The Maverick Meets His Match (Hearts of Wyoming Book 2)(68)

Mandy didn’t mean to laugh, but the edges of her mouth turned up, and it just gurgled out. “Touché, Mr. Martin.”

Mandy hesitated at the door to the hotel room as Ty lugged their two suitcases through the entryway. There sat one king-sized bed covered in white bed linens and sporting tons of pillows. It seemed her life these days began and ended with hotel rooms. Unfortunately, these hotel rooms were filled with a man she found increasingly attractive—even if he was so wrong for her.

Sex with Ty had definitely complicated things—at least for her. She’d been hoping she could be like him—take it for what it was and not wish or expect something more. Considering how she’d felt about him just a week ago, that shouldn’t have been a problem. But in a short time, things had changed.

And it had her thinking about even bigger changes. Something that would change every aspect of her life, for the better. Something that would give her life meaning beyond Prescott.

Ty turned to look behind him as he set the luggage down. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m taking a shower and going right to bed. It’s been a long, eventful day.” And a confusing one. She needed space and time to think. “Stan, the bull, and then Mitch…” And you, she thought. She let go of the hotel door, and it slammed closed behind her.

Ty frowned as he doubled back to her. He seemed to take up the whole room as he crooked a finger under her chin and stared at her as if he was trying to figure out his own puzzle.

“If it’s about selling the company, Stan Lassiter did mention a figure today. But it was so low, Mandy, I told him no.”

A seed of hope lodged inside of her. “So you’re not selling Prescott?”

“Not at that price. I don’t need an analysis to know it’s too low. And given the state of the economy, you may be fretting about nothing. A the end of six months, the company could still be yours, and the business, I promise, will be on firm footing.”

“If there is even a chance…”

“You know I can’t promise, but if the other stock contractors think like Lassiter, you’ll have nothing to worry about. I won’t surprise you. You’ll be kept informed every step of the way. Trust me.”

Trust was something she couldn’t afford to give—not to Ty. Yet, part of her wanted to. Part of her wanted a happily ever after. Not selling Prescott would be that happily ever after—only now she wanted something more.

How to tell him? And would he even listen?





Chapter 17


“Mandy, we love you, but you’ve got to stop calling these emergency meetings,” Cat said as she looked over at her son sitting next to her at the table in the spacious McKenna ranch house kitchen. “My mom’s not always available, and I can’t get a sitter on a moment’s notice.”

A toy truck, a light saber, and several superhero action figures were strewn across the wood floor—all attempts to keep Jake busy while Cat had manned the outdoor grill and put dinner on the table.

Mandy felt the flush in her cheeks. Cat was right. She wasn’t being a considerate friend. But she was desperate, and as soon as she’d returned from Utah that Sunday evening, she’d pleaded with her friends to join her for dinner, leaving Ty to eat alone. Because Cat couldn’t get a sitter and her mother was at a church meeting, Cat had been nice enough to invite them to her house for grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.

She was grateful because this was something she couldn’t or didn’t want to decide on her own.

“I apologize to both of you,” she said, looking first at Cat and then at Libby, who was tucking into her second hamburger, Mandy and Cat having already finished. “And to you, Jake.”

Jake, upon hearing his name, sent Mandy a big smile as he waved a french fry he’d plucked from his plate, leaving behind, momentarily, a hot dog cut up into little pieces. With his big brown eyes, blond hair, and cherub face, he was sure to be a heartbreaker when he grew up—apparently just like his daddy had been.

“Ice cream?” he asked.

“After you eat your dinner,” Cat replied with a sigh. “I’ve become very adept at using bribery,” she said unapologetically. “Can you color a picture?” Cat nudged the coloring book and crayons toward him, and Jake dutifully complied, paging through the book and settling on one of the superheroes pictured there. He set about tackling it with a blue crayon. “And using distraction,” she said, turning her attention back to her friends.

“I’m taking notes.” Libby giggled.

“That’s sort of what I wanted to talk to you guys about.” Mandy’s stomach felt queasy as she considered how she would broach the subject.

“We are all ears. And you better talk fast. When you don’t care about coloring in the lines, it doesn’t take long to finish your masterpiece.” Cat glanced back at Jake.

“Well, first, Ty and I have…”

“Omigod, you didn’t last two weeks!” Cat said, her arched eyebrows conveying her lack of surprise.

Libby smiled. “Chance and I didn’t last long either.”

Relieved she didn’t have to get too specific in front of the little one, Mandy nodded.

“And?” Libby asked, even as she blushed.

“Really, you want details?” Mandy jerked her head in Jake’s direction.