Learnin' The Ropes

by Shanna Hatfield

  “Ty, just talk to me,” she whispered, absorbing his strength, his vitality, his very essence. Every deliciously carved muscle called to her through the thin, damp fabric of his tank top. “Please?”

  “You need to forget about me, Lexi. And if I have to leave for that to happen, then I’ll move back to Portland. I have to let you go,” Ty said in misery. He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want Lexi to let go of him. Not ever.

  “Why? Why do I need to forget about you Ty? Tell me why. There must be some reason,” Lexi asked, desperate to know what had driven this wedge between them.

  “It’s me, Lexi. Can’t you just leave it at that?”

  She glared at him through the darkness. “No, I can’t. Everything was fine until we were on our way home from the rodeo. Did Uncle Rob say something to upset you?”

  Ty sighed and ran his hands through his hair again, even though Lexi still tightly held to him.

  “No. No one in your family said anything,” Ty assured her. “None of the guys said anything.”

  She looked up at him. “Then who did? Who upset you?”

  Trapped like they were in the shed with Lexi’s persistent questioning, Ty decided to tell her the truth. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know? You have to know.” She couldn’t make sense out of what he said.

  “I overheard two guys talking outside the café when I went to get my phone. What they said wasn’t very nice about you and me… us.” He forced himself not to get angry all over again as he recalled what the men said. “I don’t want people to think I’m dating you because of who your dad was or how much money you have. The rumor seems to be that I charmed my way into your good graces just to get an easy ride. That isn’t true, Lexi. I don’t care if you’re penniless. I …”

  “You what?” Lexi asked, pressing closer against him.

  “I wouldn’t do that.” Still not ready to reveal his heart to Lexi, he held back. There’d be no turning back if he admitted his true feelings and he just couldn’t do that to her. He didn’t want her to feel obligated to say she felt the same way about him.

  “I know you wouldn’t.” She hugged him and rested her head against his chest. His heart pounded in a fast rhythm beneath her ear. “I never thought you would, Ty. Why are you wasting so much time and effort worrying about what other people think? It isn’t any of your business what they think about you, anyway. The only person you need to worry about is you.”

  “I know that, but what other people think can sure make things hard or easy on a person. I don’t want things to be hard for you.”

  Lexi took Ty’s face in her hands and breathed in his scent. “Look, buckaroo, if I’m hearing you correctly, you’ve spent the last month making us both miserable in some gallant, though completely idiotic effort to protect me from gossiping nitwits?”

  “When you say it like that it sounds stupid,” Ty said, agitated. He needed out of this shed. He needed Lexi out of his arms. He needed… to kiss her so very badly.

  “What’s stupid is you letting this go on for a month when we could have had this conversation the day you got upset. Now that I have assured you the gossiping doesn’t bother me at all, are you done sulking?”

  “I haven’t been sulking,” Ty snapped. He turned around and knocked a shovel and rake off the wall. He caught the handles before they smacked into Lexi. It was dangerous to be in the shed locked up in such close proximity. The danger had little to do with garden tools and much more to do with his ability to maintain his cool around Lexi. “And I can’t date you anymore.”

  “Why not? Do you find me that disgusting? Unappealing? Annoying? What is it about me that’s driving you away?” Lexi yelled, slapping at Ty’s chest. She’d been down this road with men before. Eventually, something turned them away from her. The last time, the excuse was her heritage, although she wouldn’t expect that from Ty. “What, Ty? Just tell me!”

  “Nothing, babe,” he rasped. Tossing aside everything but how much he needed her, he gathered her into his arms and yielded to his desire to kiss her, just one more time. He devoured her lips, drank deeply from the honeyed sweetness that was all Lexi, and grew drunk from the experience. Finally breaking the contact, he put a hand to the back of her head and pulled her against his chest, holding her close. “There isn’t a single thing about you that I don’t find appealing. You drive me wild, Lexi Jo Ryan. Every laugh, every smile, every toss of your raven hair, every swing of that perfect posterior, every touch from your hand, and definitely every kiss. You make me forget anything else exists.”

  “Ty,” Lexi breathed his name on a whisper, on a prayer. “Then what’s the problem?”

  “Me. The problem is me.” He released a long sigh. “There isn’t a single thing, not one, that I can ever give you that you don’t already have or can’t buy yourself. I can’t provide for you. I can’t offer you anything. Except me.”

  “That is the only thing I’m ever going to want from you, Ty. Just you. I don’t care about that other stuff. All I want is you.”

  His lips claimed hers again while his heart neared the point of surrender.

  “Ty, I think I’m falling in love with you,” she whispered, giving in to the temptation to bury her hands in Ty’s hair.

  He hugged her close again, pressing hot, moist lips to her neck. “I don’t have to think, Lexi Jo. I already know I’m in love with you.”

  “You are?” She pulled back, trying to see his face, read his expression. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. Do you think I would say it if I didn’t mean it?” Ty pulled her flush against him. The heat between the two of them might soon cause the shed to combust in flames.

  “Generally, you say what you mean.” She rested her head on his chest again. “I’m so glad, Ty. I never expected to feel like this with anyone.”

  “Me either.”

  “So what are we…?”

  Whatever Lexi wanted to say was swallowed by the urgent, passionate kiss Ty delivered to her willing lips. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he drew her so close, only a breath of space separated them. A spare garden hose slithered off its hook and twined around their feet.

  Ty smiled against her mouth. “The first thing we are going to do is bust out of here if I have to drive the mower through the door. It’s hotter than a barbecue in Lucifer’s backyard, as Swede would say, and I’m going to be beaten to death by your garden equipment if we don’t leave soon.”

  Lexi laughed and stepped back into the rototiller.

  Ty stood at the door and tried to decide if the dog was still sitting in front of it. “Baby, I’m coming out so you better move. I’m not kidding around,” he cautioned before giving the door a hard shove. It flew open and banged back against the front of the shed. Fresh air flooded over him and he sucked in a big gulp.

  He held a hand out to Lexi. She grinned and took it, tugging him toward the house with the promise of some iced tea and cookies for his trouble.

  In the kitchen, Ty washed up while Lexi filled glasses with ice and poured tea. He sat down at the counter on a bar stool while she put cookies on a plate. When she tried to sit down beside him, he pulled her onto his lap and nuzzled her neck.

  “I don’t want you that far away,” he whispered in her ear, making her limbs languid.

  She held a glass of tea to her throat, trying to cool herself down. With Ty alternately nibbling cookies and her ear, it was difficult.

  “What were you doing in the shed, anyway?” Ty asked, taking a deep drink of the tea.

  “I found another clue.” She dug a scrap of paper from her pocket and laid it on the counter.

  Ty read the note:

  Mowing Away the Competition

  “I assumed it meant something to do with the lawn mower or the garden shed.” She stared into his hot, bright eyes, and forgot about the lost money, about their lost month together. Instead, she focused on enjoying that very moment.

  “It would make sense,” he said, stu
dying the words. From experience, he knew what Lex wrote wasn’t necessarily what he meant. “Beyond the lawn mower, what things mow here on the ranch?”

  “The swather, the weed beater we use on the ditches, the cattle themselves mow down the grass. Why couldn’t he have just left a note that said, ‘I hid the money in a box. Here’s the map. Good luck.’”

  “I think your dad wanted to have a little fun with you.” Ty grinned.

  Lexi huffed in frustration. “This is ridiculous and insane.” Each time she found a clue, she thought it would be the last one. It just led to another, and another.

  “How about I help you go look again? I’m assuming you weren’t quite through when Baby ran her little play on us.” Ty finished his tea and focused on placing as many kisses as he could on Lexi’s neck before she began squirming on his lap.

  “That would be great.” She jumped to her feet and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go.”

  Ty kissed her again, so thoroughly, her knees trembled.

  “Come on, Nancy Drew,” he teased, taking a series of deep breaths to cool his ardor as he led her out the door.

  With a flashlight in hand, they returned to the shed. Ty climbed up to the loft area and looked around. One small toolbox was the only thing of interest to him and he handed it down to Lexi. A padlock held the lid shut, so they took it to the shop where Ty cut off the lock.

  Inside the box was an assortment of antique hand tools and a small envelope.

  Lexi took the envelope in her hand and sighed, studying the tools.

  “Those belonged to my great-grandfather,” she said, running her hand over the motley assortment of once useful pieces. “Daddy said he learned how to use a tool properly by playing with these as a boy.”

  “That’s a box full of your family history, Lexi. Just think of the hands that smoothed these handles.” Reverently, he picked up a hammer. A groove was worn into the handle from being held in sweaty hands for so many years.

  “Let’s see what this says,” Lexi said, opening the envelope. A small slip of notebook paper was tucked inside.

  Don’t Mess with the Boss

  “Well, isn’t that helpful?” Lexi said dryly, angry at her father over the latest set of clues. Anyone who knew Lex already knew no one messed with the boss. She liked to think her hired hands followed that rule with her as well.

  “Don’t discount it yet.” He held the paper in his big hand. “It could mean more than you think it does.”

  Tired of searching for the money, she rubbed a hand across her eyes and sighed. “I can’t keep chasing something that isn’t there, Ty. I give up. Maybe someday we’ll find the money, maybe we won’t, but I give up.”

  “No one said you had to find it right now, did they? If finances are tight, cut my pay. I can work in the evenings for some of the neighbors doing repair jobs if you need extra money.” He offered her a comforting hug.

  “Tyler Lewis, you can’t be real.” Lexi stared at him as tears filled her eyes. His words proved that he truly loved her. Not her money, not her ranch, not her supposed social standing. He loved her. “Thank you for the sweet offer, but we aren’t hurting for money, buckaroo. It just bothers me to have it hanging out there. I’m afraid of what would happen if someone else found it.”

  “Then I guess we’ll just need to work closely together to figure this out sooner rather than later.” He had a few ideas on what Lex was really trying to tell them.

  Lesson Eighteen

  Never Stop Learning

  “If there’s somethin’ ya don’t know,

  git out there and find out all ya can about it.”

  “It can’t be as bad as all that,” Jan commented to Ty as he lingered over his cup of breakfast coffee. “She’ll be home soon enough.”

  Ty lifted his head and looked at the housekeeper as she finished her coffee and carried dirty dishes to the kitchen sink.

  “How’d you know?” Ty picked up a stack of dishes and carried them for her.

  “I may be older, but I was young and in love once. Don’t forget I also raised five kids. I know the signs.” Jan gave Ty a pat on his back. She knew she shouldn’t play favorites, but the big, quiet man was always so thoughtful and helpful. As Swede would say, he was just a good egg. It didn’t hurt that his smile could charm the birds out of the trees or the blue of his eyes could entrance any female regardless of her age.

  Ty grinned and helped finish clearing off the table before he went out for the day. Things were pretty quiet on the ranch right now.

  According to Swede, they’d start haying again in about a week and things would really get busy. The guys were caught up on fence repairs and Ty was finished with equipment repairs, unless Cal tore up another piece of machinery.

  Those without anything better to do were mucking stalls, cleaning tack, and riding horses that hadn’t been ridden for a while.

  Gus volunteered to work around the ranch yard, pulling weeds and tending to the landscaping. Ty thought it was the notion of being closer to Jan, not the flowers, sparking Gus’ sudden interest in staying closer to the home place.

  Swede gave Ty permission a couple of months ago to work on a surprise for Lexi in his spare time. Without her knowing about it, he had slowly worked at restoring her dad’s old mustang.

  Three days ago, Lexi left for a cattleman’s meeting near Pendleton. She was going to spend a few days visiting Bertie and Linc before the meeting began then head straight home afterward.

  Ty missed her more than he thought he could possibly miss anyone. It had been two weeks since he came to his senses and told her he loved her. Without ranch work to keep him busy and distracted from his thoughts of Lexi, he decided to work on the car.

  Swede thought it was a great project and helped him tow the car into the shop before the dust from Lexi’s truck quit swirling down the driveway. At some point before he died, Lex ordered all the necessary repair parts, including a new engine for the car as well as new upholstery and interior linings. Although he’d made a lot of headway in his spare time restoring the car, it would be a lot easier to get the job done in the shop.

  Able to finish up everything under the hood before dark the previous evening, Ty and Swede took the car for a quick test drive.

  “Woohee, son, this ol’ car is smooth. I’m not sure she sounded this good brand spankin’ new!” Swede said as they pulled out on the highway. Ty slowly worked up to speed. Once he hit sixty, he pushed the accelerator to the floor and they zoomed across the desert highway.

  Swede cackled and thumped the dashboard. “I plumb forgot what a fun car this was. I don’t remember the seats being so almighty lumpy, though.”

  After driving back to the ranch, Ty could hardly go to sleep when he finally got to bed. He was too wound up about finishing the restoration project.

  Now, with the early morning light sending dust motes into a lively dance in the shop, Ty tackled the interior work. The final touch would be a paint job. Swede found someone in Burns who could do it and the car would go in first thing in the morning. The shop promised to have it completed so they could bring the car home the following day before Lexi returned to the ranch.

  As he pulled the ratty carpet up from the floorboards, Ty listened to his music and mused about how much his life had changed in such a short period of time.

  Mid-morning, he took a break to gulp down water and stand in front of the air conditioner in the shop window. He called Beth to check in with her. She was on her morning break and rushed, but she made time to visit with him for a few minutes.

  “Lexi will be so surprised about the car, Ty. I think it’s just great you are doing this for her,” Beth said, enjoying the unexpected call from her brother.

  “I hope so. I wanted to do something nice for her. Something unexpected.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead onto his bare arm. He’d taken to wearing sleeveless coveralls with a tank top as the summer heat permeated every building on the ranch. “I wish Mom could see this car, Beth. She would have
loved it. You know how she always had a thing for muscle cars.”

  “Yeah, she did. I don’t know what it was with her and the cars and the rock music. Guess that’s why you turned out the way you did,” Beth teased.

  “What’s wrong with that?” He inflected a wounded sound to his voice.

  “Not a thing, sweet brother, not a single thing. Now tell me what is so special about this car, other than Lexi’s dad owned it.”

  “It’s a Mustang Boss. Limited production. It could mow down the competition without even…” Ty stopped when all of the puzzle pieces Lex left behind suddenly fit into place. Excited, he could barely stand still. “Say, Beth, I just realized I’ve got something I need to take care of, but thanks so much for your help.”

  “My help?” Beth asked, confused. “But, Ty…”

  “Love you, Bethie, I’ll talk to you soon. Give Jax a hug from his favorite uncle.”

  “Okay, bye.”

  Ty mentally ran through all the clues Lex left behind. How did he not see this before, especially with the last clue about not messing with the boss? He stood next to the car wondering where Lex hid the money. He knew it wasn’t under the hood because he had been through every inch of space there. It had to either be in the trunk or inside the car.

  Swiftly deciding to continue with the interior, Ty worked with a renewed purpose and vigor that soon had the carpets ripped out. He removed the dash and door panels, the fabric lining of the roof, and saved the seats for last. It would be easier to take the seats out to recover them so he loosened the bolts and soon had the driver’s seat out of the car.

  He moved over to the front passenger seat, and lifted it, aware of a noticeable difference in the weight compared to the driver’s seat. Quickly tipping it forward, he pulled it out and laughed when he discovered a lumpy duffle bag stuffed up inside the seat. No wonder Swede complained about it being uncomfortable the night before. It looked like Lex cut a hole beneath the seat, pulled out some of the foam and stuffed in the bag of money.