Hell on Heels (Hotel Rodeo #1)(53)

Hours later, after Just Call Me Phil disappeared with Tamara on his arm, and Ty finally managed to peel a tipsy Cassie off his lap and get her into the limo, he returned to the bar to find Delaney waiting for him.

“Wasn’t sure you’d be back,” she remarked.

“It’s a bad idea to mix business and pleasure,” Ty said bitterly, his thoughts returning to Monica.

“What a surprise,” Delaney remarked dryly. “Admittedly, I didn’t credit you with either the scruples or the self-restraint.”

“If you’ve got something on your mind, just spill it, Delaney. I’m too f*cking tired for our normal bullshit.”

“Fair enough,” she agreed. “I won’t bust your balls anymore, especially after tonight. It couldn’t have gone any better, Ty. You made yourself look like a damned hero to that man.” She raised her glass in salute. “He wants to partner with you. Says he’ll even loan you the rest of what you need for the renovations.”

“That’s fantastic!” Ty slapped the table.

“Not so fast, Ty. There’s one little caveat . . . he wants controlling interest.”

Ty’s elation evaporated. “No deal, Delaney. I’ve put too much into this place to just hand it over.”

“For all intents and purposes, you’d still be the one in charge, Ty. It’s really no different than your arrangement with Tom.”

“The hell it isn’t! It’s completely different! I’ve known Tom all my life.”

“And I’ve known Uncle Phil. He won’t do you wrong, Ty.”

“I’m not going to answer to someone else. I’d sell out completely first.”

“Then it just may come to that. You aren’t going to get another chance like this, Ty. Seems to me you’d better sleep on it before you answer. Uncle Phil’s staying the weekend. That gives you forty-eight hours to decide.”





Chapter Sixteen


Evan’s Gulfstream had just been cleared for takeoff from Henderson Executive Airport when Monica’s phone buzzed. Recognizing Ty’s number on her caller ID, she scowled at the phone and ignored the call. Whatever he had to say to her was too little, too late. She’d meant every word she’d said. She was finished. The sooner she left this desert wasteland the better. She was leaving Las Vegas for good—with Evan.

Maybe he was a manipulative * at times, but at least he was willing to offer her a commitment. She didn’t love him, but maybe love wasn’t such a good bargain. Her feelings for Ty had only made her miserable. She deserved more from life and certainly wasn’t going to find it in Sin City.

She glanced out the window at the mountains, an aching reminder of that sunrise with Ty. A text message interrupted that thought. She was about to delete that too, until she saw Tom’s name. The message that followed made her heart leap into her throat.

Urgent. Tom’s had another stroke.

“Oh my God! Stop the plane, Evan!” she shrieked.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he snapped. “We can’t just turn around.”

“Oh yes we can! It’s Tom. I mean it, Evan. Stop the f*cking plane. I have to get off. Now!”



For the second time, Ty found himself pacing the halls of Desert Springs Medical Center, waiting for Tom’s daughter. “Would you like some coffee, Ty?” the unit secretary asked.

He recognized her as the plump redhead from the last time he’d been there, the one he’d never called for dinner. What the hell was her name again? “No thanks, Sugar,” he dismissed the offer.

He’d phoned and texted Monica numerous times in the last hour, but she still hadn’t responded. Was she already in New York? Or maybe she was en route with her phone off?

Just when he was about to dial again, she appeared, ashen-faced, in the doorway. His gaze briefly met that of the man standing behind her. He had both hands possessively anchored on her shoulders, sizing Ty up. Ty nodded and returned the favor. He didn’t need an introduction to know it was Evan.

“Tom?” Monica whispered hoarsely, her gray eyes wide with fear.

Fuck. Why did he have to be the one to tell her?

He opened his mouth, but the words just wouldn’t come. All he could do was shake his head and open his arms. Monica gasped and then launched herself into them, hitting him hard with a body-racking sob. Ty shut his eyes and clutched her tightly to his chest, barely holding his own choking sobs at bay. They stood there for what felt like eternity, anchored to each other in shared grief while Rosa wailed in the background.

“I’m sorry, Sugar,” Ty murmured into her hair. “He’s gone. But I’m right here, and I swear to God I’ll take real good care of you.”





Here’s a sneak peek at the next novella in the Hotel Rodeo series,





Two to Wrangle





Available from Lyrical Shine in February 2016!





Chapter One


Ty Morgan licked his lips, which had never felt drier, and swallowed with a throat that had never been more parched as he sat staring through a lens of shimmering amber and gold. The row of bottles sat just out of reach on the top shelf in front of the antique diamond-dust mirror, the shelf he’d been painfully aware of but had been careful to avoid for seven long and sober years. But now he needed something, anything, to numb this desperate ache deep in his chest.