes told him she’d heard the double-entendre as clearly as he did. She held up a warning finger. “I told you not to get any ideas.”
“You have a vivid imagination.”
“And you have a transparent expression. Don’t ever play poker.”
“Well, not with you.”
“So, you admit I’m right?” Her expression held a hint of triumph.
“I can control myself if you can.”
“There’s nothing for me to control.”
“You think I’m hot,” he reminded her.
“When I was thirteen and underage.”
“You’re not underage now.”
She pointed to him and then back to herself. “You and me, Caleb.”
Sensual anticipation shot through his chest.
But she wasn’t finished speaking. “Are going to find your brother, give him back his ranch and then go our respective ways.”
Caleb squelched his ridiculous disappointment. What had he expected her to say?
Two
Having escaped to the Terrell’s front porch and perched herself on the railing, Mandy tried not to think about the sensual awareness that flared inside her every time Caleb spoke.
And when he’d hugged her.
Hoo boy. She fanned herself with her white Stetson, remembering the tingling sensation that flowed across her skin and the glow that
had warmed the pit of her stomach as he’d pressed his body against hers. Though the brothers were twins, she’d never felt anything remotely like that in a hug from Reed.
She heard the sound she’d been waiting for and saw a Jacobs ranch pickup truck careen up the driveway. She stuffed the hat back on her head as the truck caught air on the last pothole before spraying gravel while it spun in the turnaround and rocked to a halt. Two Jacobs ranch hands exited the passenger side, giving her a wave as they headed for the barn, while her brother Travis emerged from the driver’s, anchoring his worn hat on his head and striding toward her.
“And?” Travis demanded as he approached, brows going up.
Mandy jabbed her thumb toward the front doorway just as Caleb filled the frame.
At six-two, with long legs, all lanky muscle, Travis easily took the stairs two at a time.
“Came to see for myself,” he told Caleb, looking him up and down before offering his hand.
Caleb stepped outside and shook it, while Mandy slid off the rail, her boot heels clunking down on the porch.
“Good to see you, Travis,” Caleb offered in a steady voice.
“Figured Seth had to be lying,” said Travis, shoulders square, gaze assessing. “But here you are. A little uptight and overgroomed, but at least you didn’t go soft on us.”
“You were expecting a pot belly and a double chin?”
“And a pasty-white complexion.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
Travis shrugged. “What brought you back?”
Caleb’s gaze slid to Mandy.
Travis glanced between them. “What?”
Caleb hesitated, obviously debating whether or not to reveal the information about the will.
“Travis can keep a secret,” Mandy offered, moving toward them. Her family would be in a better position to help Caleb if he’d be honest with them.
Travis tipped his chin to a challenging angle, confronting Caleb. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Caleb stated levelly. “I’m solving a problem, not creating one. But I remember gossip spreading like wildfire around here.”
“Welcome home,” Mandy put in, struggling to keep the sarcasm from her voice.
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