Hell on Heels (Hotel Rodeo #1)(24)

“You can’t fight it?”

“Why so concerned, sugar pie? You afraid I’ll come back to the ranch?”

“Well yes, actually.” She chuckled. “How long do you think we’d last before they’d be hauling one of us to jail for homicide? So what are your options?”

“She offered to sell me Tom’s interest in the place.”

“She did? How much are you looking at?”

“I don’t know exactly, but my best estimate is somewhere in the ballpark of thirty-two million. Less the whopping two and a half percent break she said she’d cut me,” he added dryly.

“Two and a half percent? You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope. Ms. Brandt takes her numbers very seriously. She’s a hotshot investment banker.”

“Doesn’t sound like you care much for her. I’m guessing she must not be much to look at?”

Ty pursed his mouth. “I s’pose she ain’t half bad—if you like that type.”

“So there’s actually a type of women you don’t like?” Delaney snorted. “Wonders never cease.”

He ignored the dig.

“Buy her out, Ty.”

He grimaced. “With what? I thought about mortgaging the ranch—”

“Over my dead body.”

“Don’t tempt me, Delaney,” Ty quipped.

“You wanna just sell me your half?” she suggested.

“Hell no! My great grandpa homesteaded the place. It was supposed to have been my legacy. You never should have got any of it to begin with.”

“Then you should have kept your dick in your jeans, Ty.”

He blew out an exasperated breath. “I told you a thousand times it never happened.”

“But there were pictures. You, Zac McDaniel, and two women. Very naked pictures, Ty. On Flickr.”

“Sometimes pictures tell lies. I was passed out.”

He’d been partying hard with Zac after his buddy had won a big purse at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, but to this day he didn’t honestly remember the rest of it. He’d been in a total bourbon blackout, a circumstance that made him finally face the fact that he had a problem.

“Whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively, then steered the conversation back on track. “What’s done is done. We’re both happier now anyway. You could always look for investors.”

“That’s what she said. Mentioned some kind of investment trust.”

“You mean a REIT. I have money in several of those.”

“Do you? How does it work?”

“A group of investors agree to put a certain amount of money in a pot, and the REIT uses it to buy up real estate. You don’t know exactly what you’re getting, although a lot of them do focus on hotels. It’s a legitimate option for you to consider.”

Ty set his jaw. “I won’t go into business with a bunch of strangers.”

“What about people you know?” she asked.

“Like who? Who do I know besides Tom with that kind of money?”

“Me,” she replied. “And I know lots of other people with that kind of money, too, Ty. It’s my world, after all.”

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “The one you ran away from to play at cattle ranching.”

“I do more than play at it, and you know it! I run the place a damn sight better than you ever did. Hell, you never stuck around long enough even to mow the grass.”

“I hate mowing grass. That’s why I live in the desert.”

“And why you should stay there. You’re not mortgaging the ranch, Ty. But if you like, I could put some feelers out around Houston about putting a deal together.”

“Oh yeah? What’s in it for you?” he asked.

“There’s something I’ve been thinking about asking you for a good while. It’s kind of a favor.”

“What kind of favor? I don’t like that look in your eye, Delaney. It never bodes anything but trouble.”

“It’s nothing big, really, but we’ll talk about it later. The time’s not right yet anyway,” she answered cryptically. “In the meantime, why don’t I make a few calls?”

“You can knock yourself out, but it doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to any of this.”

“You don’t have to, but at least you’ll know your options. It never hurts to explore options, Ty.”



Monica went to see Tom first thing the next morning. She was happy to note that this time he at least looked up when she walked into the room. “Good morning, Tom.” She bent to kiss his cheek. “Did you sleep well?”

Tom reached for the iPad. He typed back. No. Want to go home.

“You know that’s not possible. At least not yet. You’re still recovering and need medical support. Maybe in time, when you get your speech back.”

Not likely.

“Maybe not, but we can still hope, right?”

Tom’s mouth turned down. Ty back yet?

“No.” She sat down beside him on the bed. “He only flew out yesterday. I don’t expect he’ll be back for a couple more days.”

How U gettin on?

“Well enough, I suppose.” She sighed. “This whole thing has been hard on all of us.”