A Cowboy in Manhattan(71)

Reed opened his mouth to argue.

But Caleb wasn’t finished. “I know your plan, Reed. And I understand why you’re doing it. But you’re wrong, dead wrong. You don’t honor Mom by staying in Lyndon Valley. You honor Mom by honoring Katrina.”

Reed couldn’t wrap his head around it. “You’re suggesting I move to New York City?” Was Caleb saying their mother would want him to move to New York City? The idea was preposterous. He was a cowboy. His life was here. He was about to dig the foundation for his house.

“Imagine,” Caleb continued, voice controlled, but Reed could see the anger simmering in his eyes. “If Wilton had once, even once in his miserable, toxic life, given a damn about Mom? What she wanted, what she needed, what would make her happy instead of him?”

Reed got where his brother was going with this. “It’s not just geography, Caleb.”

“Then, what is it?”

Reed wished there weren’t quite so many witnesses, but he supposed there was no point in backing off now. “The last thing she said to me was, no matter how I dressed up, I’d always be an uncouth Colorado cowboy.”

Caleb shrugged. “So change.”

Reed snapped his fingers. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“I’m not going to stop threatening to kill any man who hurts her.”

A grin spread across Caleb’s face. “Yeah? Well, maybe you could stop telling her about it.”

Danielle spoke up. “But you already did that, Reed.”

Reed looked at her. “Already did what?”

“You didn’t kill him. You found another way.” She gave a shrug. “Maybe the tux and the tie rubbed off on you. Because instead of killing Quentin Foster, you outsmarted him. That was very civilized.”

It was Mandy’s turn to step in, and she was fighting a smile. “Honestly, Reed, I can’t see Katrina objecting if you threaten to outsmart any man who hurts her.”

Danielle nodded her agreement.

“It’s not quite as satisfying,” Caleb allowed.

“It was pretty satisfying,” Reed admitted. The only thing he’d regretted was not being able to watch Elizabeth deliver the news to Foster.

“She misses you,” said Danielle, her tone softer, more thoughtful than normal. “I went to see Katrina while I was in New York City. I was trying to figure out if you’d lost your mind. You hadn’t. And she misses you.”





The only time Katrina didn’t miss Reed was while she was performing. Being on stage took all of her concentration and she was thankful that, if only temporarily, the effort blocked him out of her brain. But as soon as the curtain fell, her chest would hollow out again and her stomach would start to ache.

The applause from tonight’s audience had barely died down. She was pacing her way along the hall to her dressing room, and her tears were once again close to the surface. She’d picked up her phone about a hundred times in the last few days, longing to call him and hear the sound of his voice. She wasn’t ready to let him go. Not yet. Not so soon.

She’d concocted all kinds of wild schemes to eke a few more hours out of their brief relationship. Maybe he could come back to the city for a day or a week. Or maybe she could go to Colorado for another visit. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad there, if she was with Reed.

But deep down inside, she knew none of the plans made any real sense. It would still be temporary, and she’d get her heart broken all over again. Reed was like a drug, and her only hope was to go cold turkey.

She made it to the privacy of her dressing room. But before the door could close behind her, Elizabeth appeared.

“Another full house,” she told Katrina, breezing inside, letting the door fall shut, taking one of the two armchairs in the compact room.

Katrina dropped down on the padded bench in front of the lighted mirror, automatically pulling the decorations from her hair.

“That’s great news.” She forced herself to smile, catching Elizabeth in the reflection.

“Have you heard from Reed today?” Elizabeth asked.

Katrina’s fingers fumbled, and she dropped a small jeweled comb. It clattered onto the table and down to the floor.

“From Reed?” she asked stupidly, as she reached down to retrieve it. Could she have misheard? Why was Elizabeth asking about Reed?

“I left a message for him this morning, but he hasn’t gotten back to me. That doesn’t seem like him.”