The Maverick Meets His Match (16 page)

Ty scanned the impressive amount of buildings dotting the landscape. As a developer, he could appreciate the extent of the investment the county had made.

“This where the rodeo will be held?” Ty asked, turning his attention back to the empty seats that ringed about a thirty-foot show area as a hot breeze blew off the asphalt of the parking lot.

Ben shook his head. “This is our outdoor arena. Only holds two thousand. We use this for smaller attendance events like the senior team roping, but I thought Lyle might be hereabouts.”

Just then a tall, thin, balding man rounded the corner.

“Thought I saw you crossing the lot,” Lyle said as he drew closer.

“Lyle.” Mandy said, tugging her hand from Ty’s. He reluctantly released his grasp, and Mandy stepped forward to shake the elder man’s hand. “How’s Cora doing? Last I heard, she was laid up with arthritis after visiting the Houston Stock Show.”

“That she was, but she’s better now. Sorry to hear about JM, Mandy.” Lyle’s eyes scrunched up like he was blinking back tears as he removed his weathered hat.

“Thanks. We got the flowers, and they were beautiful.” Mandy gave the old man a gentle hug. “I need to introduce you to our new partner. And my husband. He was also a good friend of JM’s. Lyle Thornton, Ty Martin.”

Ty shook the thin man’s bony but sturdy hand.

“Ty here is new to Prescott, so I thought I’d show him around a bit,” Ben explained. “Was going to take him to the barn next.”

Lyle nodded and led the way with a rocking gait, across a paved sidewalk and toward one of the large buildings. Mandy had abandoned Ty to walk by Lyle’s side, doing her best, no doubt, to solidify a connection.

Ben and Ty trailed behind. “The county fair goes for ten days, and the rodeo, which we are in charge of, runs from Tuesday to Sunday. It’s a big event in these parts.” Ben seemed eager to impress, and Ty took that as a good sign.

The barn was large and long. Stall after stall lined the linear building, and they all looked well used with scratched wood and stained concrete attesting to the number of horses that had been housed over the years.

“You have, what, about a hundred and thirty stalls in here, Ben?” Mandy asked.

“That’s right.” Ben smiled as if pleased she’d remembered. “They’re looking to upgrade the stalls this coming year, and it’s about time. There are also plans for a new arena for the rodeo and cutting horse events located closer to the barn. We think that will keep attendance up.”

“They don’t like hauling in dirt to the coliseum, I’m guessing.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “That’s right.”

“Through here,” Mandy said, waving a hand toward a large exit in the middle of the rows of stalls, “you can get to the cattle pens. As I recall, they can hold about a thousand head of cattle in those pens. More than enough for the bulls and steers we bring in for the events.”

Ty took a gander at the maze of metal railings. “Was this all built by the county?”

“In the seventies,” Ben said. “It’s in need of a facelift now. The plan is to renovate the barns, build an arena dedicated to equestrian events, and upgrade the offices and restrooms. Still serves its purpose though. Let me show you the coliseum where the rodeo is held, at least for now.”

“What are you looking at cost-wise for the renovation?” Ty asked as they walked out of the barn. He couldn’t help the developer in him.

“About twenty million.”

Sounded right.

Within minutes they were entering a huge concrete building. The air-conditioning felt good after the outside heat. The foursome wound their way along back corridors until they stood where the barrel racers would enter.

Looking across the arena and up at the stands, the coliseum seemed sizeable. Ben pointed out where the pens would go and explained the need to haul in dirt. “It will be much easier if we get our own venue on these grounds. We need to have good attendance this season to prove it’s worth the investment. That’s why, more than ever, we need a top-notch rodeo supplier this year.”

“You have five thousand seats to fill, and we’re here to fill them,” Mandy said and launched into her plans for the upcoming rodeo with unbridled enthusiasm, as if Abilene was the only rodeo that mattered. Ben and Lyle gave Mandy their full attention, and Ty knew the worst was over when the talk turned to
how
to make Abilene’s rodeo a good one rather than whether Prescott would be running it again.

Her red lips moved with excitement, snagging his attention, as did the shiny mane of hair she flipped more than once. He’d like to kiss those lips again, run his fingers through all that hair. He’d like to feel her explode as he made love to her.

Holding her last night had been hell. Tonight, alone in the hotel room, he planned to hold her with a specific endpoint in mind.

He was not a patient man, and he’d no intention of allowing Mandy to drag out the inevitable. She may think she had the upper hand, but it had been ten years since he’d had an opportunity to play his hand. He wasn’t one to miss an opportunity.

He shifted his thoughts to the two men, whose narrowed-eyed focus was on Mandy. She’d done a good job reconnecting with the two wranglers. She was definitely a people person with a knack for putting them at ease. Ty usually took a different tack in his business, making people uncomfortable. It worked in contentious land negotiations, but he sensed it wouldn’t work here, where trust and familiarity were necessary ingredients.

Mandy had also impressed him, and by the interest the two rodeo men where showing, impressed Lyle and Ben as well, with her knowledge, not only of Prescott but of the Abilene rodeo venue and what would be needed to put on a successful rodeo.

He had to admit that her brand of sales was working. She seemed a natural. Like this was her calling. And he might have to pull it away from her. Seeing her in action, being with her, the responsibility sat heavier now than just a few days ago.

Ty waited until Mandy finished discussing the number of broncs and bulls needed, the number of steers required, the announcer and bullfighters to be used, and the parade details before he brought up next year’s rodeo.

“We’re here to assure you of our commitment to the Abilene rodeo in case you had any doubts, given the circumstances. What we’d like to know is, if we meet your expectations this year, can we count on doing Abilene next year as well?”

Lyle eyed Ben, leading Ty to believe they’d talked about next year already. Mandy looked at Ty with surprise. Hadn’t she ever heard of a presumptive sale’s close?

Ben’s gaze swung between Mandy and Ty. “I won’t lie. There’s been others here already, sensing an opportunity.”

“Can I ask what you told them?”

“Told them we’d think about it. You keeping the rates per animal the same?”

Ty did a quick mental calculation. If others were looking to take business, would they have offered less or equal, given the fact they thought Prescott was vulnerable? Especially if that someone was Stan Lassiter.

“Yes,” Mandy answered before Ty could open his mouth.

Ben still didn’t look convinced enough to give the affirmative answer Ty was looking for. They needed something more.

“We’ll keep the same rate—and let you name a bull and bronc you’d especially want in the mix.” He hadn’t discussed this “sweetener” with Mandy because it had just come to him, but it was a winning idea.

Ben stared at him from under the brim of his hat. “Even if it had gone to the NRF?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mandy cross her arms, and the frown she wore didn’t look all that agreeable.

“Yes,” he said. It wouldn’t cost Prescott any more, but from his meeting with Guy in Colorado, he’d learned it meant a lot to a rodeo.

Generally, a stock company could charge more for NRF-caliber horses and bulls than other equally good stock because of the fame of the animal. Not every rodeo could afford the headliners, but that didn’t mean they didn’t get good stock for their dollars. However, a legendary horse or bull would pull the top cowboys to compete, and that, in turn, would draw more people to the event.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.” Ben offered his hand. Ty shook it. So did Mandy.

In Texas, Ty knew a man’s word was as good as a contract. They’d saved Abilene.

After the meeting with Ben and Lyle, Ty had begged off, allegedly to buy some new boots more suited to rodeo work than to “squiring around a pretty woman,” as he had put it, and Mandy decided she might as well get a manicure and chill. Ty had overstepped his bounds by offering that sweetener without consulting her, even if it did secure the business. It was a bitter taste of what having Ty as a partner would be like.

The manicure had stretched into a shopping trip for yet another pair of boots for herself—embossed tan leather, brown insets, and gold studs. Before she knew it, dinnertime was almost upon her, and she hurried back to the hotel room. She fumbled in her purse for the key card to no avail. She knocked on the door. No answer.

Apparently, she had beaten Ty back to the room. That suited her. She’d take advantage of his absence by enjoying a nice long, hot shower, if she could just find her key. She dug some more until she decided to check the zippered outer pocket. Success. She slid the key card into the slot, pushed on the handle, and opened the door.

She stepped inside, her purse and shopping bag swinging on her arm. No sign of Ty. Beds were made, suitcases and closet door closed. She strolled further into the room, spying a new pair of men’s black boots by the bed. He’d gone for barn boots, an interesting choice for a man who always looked like he’d stepped out of an issue of GQ. She noted he had rather large feet and couldn’t help wondering what else might be large.

A door clicked behind her. Whirling around she came face to…face with a gloriously naked Ty. She dropped the purse and shopping bag with a thud.

Bare chest, bulging biceps, and spectacular abs begged for her notice, but it was the large object dangling between his legs that captured her attention. And held it.

My god, he was hung. Beautifully, generously. Her heart hammered against her chest. Her palms leaked sweat. The back of her neck tingled.

She had no idea how long she stared. Just stared. Unabashedly stared. And maybe even drooled. She couldn’t tell.

She forced herself to look up, following the thin line of hair that ran from his navel up his finely sculpted chest, to those broad shoulders and thick neck, up to the chiseled jaw and lips cracked in a cocky smile, until her gaze landed on a pair of fine dark eyes dancing with amusement.

“Like what you see, Mrs. Martin?” he drawled.

Holy crap.

She swallowed the saliva that had condensed in her mouth. “What are you doing? Where are your clothes?”

“In the suitcase, which I was coming out to get. I took a shower.”

Gathering her splintered senses together, she found the discipline to turn around and face the wall. “Put some clothes on,” she demanded.

“Sight too much for you, darling?” he chuckled.

Steam rose inside her as if her heated blood was letting off vapors. She heard hard footfalls as he moved toward her. Please put clothes on before she jumped his bones like her pitiful body was exhorting her to do with each breath she took.

“You should have knocked,” she blurted out.

He chuckled again. “To come out of the bathroom?” She heard the click of the suitcase.

She waited, exercising all the control she could muster to keep from turning around and having another peek. The man was magnificent, and she was having a hard time fighting biology. She bit her lip in order to feel something other than lust.

She heard the snap of a waistband.

“You can turn around now. It’s covered. But I’m pretty sure you’ve seen one before.”

But never, ever like his.

She whirled around. He wore black boxer briefs that outlined the prominent ridge that had held her captive just moments before. Control. She had to exercise control. Get mad. Think about today and how he’d usurped her.

“Only fair since you’ve seen me that I see you. We could take a shower together. I don’t mind going twice,” Ty offered. He’d seen her checking him out. Maybe he was closer to sealing the deal than he’d imagined.

“In your dreams,” she said, but her voice had a funny little quiver in it. “We need to talk.”

“About what?” He pulled out a shirt from the suitcase he’d propped on one of the queen-sized beds. Ty thought he had reserved a king bed for their stay, but someone, apparently, had called after him to reserve a two-bed guest room in Mandy’s name.

“You should have at least consulted me before offering that option of choosing whatever livestock they wanted.” Mandy threw the purse and shopping bag on the opposite bed. “We can’t go offering that to everyone, or our premier horses and bulls get exhausted.”

“It was only one horse and one bull. I thought it was a great idea. So did Ben.” He sat down on the other bed and began to slip on the shirt, buttons open. With hands on hips and fire in her eye, Mandy stood there looking madder than one of her bucking horses, and all he could think about was stripping her naked and kissing her all over. Damn. They needed to work this out soon. He’d no intention of spending six months in frustration hell.

“That’s not the point. It’s how you did it. Without discussing it with anyone. Without the courtesy of discussing it with me.” Her chest rose with a little huff. God, she was a well-built female. Built for loving.

“How could I consult you when I had just thought of it? You see, this is where you lose me. Good idea, good deal, problem solved. But here you are jawing about
how
it happened. Who cares?” He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling damn irritated—and horny.

Did she realize she’d worried her lip into a plump red treat he’d love to suck on? Did she know that standing there in those heeled cowgirl boots, legs spread apart in a gunfighter pose, had him imagining her in nothing else but those leather boots—and he meant nothing else.

“I care,” she said, thumping her chest above her right breast. God, she had nice breasts. Round, perky, and more than palm sized.