A Cowboy Comes Home (14 page)

In her dressing room, she put off the red dress to the very last. She tried a strapless, straight-skirted design in royal blue, but they all agreed the neckline didn’t work. Then a basic black cocktail dress, which was too close to one of the few she already owned. Then she tried a patterned, empire-waist, knee-length concoction, with cap sleeves and a hemline ruffle. It made her look about twelve. Abigail actually laughed when she walked out to model it.

Abigail had already decided to go with the green, so she was waiting in her regular clothes when Mandy exited the dressing room in the red dress.

Her grin was a mile wide. “It’s stunning,” she pronounced.

The salesclerk nodded her agreement. “I wish I had legs like that,” she commented, looking Mandy up and down. “It fits you perfectly.”

Mandy glanced to her legs. She didn’t see anything particularly interesting about them. They held her up, helped her balance on a horse and could walk or jog for miles when necessary. That’s all that counted.

“You probably want to shave them before we go out.”

“Thanks tons, sis.”

“But I’ve never seen you look so beautiful,” Abigail declared. “You absolutely
have
to get it.”

“I don’t know when I’ll ever wear it again,” Mandy glanced at the price tag. It was about three times as much as she’d ever spent on a dress before.

“Well, you’ll wear it tonight,” said Abigail.

“And after that?”

“After that, who knows. You’re about to become the sister of the Mayor of Lyndon.”

The salesclerk gave Abigail a curious look.

“Our brother Seth Jacobs is running for mayor this fall,” Abigail put in smoothly. “Make sure you vote.”

“There’ll be the swearing-in dance,” the clerk offered to Mandy. “And that’s always formal.”

“We’re only going to the Weasel tonight,” Mandy noted, considering different angles in the mirror.

Okay, so the dress did look pretty darn good. It accentuated her waist. It would twirl enticingly while she danced. And it showed just enough cleavage to be exotic without being tacky. She wouldn’t mind Caleb seeing her in this.

Behind her, in the mirror, the salesclerk waved a dismissive hand. “You can wear anything to the Weasel. Lots of the younger girls dress up to go there, especially on a Friday night.”

“There you go,” said Abigail. She glanced at her watch. “You’d better made a decision quick because we have to get to the Cut and Curl.”

Mandy drew a breath. Okay. The red dress it was. Her lips curled into an involuntary smile. “You talked me into it.”

Nine

I
f Mandy was trying to drive Caleb stark raving mad, she was certainly going about it the right way. Her hair was up. Her heels were high. And the professionally applied makeup had turned her face from beautiful to stunning.

Her sassy red dress was enough to give a man a coronary.

When they walked into the Weasel, he hadn’t even bothered asking her to dance, simply swirled her out onto the crowded dance floor and wrapped her tightly in his arms, before anybody else could get their hands on her. Since then, he’d been shooting warning glares at any guy who dared look twice.

Abigail was also quick to attract her share of partners. Caleb and Seth parked it at the bar, ordering up a round of beers.

Once he recovered the power of speech, Caleb put his lips close to Mandy’s ear, keeping the volume of his voice just above the music of the country band. “You look gorgeous.”

“You like?” she asked.

“I love.”

She grinned at him, showing straight, white teeth, while her eyes flashed emerald. “Abby made me buy it.”

“Abigail’s my new favorite person.”

“She’ll be thrilled to hear it.”

He spun Mandy around, then smoothly pulled her back against his body. “You should do this more often.”

“Dance with you?”

“Well, yeah. That, too. But I meant dress up.”

She arched a brow. “Something wrong with my blue jeans?”

“Don’t be so sensitive. I prefer silk to denim on my dates. Deal with it.”

“Well, I prefer blue jeans to suit jackets.”

Caleb frowned at her. Then he made a show of glancing around the crowd. “Any casually dressed guy in particular catch your eye? I could dance you over and let him cut in.”

“Sure,” she teased right back. “What about the guy in the yellow hat?”

Caleb shook his head. “Looks a little too old for the likes of you.”

“The one with the red boots?”

“Too short.”

“Well…” She continued to scan the room before returning her attention to him. “Okay, what about you?”

“I’m wearing a suit. And I’m already dancing with you.”

“A girl, Caleb. Pick out a girl. Who looks good to you?”

He kept his eyes fixed firmly on her. “I’m dancing with her.”

“That’s a cop-out.”

“It’s the truth. If there are any other girls in this room, I didn’t notice.”

“Smooth talker,” she told him, but their gazes locked and held.

“What are you doing later?” he rumbled.

“I’m rooming with my sister.”

“This is ridiculous,” he griped, frustrated by the barriers that kept flying up in their way. “I feel like we’re in high school.”

“You think if it wasn’t for Abigail, I’d be jumping into bed with you?”

Her question surprised and embarrassed him. Was he being presumptuous? Had he been that far wrong in reading her signals? Had he imagined her response to his lovemaking?

Sure, they’d argued afterward, but then they’d made love again. And she’d been all he could think of ever since, despite the fact Travis had kept him away from the ranch and out of cell range for two long days.

Did Mandy feel differently?

“I’m sorry,” he began, feeling like a heel. “I didn’t mean—”

“That’s the problem, Caleb.” Her look was frank. “I don’t know what you mean. I just spent two days wondering what you mean.”

“What I mean is that I like you, Mandy,” he answered her as honestly as he could. “I like you a lot. I think you’re beautiful and exciting and real. And I can’t seem to get enough of you. I want to spend every minute in your company.” His voice rose in frustration. “And I want to ditch all of your siblings so they’ll stop getting in my way.”

She broke into a smile. “That was a good answer.”

“Thank you,” he grumbled.

“But it’s okay if you just think I’m sexy.”

“I think you’re that, too.”

Her expression sobered. “When I didn’t hear from you, I thought maybe once was enough.”

“Twice,” he corrected.

“Twice is enough?”

“No! I meant we did it twice already.” He gathered her closer, adding some intimacy to the conversation by putting his mouth closer to her ear. “Twice is definitely not enough.”

“You want to pick a number?” There was a thread of laughter in her tone. “That’ll keep me from guessing where this is going and when it’s going to end.”

“Fifty,” he told her.

“Ambitious.”

“Always.”

The band ended the song with a pounding drum solo, and the lead singer announced they were taking a break.

Abigail appeared next to them, commandeering Mandy for the ladies’ room, and Caleb wound his way toward the bar.

He ordered a beer.

Travis stepped up. “Make it two.”

“Find someone to dance with?” asked Caleb.

“Not a problem. I went to high school with half the people here.”

“I recognize a few faces.” Caleb glanced around the room, seeing at least a dozen people he’d known as a teenager.

The bartender set two bottles of beer on the bar, and Caleb handed him a twenty. He and Travis turned to face the crowd, Caleb scanning for Mandy.

“I see the way you’re looking at my sister.” Travis took a long swig of his beer.

Again?
Caleb
really
didn’t want to have this conversation. “Every man in the room is looking at your sister.”

“Every man in the room isn’t dancing with her.”

“Only because I won’t let them.”

Travis opened his mouth to respond.

But Caleb interrupted him, squaring his shoulders as he angled to face Travis. He was getting this over with here and now. “You’ve got to back off, man. She’s a grown woman.”

The piped in music throbbed through the speakers, and a few dancers took the floor again.

“You don’t have a sister.”

Caleb crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t. But that doesn’t change anything.”

“It would change your attitude.”

“Let’s assume my attitude is not going to change in the next five minutes.”

Travis took another pull on his bottled beer. “Yeah, I know.”

“She’s a smart woman, Travis. She’s realistic and self-confident, and I’m not pressuring her to do anything.”

“I’m backing off,” said Travis.

The statement surprised Caleb, leaving him at a loss for words. Thanking Travis didn’t seem remotely appropriate. So, he took a drink instead.

Seth appeared from the crowd. “What’s going on?”

Caleb shot Travis a sidelong glance, wondering what he was going to say to his brother.

“Not much,” Travis responded with a shrug.

Seth signaled for a beer and parked himself next to Caleb, facing the room along with them. “I think we’re going to have to keep an eye on our sisters tonight.”

Travis coughed out a laugh. “You think?”

“I never think of them as particularly beautiful,” Seth continued. “But they clean up pretty good.”

It was Caleb’s turn to laugh. “Your sisters are drop-dead gorgeous, Seth.”

“I know,” said Seth in some amazement. He scooped a handful of peanuts from the bowl on the bar. “I’m picturing them on the campaign trail.”

“What trail?” Travis challenged. “You’re running for mayor, not governor.”

“There’ll still be photo ops. What do you think? One on each arm?”

“You’ll look like Hugh Hefner.”

“Hmm,” Seth mused. “Guess I’d better rethink that.”

At the far side of the room, Mandy reappeared with Abigail.

Men immediately took notice, sending interested gazes and shifting themselves in the women’s direction, some of them obviously setting up to make a move. Caleb abandoned his beer and pushed away from the bar, setting a direct course for Mandy. Seth and Travis could look out for Abigail. But Caleb wasn’t letting Mandy out of his sight.

Back in the hotel room, Mandy stripped off her high shoes. Abigail followed suit, stretching her bare feet out on an ottoman in their compact sitting area.

“My feet are definitely not in shape for strappy sandals,” Abigail complained.

“I hear you.” Mandy flopped down on the opposite armchair, stretching out her own sore feet, sharing the ottoman. She liked to think she was pretty tough, but she’d definitely been defeated by a dance floor. By midnight, even a few more minutes in Caleb’s arms hadn’t been enough of an incentive to add an extra blister.

“Felt a little like Cinderella, though, didn’t it?” asked Abigail.

“Tomorrow, we go back to cleaning the fireplace.”

“Well, horse stalls,” said Abigail. “At least, that’s your fate. I’ve been getting away with a lot of office work lately.”

“I hate the office work.”

“Lucky for me.”

Mandy plucked at the silky layers of her dress. “Do you think the campaign is going to keep you in Lyndon a lot?”

Abigail shrugged. “More than usual, for sure. Why?”

“It’s been awfully quiet at home.”

Abigail grinned at her. “You missed me?”

“I did,” Mandy admitted. “With Mom and Dad staying at the rehab center, and you and Seth in Denver and Lyndon, and Travis always out on the range, it’ll just be me at lunch and probably just me at dinner.”

“I think Travis likes his new role,” said Abby. “With no Dad and no Seth, he’s going to have a lot more responsibility.”

Mandy had to agree. Travis seemed very happy. Once again, she got the feeling she was the only one left behind.

“Are you suffering from empty-nest syndrome?” Abigail asked, compassion in her dark, hazel eyes.

“Maybe I am,” Mandy realized. “Weird. I never thought about how much my life depended on the rest of the family being there. It’s like nobody needs me anymore.”

“The ranch can’t run without you and Travis.”

“Without Travis, maybe. But you’re the one who does the paperwork. The foreman knows what to do day to day. The hands know what to do. I’m… Okay, this is depressing. I think the Terrells need me more than my own family.”

Abigail’s eyes narrowed. “The Terrells?”

“Getting Reed back.” Mandy was surprised Abigail didn’t immediately understand. “Caleb’s off on this crazy ‘sell the ranch’ tangent, and Reed’s lying low. And somebody has to knock some sense into the both of them.”

Abby moved her feet to the floor and sat forward in her chair. “They’re grown men, Mandy.”

“That doesn’t mean they have a brain between them.”

“That doesn’t make it your responsibility.”

Mandy shook her head. Her sister wasn’t getting this. How had nobody else noticed? “The universe is out of balance, Abby. It has been for ten years. I love Reed.”

“We all love Reed.”

“There you go. I can’t abandon him at a time like this, can I? He’s my third brother.”

Abby’s face winkled in consternation. “Do you think there’s any chance.” She paused, watching Mandy carefully. “Any chance at all that—I mean, right now—you’re somehow substituting Reed for your own family.”

“I’m not—”

Abigail held up a hand. “Hear me out. We’re all busy. And you’re feeling adrift. And along comes this very juicy family problem that you think you might be able to solve.”

“A
juicy problem?
You think I’m getting some kind of emotional satisfaction out of Caleb Terrell threatening to sell his family’s ranch?”

“I think you’re like a moth to a flame. Someone’s hurt? There’s Mandy. Someone’s upset? There’s Mandy. Two people in a dispute? There’s Mandy.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not a bad thing. It’s a great thing. And it’s an important role,
in your own family.
But when you start franchising out, it’s a problem.”

“This is Reed Terrell, not some stranger I picked up on the street.”

Abigail chuckled at that. “All I’m saying is don’t get too invested in Reed and Caleb Terrell. This may not be a problem you can solve.”

Mandy’s hand clamped down on the padded arms of the chair. In her mind, failure was not an option. “I have to solve it.”

“And, if you can’t?”

Mandy wasn’t going to think about that right now. Reed gone from the Valley forever? Someone other than the Terrells living down the road? And Caleb gone, with no reason to ever return.

She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she’d started hoping he’d reconnect with Lyndon Valley, maybe come back once in a while. He did have his own jet. And then, they could…could…

Okay. Shelving that thought for now.

Abigail was watching her expectantly. “And if you can’t?” she repeated.

“If I can’t get them to reconcile,” Mandy responded breezily. “Then, that’s that. Reed will move and life will go on.”