Finding His Heart (Cottonwood Ranch Book 4)

by Jaclyn Hardy

  “So, how’d you talk him into letting you come, then?”

  “Wasn’t his choice. The FFA chapter asked me to go and I said yes.” Thomas leaned back so the waiter could put their food on the table. “Thank you.”

  Mandy breathed in the rich aroma of the lasagna. “Man. I hope this tastes as good as it smells.”

  Thomas took a bite of his gnocchi and groaned. “This is perfection.”

  “Yes, yes it is.” Mandy wanted to call the cab driver just to thank him for giving her this recommendation.

  It was dark by the time they finished dinner, which meant no more sight-seeing for Mandy. She handed the cashier her card to pay and folded her napkin.

  Thomas stretched. “By the noise outside the restaurant, I’m thinking I’d better get going. Thank you for letting me keep you company.”

  “Thank you for saving me.” Mandy stood. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”

  He pulled her into a hug. “I sure hope so.”

  Mandy enjoyed the closeness to him, but it was gone too soon. She cleared her throat and grabbed her things to force herself not to think about the way his arms felt around her. “See ya, Thomas.”

  He grinned and waved as he left the restaurant to the sound of catcalls and laughter from his group who stood outside. Mandy waited for her card, then walked outside to flag down a taxi. Mandy replayed the conversations in her head as she traveled back to her hotel. Why was it that she could have any guy she wanted in New York City, and yet her mind and heart kept going back to a little patch of sagebrush covered land in Idaho?

  Thomas still couldn’t believe he’d found Mandy in the middle of Indianapolis. He’d caught sight of her at the museum, but he couldn’t get away from his group to go find her. But then to run into her on the way to dinner . . . He grinned. Having her leave the ranch when she did had been hard. While they hadn’t really gotten involved romantically, she’d been fun to hang out with. He could confide in her more than those he called his best friends.

  And then she’d left again. He had events he had to be at with the FFA students and she was off exploring the city. Thomas had her phone number. She was just a phone call or text away. But what if seeing her last night really was just a coincidence?

  Laughter sounded right outside Thomas’s hotel room, bringing him back to the present. The kids would be getting antsy and it was about time to leave anyway. Thomas slipped his phone into his jacket pocket and opened the door.

  “You guys are going to wake up the entire city.” Thomas started down the hallway and the others hurried to catch up. “Where’s Mr. Hunter?”

  “He already ate and headed out to the bus. he said you have to get your breakfast and get out or you’ll be stuck here.” Eric was the FFA president and the closest in age to Thomas.

  Thomas nodded. “You guys go out to the bus. I’ll be there as soon as I have my food.”

  The dining room was packed with other hotel patrons and picking up some food wasn’t quite as fast as he would have liked. When the line stood in one spot waiting for someone to finish making their mini waffles, Thomas left the group and grabbed a few bagels and some hot chocolate. He’d have to get up earlier if he wanted a hot breakfast. He chuckled to himself. He’d learned that from living on the ranch.

  As soon as he found a seat on the bus, the driver pulled out onto the road. Mr. Hunter hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to leave. Thomas slathered cream cheese on his bagel and ate while they drove to the convention center where the event would take place. He’d been away from the big city for long enough that he wasn’t used to the traffic. This was one big reason his little piece of sagebrush-covered land felt like heaven to him. No traffic, few people, and he could be his own person. Not what his high society parents wanted him to be.

  “Earth to Thomas.” Eric tapped on Thomas’s head. “I asked you a question.”

  Thomas blinked. “Sorry. What did you say?”

  “Who was that girl you were with last night? She looked familiar.” Eric pushed the glasses up on his nose.

  “She’s Laura’s best friend.”

  Eric’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean the one you were crushing on when they came to visit?”

  “I was not crushing.” Okay, he was, but he wasn’t about to admit it. They’d been too busy getting Laura and Justin together. “And yes, that’s her.”

  “You were totally crushing. I heard it from the other ranch hands and from Mr. Poulton himself.” Eric leaned against the bus window. “What’s she doing here?”

  Thomas shook his head. He wasn’t going to stop the questions any time soon. “Vacation. Look, we’re here. Grab your stuff.”

  He’d never been so happy to see the large sea of blue jackets as they pulled up to the curb. With all the excitement, maybe Eric would forget to ask more questions. Thomas did a quick headcount to make sure everyone was there and then climbed off the bus.

  “Cutting it close today, Thomas.” Mr. Hunter shot him a smirk and turned back to the group. “I want everyone staying together. It’s a madhouse in there and we don’t want anyone to get lost. Got it?”

  Several of the kids had already shoved earbuds in their ears and were listening to music. Thomas sighed and walked through the group, pulling the headphones out of their ears. Grumbles followed him, but he didn’t care. Losing one of the kids meant more work for him and he wasn’t about to let that happen.

  “I think you should repeat the rules again, sir.” Thomas stood next to Mr. Hunter, arms folded. He made a couple of faces which caused a few snickers, but at least their attention was up where it needed to be.

  The convention center could have fit his entire town inside it. Thomas glanced at his schedule and scanned the signs for the different areas. There were several competitions that morning and he had to make sure the students got to the right ones.

  “Eric, Adam, Hannah, and Hailey, your group is with Thomas. The rest of you are with me.” Mr. Hunter turned and walked toward one end of the center.

  “Let’s do this thing.” Thomas straightened his jacket. “I hope you guys know what you’re doing because I don’t.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “Great pep talk.”

  “Thanks. I worked hard on it.” Thomas grinned and looked for the right area of the convention center. The text to Mandy would have to wait. It was time for him to be a leader, and that would take all his concentration.

  Thomas cheered and walked up to the front to meet his group. He’d never been prouder. The differences in the soil were minor enough that he barely caught them, but they’d gotten everything correct. He waited for them to shake hands with the other teams and then clapped Eric on the back.

  “You guys did awesome.”

  “Thanks. Those last two had me a little worried.” Eric picked up his backpack. “What’s next?”

  Thomas checked the schedule. “Looks like we have some free time. We can go watch the others compete, go take a class, or roam the vendor floor.”

  “Vendor floor,” the girls said in unison.

  Adam shrugged. “I don’t care. I kinda wanted to attend the class on greenhouses.”

  Thomas glanced between them. He couldn’t really let them split up. “What time is the class?”

  “It’s right now.” Adam showed him on the schedule.

  “How about we go to that first and then we can check out the floor?” Eric asked.

  Thomas nodded. “Let’s do that. I could use some of those tips anyway.”

  They sat in the back of the class and Thomas pulled out his phone to take some notes. It would take a while to get his ranch up and going but with a greenhouse, he could at least get started on a few things.

  In the middle of the lecture on choosing the right type of glass for the windows, Thomas had a text pop up. He frowned at the number he didn’t recognize and switched over to see who it was from.

  If one were to sneak into an FFA convention, where would that one find their friends?

  Odd. Tho
mas copied the phone number and pasted it into his browser to figure out who it was. It was the same area code as his parents’, but that wouldn’t make sense.

  Hello? I’m standing inside the convention center and the guards are starting to wonder why I haven’t moved.

  Mandy? He glanced around to see if anyone was watching, but they were all staring down at their phones. He leaned over to Eric. “I’ll be right back. Don’t let any of the group leave until I get back, got it?”

  Eric raised an eyebrow. “Uh, sure.”

  Thomas stood and scooted past several rather annoyed teachers and students and hurried out to the hall. As soon as he had the door closed, he dialed the number.

  “Thomas? Where are you?” Mandy’s voice was muted. “Please don’t tell me you already left.”

  “I’m here. Head to room 148. That’s where we are. I’ll walk to meet you.”

  “Don’t you have kids to watch?” Mandy’s voice was muffled by music and voices in the background.

  Thomas grimaced. This was the second time she’d caught him not with the kids. Such a great impression. “Well, yes, but they’re not five. They’re in a class.”

  “Just stay there. I’ll meet you in a sec.” Mandy ended the call.

  Indianapolis surely had more exciting things for Mandy to do than be here. But Thomas couldn’t help the giddiness he felt that she’d actually decided to come and find him. The door to the classroom opened as a few students came out, and Thomas poked his head in long enough to check on his group. The girls and Eric were scrolling their phones while Adam took notes on the class. Perfect. He turned around to find Mandy a few yards away.

  “Hey, Mandy.” He took in her plaid skirt, white leggings and baggy sweater. Her long auburn hair flowed behind her as she walked toward him with a grin on her face. Her bright red lipstick accented her perfect lips and Thomas could feel his cheeks burning.

  “There you are.” Mandy readjusted her bag. “This place is massive.”

  Thomas laughed. “Yeah, I’m a little out of my comfort zone right now.”

  “So, your group is in there?” Mandy pointed to the door behind him.

  “Yep. Learning about greenhouses.” Thomas moved to open the door just as it opened.

  Mandy and Thomas had to jump out of the way as teachers and students poured out of the room on their way to the next event. Thomas waited for his group to come out, but when they didn’t, he stepped inside. They sat right where he left them talking quietly.

  Eric looked up and grinned. “I figured it was something like that.”

  “No, you didn’t.” Thomas gestured to Mandy. “Hey, guys. This is Mandy. She’s going to tag along for a bit.”

  Mandy waved. “Hey.”

  “Do I know you?” Hannah tipped her head to the side. “You look familiar.”

  “Maybe. I’ve visited Cottonwood Ranch a few times and I head into town when I’m there.”

  Hannah lit up. “Right. I remember seeing you at the pool a few times. I’m a lifeguard there. I’m Hannah. This is Hailey, Adam, and Eric.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Mandy glanced up at Thomas. “So, where are we headed next?”

  “Well, they have a little bit before the next competition so we’re headed down to the vendor floor to let them shop.” Thomas gestured to the large halls. He’d heard about this place from Justin. While they’d both been working on the ranch by that time, Justin took it more seriously than Thomas had, and he’d thrown himself into FFA and a few other groups.

  Thomas let the kids go ahead a little bit so he could see them, but he could still have a little privacy. “Nothing to see in the city today?”

  Mandy shrugged. “Not really. I mean, there are some pretty cool things, but the ones I want to see are booked for groups so I couldn’t get in. The only other thing I could think of doing was going to a movie and I can do that any time. Too bad I stick out like a sore thumb.”

  “We’ll take care of that. Won’t we ladies?” Thomas looked over at Hannah and Hailey who’d stopped at a vendor booth full of FFA items.

  “What were you thinking?” Hailey asked, holding up an FFA jacket. “Something like this?”

  Mandy made a face. “Not that one. Do they have something a little more fitted?”

  Hannah picked up a skirt, tights, and a different jacket. “Here. You can do this one instead. I like the pants better, but whatever.”

  “These are perfect.” Mandy grabbed a few bracelets and headbands and handed the vendor a credit card. “Okay, I’m going to go change. Where can I meet you?”

  Thomas looked for a good meeting place. “We can just—”

  “We’ll come with you.” Hannah dragged her away and Hailey jogged after her.

  “Did you just let those two loose on your girlfriend? Because I think that was a very bad idea.” Eric shook his head.

  “I don’t know. I think they’ll be fine.” Thomas glanced through the map in his program. “This floor is going to take all three days to go through.”

  Adam shook his head. “You don’t go through all of it. You just find the ones you want and head straight there. We learned that the first year.”

  Thomas put his program away. “All right. I guess I’ll let you guys lead the way. But we only have an hour before your next event.”

  “Let who lead the way?” Mandy’s voice came from behind them.

  The girls had gone all out. Mandy had gone from a city girl to a future farm girl in just a few minutes. She turned to show off her outfit. “I think I’m going to wear this to my next board meeting. It’s way more comfortable than my other suits.”

  “Yes, I’m sure that will fit in with your high-end fashion job.” Thomas chuckled. “It looks great on you though.”

  “Why, thank you.” She curtsied. “Okay, where do we start?”

  All of the kids pointed in a different direction and mentioned a booth they wanted to see. Mandy looked over at Thomas and raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah . . . we don’t have time to do all that. How about you all pick the same thing?” Thomas checked his watch again. They were running out of time.

  “Maybe we could split up?” Mandy suggested. “I could take the girls, and you could take the guys, and then we could meet back here. What time is your next thing?”

  “In an hour. And the booths they want to see are on completely opposite sides of the floor.” Thomas perked up. “I know. You have to practice for your debate anyway. You each have two minutes to tell us why we should go to the booth you want to visit. I’ll give you thirty seconds to plan. Ready? Go.”

  Mandy’s eyebrows raised but she said nothing as they pulled out their phones and typed. When they kept going, she shrugged and pulled out her own phone to type something.

  Thomas waited until there were ten seconds left and then counted down. “. . . three, two, one. Eric, you go first.”

  “While I need to shop at some point for my family’s souvenirs, I want to check out the colleges first. I’m interested in welding as a career, and I feel it would be beneficial to learn about the opportunities that I have once I graduate.” He continued until he hit the two-minute mark, then put his phone back in his pocket.

  “Impressive. I know a certain rancher that could use a welder for a few projects if you need something to do this summer.” Thomas turned to Hailey. “Go.”

  “I do want to go over to the shopping side and not just so I can shop. I want to bring tech and clothing together so that I can help the western clothing industry provide quality clothing for cheaper prices, while also making sure that we protect animals from being tested on with those products.” Her argument pointed out specific companies she wanted to talk to and how she would help them improve.

  Thomas blinked. “I need to have you talk to my mom about some of these ideas. She’d love them. Adam?”

  “I want to help bring farmers and tech together by making sure that the farmers actually know how to use the technology available so that their farming
can be more efficient. There are several companies that I would like to talk to because I’ve heard about their internship opportunities. If I can get a job with one of them, I could get scholarships through them to go to school.”

  By the time Hannah was done with her argument on helping women find their voice in a career mostly made up of males, Thomas was grinning. These kids were ready. Their thoughts were concise, and they’d even had a few examples to back up their arguments.

  He turned to Mandy. “Okay, who do you think wins the debate?”

  Mandy held up her phone. “What about my argument?”

  “You want to play too? All right. Let’s hear yours.”

  “Each of these options are perfect in every way and I believe they should all have their chance to visit their booths. However, time is a large factor in the decision, and I believe that instead of rushing through any of those fabulous ideas, we should just go get some gelato at the concession stand I saw as we were walking in here.” Mandy smiled and shoved her phone in her bag.

  Thomas laughed. That was not at all what he was expecting, but she did have a point. He turned to the others. “What do you think, guys?”

  “Ice cream!”

  Mandy bowed. “That’s what I thought. Let’s go.”

  They pushed through the crowds until they were back to the lobby. One of the competitions had to have just let out because it was packed with students. Thomas took Mandy’s hand so 3he wouldn’t lose her and then made sure the others were close. It was a relief when they were finally past the mass of people.

  The gelato stand had just a few people in line, but at this time of day, it wouldn’t stay slow for long. Thomas sped up and stepped in line with the others right behind him. It took a moment and a few giggles from Hannah and Hailey to realize that he hadn’t let go of Mandy’s hand yet. He dropped it and concentrated on the flavors of gelato, hoping his face wasn’t red yet again.

  Thomas ordered the raspberry cheesecake gelato and Mandy got strawberry. He handed the cashier his card before she could pay and smiled when she huffed in annoyance. He’d learned the hard way that she liked to pay for herself. He just insisted because of how adorable she looked when she was indignant.