by Anne Carrole
Despite her exhaustion, sleep would elude her tonight, she knew, as it had for the past few nights since Ty’s announcement. Tomorrow she had an appointment with the doctor. If he confirmed the pregnancy, she would tell her mother.
And then she would have to tell Ty. She’d have to speak to him. To be in the same room with the man who had betrayed her and everything she stood for.
And why did her traitorous heart speed up at the thought of seeing him? Maybe it was just the baby sending her a signal of some sort.
“What kind of daddy will he be to you?” she wondered aloud as she swept a hand gently over her tummy. “You will always have me, baby, to lean on. I promise you that.”
* * *
It went against every rational argument. And still Ty did it.
“Now what?” Brian asked as he looked over the papers set before him.
“Now I tell Mandy.”
Brian leaned forward on the desk, his hands pressing down on the polished surface as if bracing for the worst.
“Will she even speak to you?”
Ty shook his head. “Hasn’t since she stormed out of the meeting. Hasn’t returned my calls. Hasn’t come into the office. Hell, it’s like a morgue in there. No one wants to get within ten feet of me, it seems. Karen, JM’s former assistant, is as frosty as a freezer. Guess they are all waiting for the official ax to fall.”
“You know, given you voided the provision by not sleeping in the same room with your wife, you would have had another six months at least as head of Prescott if you hadn’t done this. You might have been able to work it out with Mandy and avoided taking this step. It’s a lot of money just to make a point.”
Ty braved a smile. “It’s the right point to make. And I’m hoping for more than just her agreement.”
“JM has a letter he wants read to both you and Mandy at the end of the six-month period. I could call a meeting about it, and you can tell her the news then?”
Ty shook his head. “I think I’d best do this in private. If I have any hope of getting through to her, of convincing her to stay married to me, I think it has to be just her and me.”
“You thought about how you are going to get her to meet with you? She’s stubborn. Like her grandfather.”
How well Ty knew. He’d already tried every way he could think of to get her to see him, but she’d refused to acknowledge he even existed. He realized he needed to enlist some help. Not an easy thing when everyone treated him like a leper.
“I think I’ve got it covered. If I don’t, you can be the backup plan.”
Ty picked up his hat from its resting place on Brian’s desk and secured it on his head. If everything went as he hoped, maybe he could have it all.
* * *
Mandy turned into the sparsely graveled driveway and noted the house looked as tired as it had before, despite the money Ty had reportedly made available to Trace. But at least the barns looked repaired, and there were cattle in the nearby pasture and two cowboys on horses trailing behind a bunch being moved to another corral.
The place didn’t exactly look prosperous, but it did look like it was moving in that direction.
She’d been surprised to get Trace’s call asking her for help in interviewing a housekeeper and caregiver for Delanie. He wanted a woman’s perspective, and his neighbor, it seemed, was out of town. How could she say no? Or tell him she and Ty were no longer a couple, since Ty had obviously not spoken to his brother, yet.
In fact, if not in deed, she was still married. Mandy had been determined not to file the divorce papers until she knew for certain she was pregnant, and her pregnancy had only been confirmed that morning. And, then she would have to tell Ty first.
Not that she wanted to face Ty. If she could have kept it from him and still looked herself in the mirror, she would have. But her child deserved to know its father.
Something to deal with another day.
As she closed the car door, a little figure came running out of the house, letting the screen door slam behind her.
“Aunt Mandy,” the little girl called as she ran toward her, the child’s lissome legs, clad in denims, moving at the full throttle of four-year-old speed.
Mandy’s heart crumbled into little pieces like a dried leaf under a tire. How and when would she tell this special little girl she was no longer Aunt Mandy? At least Delanie would have a cousin. Mandy could give the little girl that.
Mandy scooped Delanie into her arms and gave her a hug, breathing in the sweet scent of baby shampoo as she nuzzled her. “What a wonderful greeting,” Mandy said as she kissed the little one’s cheek.
And so unlike their first encounter. That psychologist Trace had found through Ty’s connections was surely working wonders.
“The meeting is there.” Delanie pointed to the house. “Daddy’s going to take me riding while you talk.”
Odd, Mandy thought. She had expected to interview the applicants with Trace there.
“Where’s Daddy now?” she asked.
“Inside. They both are.”
Mandy looked around for another car, but there was none visible. Perhaps Trace had picked up the candidate in town and brought the woman out to the ranch house. And was there only to be one? Trace had made it sound like there would be several applicants lined up.
Mandy set the squirming child down on the ground and, holding Delanie’s sticky little hand, walked to the house. Delanie held the screen door open as Mandy stepped inside. She blinked as her eyes adjusted from the bright sunlight of a fall day to the relative darkness of the unlit kitchen.
It took her a moment to make out Trace.
Shifting her gaze, she found another figure sitting off to the side of the kitchen table, a single sheet of paper lying on the table before him.
Heat climbed up her throat. Moisture collected under her arms. Ty had some nerve. She didn’t lose sight, however, that Delanie was watching her, a smile on the little girl’s precious face.
Trace had moved to the screen door. To block it or exit quickly, she wasn’t sure. She swung her gaze toward him. He shrugged in a sheepish way. “You two need to talk.”
And then he was out the door, Delanie grabbing his hand. That psychologist had made progress.
The door slammed behind them.
Now what?
Mandy turned to study Ty. She hadn’t seen him since the meeting in the library. He looked a little haggard around the edges, dressed in a pair of wrinkled denims and flannel shirt. Soon he could go back to his suits and ties, content that he had once again made a lot of money and not at all bothered about the good people whose lives he had disrupted.
She could feel a vein pulse at her temple like a drum thumping out a funereal melody. She wanted to turn around and go home. But she had to tell him about the baby. And now was as good a time as any.
“You went to a lot of trouble to get me out here. Yet I can’t think of a single reason why. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, you can tell me that I want to hear. And if it is to announce that the papers to sell Prescott have been signed, believe me when I tell you, this is the worst way you could have communicated it to me.”
Ty rose from his seat, his six-foot frame unfurling before her as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. He stared at her. Just stared at her. Looked her up and down. It wasn’t a sexual appraisal. It made her more uncomfortable than that. It was more like a caress. As if he needed to assure she was really standing before him.
“I’d appreciate it if you could you sit down, Mandy. I’ve something to say that doesn’t involve selling Prescott.”
Mandy’s heart was racing, and her legs did feel a little weak. She pulled back the kitchen chair from the table and perched on the edge of the seat, primed to make a quick exit if need be.
Ty followed, sitting back down on the wood slat chair.
“How are you?”
Mandy could feel her blood steam at the question. Why should he care after what he had done to make her miserable?
“I’m doing as well as can be expected for a woman who has lost her company. Not to mention her extended family—because that’s what Prescott is to me. Something you’d never understand, and even if you did, you wouldn’t care.”
Ty dropped his eyes down to the sheet of paper before him, looking beleaguered, but if he was, it was of his own making. He’d never been a part of Prescott, as it turned out. He’d been planning its demise from the first day. She thought he had changed, had maybe found his place—by her side—but she was wrong. He didn’t want to be there. He didn’t want anything to do with her, or he wouldn’t have done this. She and Prescott Rodeo Company had just been a convenient way to pass time. Anger stampeded through her like horses running from fire.
“You look…” Whatever he was going to say died on his lips.
She pressed her cold palms on the table, steadying herself. “I’m not here for a chat, Ty. Say what you have to say. Then I’ve got something to tell you.”
“You can say your piece first.” Ty could only imagine the names she wanted to call him. Best to let her vent now. Maybe she’d be in a better frame of mind for the news. Maybe, just maybe, she’d give him a second chance.
“No, you are the one who went to all this trouble to get me here. To trick me.” Her eyebrows arched as she labeled his maneuver. “You first.”
Ty had thought about telling her all the whys and wherefores he had used to justify his original decision to sell and what had caused his opinion to change, but every time he had rehearsed it in his head, it had sounded lame. Like why hadn’t he seen it from the very beginning? He didn’t know how to explain that he had been looking through a different lens, one that didn’t focus on people or relationships or the satisfaction of the work, but only on the value measured by the dollar.
In the end he opted for shooting straight and keeping it simple.
“I didn’t sell Prescott.”
She blinked once and then again, as if shutting off one screen and opening another. “What do you mean? You didn’t sell Prescott to Lassiter?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
Tears glistened in her eyes and streamed silently down her cheeks. Mandy’s body began to tremble, like she was shivering. Watching her absorb the news, Ty’s stomach lurched as if he’d just plummeted down a roller coaster’s hill.
He thought she would be happy, pleased, maybe grateful. But she reacted more like someone who had been badly frightened.
“Mandy?” Ty leaned forward, concerned.
She shook her head in response.
He moved from his seat to crouch on his haunches by her chair. She looked as confused as he was by whatever emotion had propelled her to tears. He gathered her in his arms, placing a hand gently behind her to press her head onto his shoulder, anchoring her.
It would have felt good to hold her again after days of denial, except for the sobs that now racked through her.
After a minute or two, it was over. The sobs vanished, and the shaking stopped. Her warm breath upon his shoulder came in small, even puffs.
“I’m all right,” she said, pulling back from his embrace. “I don’t know what came over me.” She swiped a hand under her eyes, spreading the dampness over her cheek.
Ty remained on his haunches as he searched her face for some clue as to what she was thinking. In the kitchen of his family home, her tears should have been a painful reminder of his mother’s crying, as she had done so often in his young life. But these tears were different. More emotional, yet happier. And totally unexpected.
“Why did you change your mind?” She sniffled. The woman could probably use a tissue. Ty rose, scoped out the napkin holder on the counter, retrieved a textured sheet, and handed it to her. She promptly blew her nose.
He waited until she was done, wondering just how he would answer her question. It was an important question because the reasons he gave would have to change how she felt about him. She needed to understand that he saw things differently, or there would be no hope for them.
“I finally realized that I can fulfill JM’s wishes in another way.”
She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. The tension had returned as if a rattler had slithered into the room.
“If you think I’ll sit by idly while you run Prescott for another year and a half just to look for a better offer and put me through this all over again, you can forget it. I’ll take you to court. I don’t care what Brian says. I’ll fight you even if I have no chance of winning, just to mess things up. I’ll…” She didn’t finish, having either run out of steam or threats. Instead, she glared, apparently too furious to speak.
This wasn’t going at all like he’d planned. She really did think he was the devil. The thought pained him so much more now. After they had made love, shared dreams, worked together.
“No. That won’t be necessary.” Ty slid the paper on the table toward her.
She snatched it. He watched as her eyes darted right then left. Like a football receiver who knows he’s going to get hit as he goes up for the ball, Ty steeled himself for the blow. This was his last chance and it was either going to be a touchdown or an incomplete pass.
It took several moments for her to lift her head. The accusations that had filled her eyes were gone, replaced by amazement. “You granted me your personal shares? Why?” Her voice was but a whisper.
If only he could make her understand.
“You now have forty percent of the company—all with voting rights. Along with Tucker and Harold’s share, you have more than enough to form a majority. No one can sell Prescott without all three of you agreeing to it.”
“I don’t understand. How can I accept this? This represents a lot of money, Ty.”
He knew how much to the penny. And for once in his life, it didn’t matter. “Consider it something I owe you. For putting you through all of this.”
Her smile was wobbly, just like her voice. “Does this mean you think Prescott is the better bet for the future?”
For a split second he thought about lying, but that had never been his way. Ty shook his head. “No. I still think accepting Stan’s offer is the best financial deal for future security.”
Her eyes widened, and her fragile smile vanished. “Then why didn’t you accept it? Like grandfather wanted?”
“Because I realized it wasn’t what your grandfather wanted. He wanted to make something work between us. He knew either way the family couldn’t lose. But he pinned his hope for the future on us, both of us.”
Mandy’s body heaved as she took a deep breath. “You mean you and I married, living happily ever after?”
“Yes.”
His throat constricted as if a piece of food was lodged there and he was on the verge of choking. He still had a kernel of hope that his initial decision to sell hadn’t totally decimated what they had been building, but it was just a kernel. Her emotion-packed reaction to his news had driven home how deeply his actions had hurt her.
“She looked down at the paper. “I have something to tell you too, Ty. I hardly know where to start.”
“If it is that you hate me, I already know that.”
She smiled, a sweet, delicate turn of the lips as if he’d said something clever. Was that a good sign? He wasn’t in any position to interpret.
“No. Although I did up until a few seconds ago.”
“I guess I don’t blame you. I’d hoped…” Ty took a deep breath to calm the erratic beats of his heart. “Mandy, I have one more thing to tell you before you tell me your news.”
“I will pay you back. For the stock,” she said.
“I don’t care about the stock or the money. If I did, I wouldn’t have given you the shares.”
“But you always said it was about the money. I don’t understand.” She cocked her head, her gorgeous green eyes quizzical.
This time he’d say it and let things fall where they may. He bent down on one knee. Pulling out the jeweler’s box from his shirt pocket, he opened it.
The rings, studded in diamonds, sparkled even in the dim light.
He took a bracing breath. “Mandy, I have fallen in love with you. I want to be with you, and only you. Life isn’t worth anything without the right person to share it with. And these months together have proven to me you are the right person, the only person. I’m hoping you’ll give me another chance to show you that I’m the right person for you. I haven’t done a very good job of making you happy. But if you’ll take another chance on me, I promise I will give everything I have to make you happy because I love you.”
Mandy tried to process Ty’s declaration as he knelt before her, his outstretched hand holding a box with a pair of shimmering rings, but her mind was swamped with a dizzying array of emotions from joy to disbelief, to gratefulness. But the strongest emotion, the one that was swelling her heart like an air pump stuck in overdrive, was love.
“Did you hear what I said? I said I love you.”
She had heard. And it had sent her reeling like a lightweight boxer in a heavyweight fight.
His roughened finger grazed her chin, lifting it so he could peer into her eyes.
“If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, to love me, marry me all over again. This time for real. And this time because we both love each other.”
He’d given her back her company, her family, her legacy. He’d given her a child. And now he’d given her everything.
“Please,” he pleaded, still holding the box in his outstretched hand.
“I’m pregnant.”
His kiss was deep, soul scorching, passionate, and persuasive. She wrapped her arms around his neck. She had no intention of letting go.
Chapter 23
Mandy glided across the polished dance floor secure in Ty’s arms while the strains of “Bless the Broken Road” streamed from the house speakers of the private room at the Cattleman’s Club. With all eyes on her and Ty, she stole a glance at her handsome husband, looking darn attractive in his black tuxedo. Just as she sported a pair of white embossed leather and gold-studded cowgirl boots under her gown, Ty had insisted on wearing Caiman boots with his tux in true cowboy style.