Hell on Heels (Hotel Rodeo #1)(23)

“Se?or Ty!” Rosa greeted him at the door with an exclamation of surprise that quickly became a look of worry. “Please, how is Se?or Tomás?”

“No worse, Rosa, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Gracias a Dios! Please come in.” She stepped back and waved him inside.

Ty doffed his hat with a murmured thanks.

“Hello, Ty.” Delaney stood as he entered.

“Delaney.” His gaze swept quickly over his ex-wife. She hadn’t changed much at all. Dressed in jeans and boots, she was still gorgeous in an understated way. “Always a pleasure.”

“You lie,” she laughed. “But at least you haven’t forgotten your good manners.”

“Can I offer you a drink, Se?or Ty?” Rosa asked. “A bourbon and Coke?”

Ty shook his head. “Just a cold beer, Rosa. Thanks.”

Delaney raised a brow. “Starting a bit early, aren’t you? It’s barely past noon.”

“Kinda early for nagging too, isn’t it?” he shot back. “But I guess old habits die hard.”

Her lips compressed.

“Lighten up, Delaney. It’s only a beer. I hardly touch the hard stuff anymore.”

It’d been weeks since he’d had a bourbon. Not since Tom’s stroke, and even then it had been simply to relieve the stress of the meeting. He was still stressed about it. What the hell was he going to do now? He had some big decisions to make—either find a way to come up with some major cash or give up the hotel and return to the ranch. Both options seemed impossible.

“What brings you home, Ty?” Delaney interrupted his thoughts.

“Rosa. Did she tell you about Tom?” Ty asked.

“Yes. She’s been worried sick since you called. I’m surprised to see you, given his condition.”

“His condition is exactly what brought me back here. He wants Rosa.”

“Me?” Rosa exclaimed, returning with an icy long-neck.

“Yeah.” Ty popped the top and took a long swig. “Tom asked me to bring you back to Vegas to help look after him. Will you come?”

“To Las Vegas?” Her brown eyes widened. “But I do not fly.”

“Tom told me already. That’s why I’m here, to drive you.”

“But the casa,” she protested. “Who will look after it?”

“We’ll just have to close it up,” Ty answered. “It’ll be fine. The ranch hands can keep an eye on things.”

“If it sets you at ease, I can always swing by now and then,” Delaney volunteered.

Rosa still looked uncertain. “He really asked for me?”

“Yes. He did. Adamantly. He misses you.”

Her expression instantly softened, confirming Ty’s suspicions that she was more than just a housekeeper. “Of course I will go,” Rosa replied.

“I know it’s short notice, but do you think you can be ready by morning? I don’t want to be away from him any longer than necessary. The doc says he’s stable, but it’s still possible that he could have another stroke.”

“Don’t even think it, Se?or Ty,” she admonished and crossed herself. “It is tempting fate. I will go and begin packing. Please excuse me, Se?ora Delaney.”

“Do you need any help?” Delaney asked.

“No, gracias. I can manage.”

Ty shoved his hands in his pockets with a sigh when Rosa left him alone with Delaney.

She sank into the brass-studded leather sofa. “You’re pacing, Ty. C’mon. Take a load off and tell me what’s on your mind.” She patted the cushion beside her.

“Nothing’s on my mind.”

“Liar. I know that look. You’re worried about Tom. Is he going to make it?”

“Dunno.” He gave a fatalistic shrug. “He’s in pretty bad shape. Paralyzed on his right side and can’t talk.”

Her hand came over her mouth. “Dear God! I’m so sorry. That’s got to be hell on a man like him.”

“It is. I can see it in his eyes.”

“So where does all this leave you?” she asked.

Ty gave a dry laugh. “That’s the fifty-million-dollar question.”

Her brows met in a frown. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t s’pose you know the circumstances surrounding all this?”

“No. Care to enlighten me?”

Ty threw himself into Tom’s leather La-Z-Boy and took another pull on his beer. “Tom and I had met about the hotel right before he collapsed at Bob Taylor’s Ranch House. He’d just agreed to my proposal to renovate. Then his daughter flies in from New York, and my life’s been a major shit storm ever since.”

Her eyes widened. “His daughter? I didn’t know he had one.”

“He didn’t either until about ten years back. She’s hell on heels, too. Thinks I caused his stroke.”

“How could she possibly come to that conclusion?”

“Because of the timing, but hopefully Tom will set her straight on that score. As to where all this leaves me . . . she wants to sell the hotel.”

“Can she?”

“She can. She has full power of attorney and no qualms about exercising it. She’s already taken the bit between her teeth.”