To Love a Texas Cowboy

by Julie Benson

  “You want to know what else is going on? The whole truth?” She laughed. The nervous, brittle sound swirled around him. “Since you’re not going to let go of this, here it is. Chloe and Jack had his salary to help with that monstrous mortgage payment I’m now saddled with, and I’ve never come close to making enough with my art to cover it. I’ve thought about getting another job, but the only skills and experience I’ve got is waiting tables, and that won’t get me the kind of money I need, especially after I pay for childcare. Not that I’d consider leaving Ella, as fragile as she is, in someone else’s care. So there’s the truth. Is that what you wanted? To hear me admit I don’t think I can make enough to afford to stay in the house.”

  When she finished, she sank back in her chair as if the effort left her spent. Relief over finally reaching the heart of the matter coursed through him. With the issue in the open, he could deal with it. His tension eased as he went into problem solver mode. “You’re right about Ella. She needs to be with you after school. You can’t leave her with anyone else while she’s not talking.”

  Cassie stared at him for a moment as if she wasn’t sure how to respond. What had she expected him to say? Then he stopped, realizing he hadn’t been the most understanding guy during this discussion. No one, not even Audrey, riled him the way Cassie managed to.

  He inhaled deeply and held it for a few seconds before exhaling and looking at Cassie. Her posture had relaxed. The harsh lines on her face caused by her irritation were gone.

  “I’m glad we at least agree on that.” She smiled weakly. “I really do believe everything I said earlier about Ella living in the house. I think a fresh start could be good for her. I wouldn’t sell the inn if I didn’t.”

  “I know you want what’s best for Ella.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Unfortunately, what’s best for her may not matter because selling a bed and breakfast is never quick or easy. Since the current market is still in a downturn, it could take months, or longer, to find a buyer willing to pay enough to cover the current mortgage, a nest egg for Ella’s future, and a down payment on a new house in town. That is, if you could qualify for a loan with your current financial situation.”

  Her eyes widened as what he said sank in. Apparently, she hadn’t considered those facts.

  Her lip trembled before resolution flared in her clear eyes and she straightened in her chair. “Despite that, I want to put it on the market. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the market will improve or someone will fall in love with the inn and offer us a fantastic price. But in the meantime I’ll look for a job. Do you know of anyone who needs a waitress during the day when Ella’s in school?”

  Admiration for her spunk and determination worked its way through Ty. “Maybe there’s another option. The tourist business is doing well. The company could pay you a salary for running the bed and breakfast, giving the well tours and helping me with tourists at the ranch. That way you can afford to stay in the house.”

  It took every ounce of his self-control to keep a straight face long enough to get the words out. The business he and Chloe had set up would pay Cassie? He almost laughed. Compared to what the company had paid him and Chloe, minimum wage would be a big raise.

  “I won’t take a handout.”

  “That’s not what I—”

  “Save it. We both know it’s what you’re doing. Don’t make it worse by lying to me.” Cassie stood and the air almost crackled from the irritation flowing off her. “Us working together, especially as boss/employee would be a disaster. We’d drive each other crazy in a week.”

  He had no concerns about that happening because he’d all ready gone stark raving mad. His jumping on a white horse to play the knight in shining armor, offering her a job, proved that. That wasn’t him. Gigs like those were AJ’s shtick. What about Cassie made him start channeling his friend? Didn’t all those self-help programs say that the biggest part of overcoming a problem was to acknowledge it? He sure hoped so, because then he was halfway to fixing the problem with Cassie.

  “Then you’re turning the job down?”

  “Of course I am. The last thing I need is having you for a boss.”

  As he watched Cassie stalk out of his office, Ty leaned back in his chair and sighed in relief. His conscience was clear. He’d done the right thing offering to help Cassie, but thank goodness, she’d had the common sense to turn him down because she was right—them working together would be a disaster.

  Chapter Five

  ‡

  Cassie couldn’t get out of the house and away from Ty fast enough. If she stayed she would have yelled at him for his arrogance or cried because the safety net she counted on—selling the house—had a great hole in it.

  Her decision to sell the inn had been difficult to make, but she’d agonized over it for nothing, because it wouldn’t be the quick financial fix she’d hoped. Somehow she’d earn enough to make the mortgage payments. She wouldn’t let her sister down, but she wasn’t desperate enough to work for Ty. Just thinking about that made her want to reach for a bottle of Benadryl to counteract the bad case of hives she felt coming on.

  The supreme arrogance of the man offering her a pity job. Then he’d stared at her as if she should get on her knees and kiss the ground he walked on. The same way her mother had every time her father blew into town and graced them with his presence.

  That would be the day, she thought as she stormed outside. She’d scrub every toilet between here and Dallas while she prayed for a good offer on the B&B if that was what it took to keep a roof over Ella’s head.

  The thought of her niece stopped Cassie cold. Her heart banged against her ribs so hard she worried she’d end up bruised, and her blood pressure would peg the meter. She couldn’t let her Ella see her so upset. Get a grip.

  She gazed at the calm scenery around her, hoping the serenity would seep into her. While she preferred city life, she understood the ranch’s appeal for outdoor types. The open space. No neighbors right on top of you. She glanced at the house and the porch—complete with rocking chair—that practically ran the length of the house. Now there was a place to get away, unplug, and clear the most cluttered mind.

  Okay, she admitted the rural life had certain appeals as the warm spring breeze brushed over her skin. She inhaled deeply, practicing her calming yoga breathing but wrinkled her nose. It also had its drawbacks. Give her New York smog any day. She closed her eyes, visualizing her efficiency apartment and the corner that served as her studio. That space had been her haven where she felt confident, creative, and strong. Her happy place. She could do this. All she needed was more patience.

  Now I know why it’s a virtue. Because it’s so damned hard to master.

  More in control, she headed for the corral, but once there she didn’t see Ella. Aubrey stood alone working with a horse. “Where’s Ella? She’s supposed to be with you.”

  “She was hungry and thirsty when we got back. She’s inside with Mom having a snack,” Aubrey said as she joined Cassie at the fence. She leaned her arms against the rail, tilted her head, and studied her. “I’m guessing your meeting with Ty went as well as my earlier discussion did.”

  “Is your brother always so…” Cassie paused, and gripped the wooden rail. The rough surface scratched her moist palms. She couldn’t say what she was thinking. Is your brother always such a self-assured, arrogant, know-it-all, pain in the ass? She took a deep breath and changed tactics. “I don’t know why, but every time we talk we push each other’s buttons.”

  “Kind of like he and I did earlier?”

  Cassie nodded. “Everyone around town says he’s great. They’re always telling me he’s the first one to offer help, but he and I can’t see eye to eye on anything. Do just I bring out the worst in him?”

  “He and I but heads because he takes his big brother, male head of the household role a little too seriously. How he doesn’t OD on dependability, I don’t know, but he’s always been like that. When he thinks something
is his responsibility, he sees what needs to be done and there’s no budging him.”

  Cassie thought about what folks in town said about Ty, and touting his dependability was right up there. Now she understood. “And with me, it’s his role as Ella’s financial guardian.”

  “Yup. He’ll take that responsibility as serious as a heart attack.”

  While the information gave her insight, it didn’t get Cassie closer to solving her problem with Ty. “Got any ideas about how I can change things between us? Other than me rolling over and playing dead so he can do things his way?”

  “Depends on what the issue is.”

  Should she confide in Aubrey? After all, she was Ty’s sister, but she appeared objective about him and from the siblings’ conversation earlier, their situation’s felt similar. Plus, who else could she go to for advice about dealing with the hardheaded man? After a deep breath, she plunged forward, giving Aubrey an abbreviated version of the problem.

  “I don’t know what to tell you. Ty’s always been conservative with finances, and he’ll be even more so with Ella’s. If he thinks there’s any chance selling the inn isn’t best for her financially—”

  “Then there’s no changing his mind.”

  “I’m afraid not. The good news is, while he can be a hardheaded pain in the ass sometimes, no one has a bigger heart.”

  “He sure hides the fact well with me.” Cassie paused. “The bighearted part, that is. Not the hardheaded stuff. I’ve seen plenty of that.”

  “Ty’s been different since he and Lauren broke up right before the wedding. He’s more closed off. He’s always taken a long time to trust people, but now it’s worse.”

  Ty had been engaged? The thought sent Cassie’s head spinning. She couldn’t see the obstinate, distant man she knew connecting enough with a woman to ask her to marry him. She knew she shouldn’t ask what had happened. Knowing about Ty’s his past would connect them more, and instinct told her she needed to keep things as superficial as possible, but the curiosity gnawing at her forced the words out. “What happened?”

  Aubrey nodded to the west, explained that Ty’s ex had grown up on the neighboring ranch and they’d been high school sweethearts. “They were even prom king and queen their senior year, but broke up before Ty left for A&M.”

  Why didn’t that surprise Cassie? Mr. Perfect being prom king and dating the prom queen who lived on the neighboring ranch. He’d probably been the star quarterback, too.

  “Before our grandfather died, he asked Ty to take over running the Bar 7. Ty, being the ever dutiful grandson, quit his job in Dallas and moved back. After a while, he and Lauren started dating again and eventually got engaged.

  “Before they got back together she bounced from job to job, but Ty helped her start a jewelry making business. He created a business plan, found retail space, and set everything up. He’s never said it, but I think he helped her get the loan for the start-up costs.”

  So they’d been one of those perfect couples everyone oohed and aahed over. They shared a career. He showed an interest in her career. When they got engaged, the entire town probably shouted for joy. “What went wrong? Who called off the wedding?”

  Aubrey shrugged. “If anyone around town knows, they’re not saying, and Ty never has. Everything seemed fine during the church rehearsal, but then Ty arrived alone at the restaurant. All he said was the wedding was off. Then Lauren moved to California a couple days later to go into business with someone.”

  Sounded to Cassie as if their careers broke them up.

  “You kind of remind me of her,” Aubrey said. “You’re both artistic, creative types, and she had a little bit of that bohemian style like you do.”

  The words hammered into Cassie. Geez and she wondered why everything she said pushed Ty’s buttons? Now she knew. Not that knowing made finding a solution an easier. How did she quit reminding a guy of his ex?

  *

  Later that afternoon Ty sat in his office and thought some days it didn’t pay to get out of bed. Today sure as hell turned out to be one of those. He’d started his day meeting with his banker. Ty had explained his need for another loan—the combine couldn’t be fixed to make it through another season and needed to be replaced, the tractor needed repairs and new tires, and the barn roof leaked. He emphasized the loan would be short term because according to his estimates he could pay it off in the fall when he sold his cattle.

  John listened and then politely informed Ty he was too big a risk. Considering the drought would surely affect his hay crop again forcing him to buy hay at high prices. That could result in him having to sell cattle early for less than top price. Add to that the fact that without Chloe and Jack the inn’s future was uncertain the bank couldn’t justify the risk.

  While Ty hadn’t been pleased with being turned down, he figured dipping into the corporation’s savings to pay for the expenditures wouldn’t overly strain the business. Then John dropped a real bomb shell. Lauren was behind in her payments for the loan he’d cosigned for. The bank had contacted her repeatedly, and while she’d promised to rectify the situation, she hadn’t to date.

  What a mess.

  Then Ty met with Cassie, and that meeting hadn’t gone any better with her saying she wanted to sell the inn. At least he’d done the right thing by offering her a solution, but thankfully she’d turned him down. Adding her salary into the mix would stretch his finances more than he felt comfortable with.

  Now he could focus on what to do about Lauren.

  He wondered who to call to get Lauren’s number since the first thing he’d done when she called off the wedding was delete her number from his phone. He could contact her father, but the last time they’d talked, Charlie had gone on about how he wished Lauren would come home and she and Ty would get back together. The last thing Ty needed was a repeat conversation. Picking the lesser of two evils he called Lauren’s best friend, suffered through a short recitation of his ex’s success in California, including that she’d moved in with her business partner. The man was welcome to her. But if she was doing so great, why wasn’t she paying the loan?

  “I’ve been meaning to call you about the loan, Ty.” Lauren’s voice dripped with feminine sweetness when he brought up told the subject. Too much, in fact. “I’ve expanded my business recently, and it’s made finances tight. I’ve come up a little short the last few months, and that was the easiest way to cut expenses.”

  “You don’t cut expenses by not paying your loan.” The woman hadn’t learned a thing he’d tried to teach her about running a business. The old saying you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make her drink floated through his mind. How she ran her business wasn’t his problem. She could give away her jewelry on the street corner for all he cared. The loan was another issue.

  What had he ever seen in Lauren? The realization hit him up side the head. She’d been comfortable. They grew up together. She was beautiful in the classic, Texas beauty pageant way, and she’d made him feel needed. Thank God he’d outgrown that. He thought he’d loved her, and the way he’d been raised, the next step was marriage.

  “You need to get current with loan payments. If you don’t the bank’s within its rights to call in the loan. That means payment would be due in full immediately.”

  “Right now I don’t have the funds. What am I going to do?”

  From the desperation in her voice, he knew she was pouting. That and she was expecting him to jump in with a solution—probably one that wouldn’t require any sacrifice or work on her part—and it left him unmoved. “Ask your dad or your business partner for the money.”

  “I asked daddy. He said if he loaned me the money he wanted a share of the business.” When her voice quivered, he realized she was pulling out all the stops. How had he missed seeing what a master manipulator she was?

  “If I give daddy a share he’ll be telling me what to do all the time,” Lauren continued, her voice taking on a nasal, whining tone that grated on his nerves. “I lik
e being on my own and making my own decisions.

  “Seeing to your own responsibilities like paying your bills goes along with that. You have to take care of this.”

  Silence. Obviously she hadn’t liked his answer. Knowing her she was trying to figure out how to wiggle out of the downside of this situation. She was about to learn no matter what she tried it wouldn’t work with him. “Did you hear me? You need to take care of the loan. Ask your partner.”

  “They like you at the bank,” she said after a few seconds, and he suspected her partner either said no too, or she’d drained him dry.

  “They don’t like me that much.” In business when it came to money, liking a person didn’t even get factored into the equation.

  “Yes, they do. Everyone in town thinks you practically walk on water.” He didn’t miss the resentment that slipped into her voice, and when she paused, he figured she’d realized that wasn’t a wise move for someone who wanted a favor. “Would you explain the situation and get the bank to give me a few months to catch up on the payments? I figure six months at the most is all I’ll need.”

  He sat there for a minute clueless as to what to say. She was crazy. She’d damn near left him at the altar, and now she wanted him to bail her out? Not in this lifetime, and her chances in the next one didn’t look promising either. Her asking was so ludicrous he couldn’t get angry. Instead laughter rumbled out of him. Loud, cleansing laughter that left his sides hurting, and felt damned good. “Thanks. I needed a good laugh today.”

  “I don’t see what’s so funny,” she snapped. Her sharp, biting tone made his ears ring. Then she paused, and he heard her inhale deeply before she continued in a softer voice. “I need your help. After all we meant to each other—”

  “There’s no way in hell you’re getting my help.”