Finding His Heart (Cottonwood Ranch Book 4)

by Jaclyn Hardy

  The hotel was full with the Thanksgiving crowd, and it took a bit to finally find Rachel. She was busy talking to one of the chefs, but turned as soon as she saw Mandy. “Hey, I heard Laura had her baby.”

  Mandy laughed. “News really does travel fast here, doesn’t it?”

  “Well, Thomas had to call in to say they wouldn’t be there, so my mom was pretty excited.”

  “Figures. It’s not just that, though. Do you know who would have said something about my clothing store?” She said the last few words in a whisper, and the hurt she’d been hiding rose to the surface.

  Rachel shook her head. “No, why?”

  “It’s nothing, really. There were just a couple of women who said some not-so-nice things as they passed by the lot this morning.” Mandy sighed. “I knew it was going to be difficult fitting in, but I didn’t think it would start before I was even settled.”

  Rachel put a hand on Mandy’s shoulder. “There will always be people who don’t know when to say nice things. I think it’s great when you’re planning to do. It provides another place for the teens in the town to work.”

  “Thanks.” Mandy forced a smile. “You’re right. Want to see pictures?”

  “Sure.” Rachel took Mandy’s phone from her and flipped through them. “These are amazing. Did you come up with the plan yourself?”

  Mandy blushed. “Yeah. I’m not exactly an architect, so I had to have help with some of it, but it’s my basic idea.”

  Rachel spread her arms out to indicate the hotel. “That’s what I did with this hotel. It was a rundown mansion that hadn’t been used in years. I planned out all of the rooms and everything. When Patrick came along, we tweaked it together to make it work for business meetings as well.”

  “Wow. I had no idea. I mean, I knew it was an old mansion, but I didn’t know you were the one who designed it.”

  “Yep.” Rachel handed back her phone. “I’d better get back to work. Your bags are downstairs. I’ll have Patrick grab them.”

  “Thanks.” Mandy remembered her conversation with Thomas. “Oh, hey, could we do Thanksgiving dinner here? It would just be the Thomas and me.”

  Rachel pulled out a notebook and wrote down their names. “Got it. You two don’t want to just do it at your new house?”

  Mandy blushed at the thought of her almost-proposal from Thomas. “No, we decided here would be good. I don’t know if all my stuff will be here by then and I’ll still be unpacking. It’ll just be easier.”

  “That’s a good point. I’ll see you on Thanksgiving then.” Rachel motioned for Patrick to come over. “Hey, will you grab her bags? They’re in the storage room.”

  “Got it.” Patrick opened the storage room door and disappeared down the stairs. A minute later, he was back up holding two large bags. “Is this all?”

  “Yep. I got the rest. Thank you.” Mandy put a bag on each shoulder and took them out to the car. She couldn’t wait to have everything unpacked so she could figure out where everything was. She’d been in such a hurry to get out of New York, that she just shoved things into bags and went.

  The sun was out as she drove back into town, but the air was still cool. The first thing she would need to find when she unpacked was her warm winter coat. She’d need it sooner than she’d thought she would.

  A moving van sat outside the house when Mandy arrived. It was too soon for it to be her stuff, and the license plates were local. She left her bags in the car and went to find out what was going on.

  Three men stood in the doorway talking to Esther. They turned when Mandy walked inside and one of them came forward to shake her hand.

  “You must be Mandy?” His handshake was firm, and while he smiled, his eyes bored into her.

  “Yes. And you are?”

  Esther came forward and swatted at the man. “Oh, don’t mind him. This is my oldest son, Peter. He doesn’t like that I’m selling the place. Even though he hasn’t been back in five years. And this is William and Eric, my other two sons. Isn’t it wonderful?”

  “We’d like to see the lease that you signed for the house.” Peter folded his arms and glared down at her.”

  Mandy stood up as tall as her five-foot-five-inch self could stand. “Look, I get that you like this place, but you left your mom behind and she did the best she could. It’s her choice. I’ll get you the paperwork, but I refuse to allow you to bully me in what will be my house.”

  Peter stepped back, surprised. “Whatever. I just want to make sure everything is done correctly. I’m a lawyer. It’s my job.”

  “Right. I’m sure that’s exactly why you’re butting in.” Mandy went through her purse and pulled out the paperwork. “We both had our attorneys go through it as well as my realtor. You’ll find everything in order.”

  Peter snatched it from her and started to read. Mandy rolled her eyes and pushed past him toward the kitchen where they’d been working the day before. Everything was already packed up and ready to go.

  “We figured since you’d done most of the work, we’d better do the rest.” One of the brothers—Eric?—held out a hand. “I’m sorry. My brother means well, but he can be a—”

  “A jerk?” Mandy taped one of the open boxes. “I noticed.”

  Eric laughed. “That’s not what I was going to say, but yes. You have to understand that when we found out Mom was suddenly moving, we got suspicious. You can never be too careful these days with hackers and thieves going after the elderly.”

  Mandy softened just a little. “I get it. I just don’t like being called dishonest.”

  “I wouldn’t either.” Eric looked around. “I can’t believe this place won’t be ours much longer.”

  Mandy stopped taping. “It’s still hers technically. I’m just doing a rent to own for now. Getting back on my feet.”

  Eric raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

  “Yep.” Mandy taped the last box. “So, did you guys just come to help her move? Because it’s already done.”

  “Well, yes. But it happened to work with schedules to come for Thanksgiving. Our families are all in Twin while we get Mom settled.”

  “You do know that there’s a hotel closer, right?”

  Eric shrugged. “Burley’s nice and all, but we prefer Twin Falls because it’s closer to the airport.”

  “No, I mean one here. In Cottonwood. It’s the old mansion out there by Cottonwood Ranch. It’s a hotel.”

  “That old rundown place?” William stood in the doorway and smirked. “No thanks.”

  Mandy glanced between the brothers. “Wow. You really haven’t been here recently, have you? Maybe you should check it out on your way back to Twin Falls. Which will be when exactly?”

  Peter handed her the papers. “Everything looks good. We’ll get the last of her stuff and get out of here.”

  “Thank you.” Mandy caught Esther’s eye in the hallway. The poor woman’s normally cheery demeanor was missing. “Esther? Are you okay?”

  “Oh, sorry, dear. Yes, everything is fine. I’m just going to be sad to leave here. I guess it just hit me that it’s going to be today.”

  Mandy hugged her. “You know you can come back and have tea with me whenever you’d like. We can listen to some of your old records.”

  “That would be wonderful.” Esther patted her face and turned to Eric. “I’m afraid I’ve worn myself out. Would you take me to my new place now? I need to rest.”

  “Of course, Mom.” Eric turned to his brothers. “You guys finish with the van and I’ll be right back.”

  They nodded and got to work while Mandy went out to her car to grab her bags. She knew exactly which room she wanted as hers, and she couldn’t wait to get started on it. Instead of worrying about packing things for Esther, she had the whole day to unpack her own things.

  The boxes of clothes sat in one corner of a spare bedroom upstairs and they’d stay there until the shop opened. That’s where she would create more clothes until she had other space. After that, she’d use it
for a guest room for Emily or her parents or whoever came to visit.

  Her bedroom was just off the kitchen and connected to the one bathroom downstairs. It wasn’t ideal for when company came, but it was great otherwise. It was bigger than she’d thought it would be for the size of the house. Her queen would fit in just fine with the rest of her furniture. She hoped. Otherwise, she’d just sell it and find something smaller.

  As soon as the moving truck pulled away, Mandy opened all the windows to let in fresh air and then pulled out some cloths she’d bought to start cleaning. Esther had kept the house clean for the most part, but there were areas that hadn’t been touched in a long time. While Mandy cleaned, she took note of things she’d need to buy before her moving truck got there. Esther had left all of the appliances, but Mandy would need food to fill the fridge, curtains for some of the windows—Esther left what she wouldn’t need at the rest home—and something to sleep on until her bed got there.

  When the house got too cold from the open windows, Mandy shut them all and closed the curtains that were left. She was surprised to see that the sun had already started going down. She’d been cleaning longer than she’d thought. Thomas would be there soon.

  There was no way she would let Thomas see her with sweat pouring down her face, so she dug through her bags until she found soap and shampoo. She sent a quick text to let Thomas know where she was and that she’d be ready in about an hour and then turned on the clawfoot tub to take a nice, hot bath.

  This was heaven, right here. She closed her eyes and relaxed. All of the worry from the time she left New York City slowly melted away. There were still things that had to fall into place, but for now, she could just enjoy.

  It wasn’t until she heard a knock at the door that she remembered Thomas was coming and she wasn’t even close to ready.

  Thomas stood on the doorstep of Mandy’s new house holding flowers for her. He checked his phone again to make sure that he’d gotten the right time when another text came in.

  Sorry! Coming! I’d offer to have you come inside and sit down but I have no couches. Be right there.

  Thomas chuckled and leaned against the railing on the porch. He knew all too well what it was like to get lost in work. He’d done the same thing and was relieved when she said she’d be later than they’d planned.

  A few minutes later, Mandy opened the door and Thomas just stood there. She was dressed in a long-sleeved dress that hugged her curves. Her hair was pulled up and her makeup was light.

  “Sorry again. I lost track of time.” Mandy pulled on a pair of designer boots and grabbed a thick fur coat. “Ready?”

  “You’re already moved in?” Thomas asked in surprise.

  Mandy grabbed her keys. “Sort of. I have everything except a couple of things from Laura’s house. Esther’s boys came and helped move the rest of her stuff out of here.”

  Thomas hadn’t ever met them, but he’d heard stories of how they’d been wild in high school and then went on to be successful businessmen. They just didn’t care to come home and visit their mom.

  “That’s great. When is the rest of your stuff supposed to get here?” Thomas pulled the door shut behind her and they walked to the truck.

  “That’s a good question. I’ll have to call in the morning.” Mandy climbed in.

  Thomas drove them to the small diner in town. He waved at Jamie, the woman who owned the diner. She came over, grinning.

  “Hey, it’s Mandy, right? I haven’t seen you here for a while.” Jamie handed them their menus.

  “But you’ll be seeing a lot of her now.” Thomas put an arm around Mandy. “She just moved here from New York.”

  Jamie glanced between. “Wait. Are you the one who’s opening the clothing shop?”

  “Yes.” Mandy turned to Thomas. “Seriously. How does everyone know that?”

  “I gave up trying to figure that out a long time ago.” Thomas took a seat near the back of the diner and opened the menu.

  Mandy put a hand on his menu. “No. I really want to know. Who’s been telling people about my store?”

  Thomas shook his head. “I don’t know. I really don’t. Rachel would never say anything, and neither would Laura or Justin. And you know I wouldn’t. Maybe it was one of the contractors working on the store?”

  “Maybe.” Mandy moved her hand and opened her own menu. She was quieter than usual after they ordered their food. “Do you think I’m crazy to open this here?”

  “No.” Thomas leaned forward. “What’s going on? Did someone say something to hurt you?”

  Mandy stared down at the menu for a moment before finally telling him what had been said that morning. It made his blood boil to know that someone could be so rude.

  “You don’t know who it was?” Thomas clenched his jaw.

  “No, I didn’t want to turn and look.” Mandy froze. “They’re here. Well, one of them is.”

  Thomas looked around the diner. There were a few families there. “Where?”

  “Behind me. I recognize her voice.”

  When Thomas saw who it was, he rolled his eyes. “Figures. She knows more gossip in this town than anyone I’ve ever met. If it was her saying those things, I wouldn’t let it get to you. It’s more than likely that she bugged the contractors until they told her everything they knew. I’ll take care of it.”

  Mandy jumped. “No. Please no. You already said it doesn’t matter.”

  “It doesn’t, but she needs to stop anyway.” Thomas was tired of the small town gossip. It was the one thing that he could live without.

  “It’s fine. Besides, I can just prove her wrong by putting this town on the map with my designs.” Mandy grinned.

  Thomas took her hand and squeezed it. “I have no doubt you’ll do exactly that.”

  Mandy dug into her biscuits and gravy and Thomas took a bite of his burger. The only one who could make a better burger than Mrs. Poulton was Jamie—but he’d never admit that to anyone. Not if he wanted to keep his job.

  When they stood to leave, Thomas tried to lead Mandy away from Sherry, but she stopped and purposely walked past. Thomas groaned inwardly. He knew where this was going. Why’d Mandy have to be such a firecracker?

  “Oh, Thomas, how nice to see you. I hear you’re building a ranch of your own out near Cottonwood Ranch.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Although the weather is making it rather difficult.” Thomas took Mandy’s hand. “We’ll see you later.”

  Sherry caught the motion and her eyes lit up. “And who is this beauty? I didn’t know you were dating someone.”

  “This is Mandy. She’s been here a few times before.” Thomas saw Mandy open her mouth and he continued. “She’s moving here from New York City.”

  “Yes, I’ll be opening up a cute little shop just down the road from here. I’m so excited.”

  Okay, that was enough. Thomas waved and steered Mandy out of the diner and to the truck. It wasn’t until both doors were shut that he finally let out the laughter that he’d been holding in the whole time.

  “Did you really have to do that?” He wiped his eyes.

  “Are you kidding? If I hadn’t, we would have missed that priceless expression when she put two and two together.” Mandy held her stomach as she laughed. “I’m sorry. It shouldn’t be this funny.”

  Thomas started the pickup. “Oh, but it was. Hopefully that will be the end of the gossip.”

  Mandy coughed out one more laugh before her face grew serious. “Do you really think it will? Or did I make it worse?”

  “I’m one of her favorite people. She tries to set me up with her nieces all the time. One glare from me and she should stay quiet.” Thomas pulled up to the house and frowned. “Were you expecting company?”

  Mandy’s eyes grew wide. “No.”

  “Do we need to call the police? Maybe we should change the locks just to be sure.” Thomas picked up his phone, but she shook her head.

  “They’re my parents.”

  The room had an ic
y cold feel to it, and there was no way that Thomas wanted to leave Mandy alone in there. But when her dad demanded that he leave so they could talk, he didn’t argue. They spoke in low voices so that Thomas wouldn’t hear, but Mandy would speak loud enough that Thomas could at least hear her side.

  “I’m sorry you came all the way here. Everything is fine.” Mandy’s voice was pleading. “Dad, you told me you were okay with this.”

  “Your father made a mistake.” Her mom’s voice carried through the house. “You will come with us tonight. We have a flight in the morning. We can ship the rest of the stuff then.”

  Mandy laughed. “I’m not sixteen anymore, Mom. I have a job—or I will once the building is done. I have friends here. I have this house. You can’t just take me away.”

  “You may not be sixteen, but you’re certainly acting like it. Charles, tell her she’s coming.”

  “Dad. Don’t.” Mandy’s voice was harder than Thomas had ever heard it.

  “Natalie, I think we need to talk about this.”

  Thomas set down the glass unicorn figurine he’d been holding and took a step toward the room. They weren’t taking her away from him. Not when he’d just gotten her back.

  “Charles.” Natalie’s voice rose.

  Thomas strode into the room and put an arm around Mandy. “She’s not leaving.”

  “Thomas it’s okay. I’ve got this.” Mandy stepped away. “I’m not leaving. I have commitments here that I can’t walk away from.”

  Charles turned toward Natalie. “She’s right, honey. She already signed contracts on the business and this house.”

  “Contracts can be broken.” Natalie stuck her chin up in the air. “Charles, bring our things in. We will stay here tonight in this . . . house and leave in the morning.”

  That was it. He had to do something. Now.

  “Wow, they really are just like my parents.” Thomas looked down at Mandy. “They’d fit right in at the Hamptons.”

  Mandy’s eyes widened. Thomas’s heart beat rapidly. It was a dangerous game he was about to play, but it was his last shot. He just hoped Mandy would go with it. Thomas noted that Natalie had paused at the door.