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“Is something wrong, Leanne?”
Her mother read her too well. “Oh no,” she assured her. “Everything’s fine.” But it wasn’t, she thought, remembering the way he’d looked at her in the truck on the way home and then at the door when they’d said goodnight. Something was definitely different.
Her mama’s hand closed over hers. “I wish I could make you see, child, what a good husband Ty would make. I don’t know why you don’t trust your mama’s instincts.”
Here they went again. Leanne sighed. “I know he’d make a fine husband, Mama, that’s not the problem.”
Joanna shook her head. “You’ve read too many of those paperbacks. You keep expecting some knight in shining armor to come take you away. Well, that ain’t the way it works. You know Ty and his family. They’re good folks. Marrying Ty is the right thing to do.” She squeezed her daughter’s hand. “It’s the only way you’ll ever save this ranch.”
There it was, the bottom line. The weight of saving the family ranch fell squarely on Leanne’s shoulders. “I know all that,” she said. “It’s just that I don’t feel that way toward Ty.” At least she hadn’t until today. Maybe that was just a fluke.
Her mother sighed wearily. “You’ll see, Leanne. Everything will be fine. You’ll learn to love Ty that way. He’s a good man. It’s what we all want.”
Leanne arched a skeptical brow. “You might be counting your chickens before they hatch considering he hasn’t asked yet. Maybe he won’t.”
Joanna smiled. “Oh, he will. The Coopers have wanted to combine this land with their own for two generations.” Her mother patted her hand. “He’ll ask. It’s just a matter of time.”
Opting not to argue the issue further, Leanne kissed her mother’s forehead. “Goodnight, Mama.”
Leanne left her mother’s room and headed toward her own. According to what her mother had told her eons ago, the Coopers had been disappointed when their only daughter, Tara, hadn’t married the only Watley son, Leanne’s father. Instead, she’d married the son of the Cooper family’s archrivals, a Montgomery. Tara and her husband had died in a tragic accident just one year later, leaving their infant sons, one of which had died shortly thereafter.
Now, the sole Cooper heir and the Watley heiress were once more being groomed for merging the two properties.
But that wasn’t the kind of merger Leanne was looking for.
After dragging off her boots, she stripped off her clothes and slipped into a warm flannel gown. It was May, not quite summer yet, and nights were still a bit chilly. She crawled beneath the covers and tried without success to block Ty Cooper’s image from her mind.
Being Ty’s wife wouldn’t be such a chore, she admitted. He was handsome, broad-shouldered and a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. She remembered well her first day in kindergarten. The school bully had made fun of her on the playground. Ty had come to her rescue. Though nine years her senior, he seemed always to be there, taking care of her.
She heaved a weary breath and flopped over on her side. But she didn’t love him, and she doubted he loved her. The Coopers already leased part of her grazing land. In fact, that lease money was all that stood between the Watleys and the poorhouse. Two or three times in the last year, they’d skated far too close to foreclosure for comfort.
No matter, Leanne didn’t want to get married because it made financial sense. The lease appeared to be working for both families without a marriage to seal the deal. Why didn’t they just leave it at that? Even if she somehow managed to bring life to her father’s dream, it wouldn’t prevent the Coopers from continuing to run cattle on her land. On the contrary, the cattle would add Western ambiance to her dude ranch. But her mother wouldn’t hear of it. She intended Leanne to marry Ty.
Maybe Leanne could work up the nerve to talk it over with Ty. She couldn’t imagine that he liked this matchmaking business any better than she did. Surely he would see reason. Then they would both be free to look for their own true loves.
That warm sensation that had bloomed in her middle when she’d kissed Ty suddenly swirled inside her once more. She remembered the searing heat in his eyes when he’d looked at her, as if for the first time, before she’d said goodnight. She shook her head and hugged her pillow. It was ridiculous. He wouldn’t be able to make her feel that way again. She was sure of it.
Spending time with him at the dance on Friday night would prove it.
The dance.
Leanne sat straight up. She had absolutely nothing to wear to the dance.
She mentally ticked off every dress in her closet. It didn’t take long, she only owned three. She couldn’t wear any of those old flour sacks. She chewed her lower lip. But she sure hated to spend the money to buy something new. Though she supposed that it was time she bought a new church dress. The whole congregation was likely tired of looking at the same old three over and over.
Funny, she mused with growing self-deprecation, she hadn’t worried about anything new to wear to the dance until tonight. What was it about Ty this evening that made her suddenly feel so strangely attracted to him? What made this day any different from the thousands of others they’d shared in the past twenty years?
Leanne dropped back onto her pillows. She couldn’t answer that question. She would just have to wait and see if that zing of desire happened again.
Probably not, she decided. Lightning never struck the same place twice.
Did it?
DEX HAD FOUND Ty’s room with only a couple of false starts. Fortunately no one had been around to see those blunders. The whole Cooper clan had gathered in the family room to watch television after he’d excused himself.
Dex felt immensely grateful for the reprieve. His feet were relieved as well. He simply couldn’t imagine what made cowboys believe that boots were comfortable. Apparently their feet had been molded for the footwear since birth.
How would he endure the ill-fitting get-up he was supposed to wear for the duration of this ruse? He wondered then how Ty was faring in Atlanta. The notion that Grandfather Montgomery was probably completely fooled pleased Dex entirely too much. He knew he should feel some regret, but he didn’t. Not in the proper sense anyway. He regretted wearing the boots. He didn’t look forward to pretending to be someone he wasn’t. Yet, he savored the idea of the discoveries he would make. He would learn about his mother and the people who’d turned their backs on him as a mere infant.
And he intended to teach the Montgomerys a little lesson as well. He and Ty were the victims here. No one could call any part of this entire sham fair. Their whole lives were based on one huge, bogus negotiation strategy.
Was Ty lying in Dex’s bed in Atlanta and wondering how the Montgomerys could have chosen Dex over him?
It wasn’t a good feeling. Dex knew first-hand.
He thought of his Grandmother Cooper and the way her smile did strange things to his heart. He glanced at the unopened gift waiting on the bureau. A part of him wanted desperately to open it, but it wasn’t really for him. It was for Ty. Dex looked away. It was all for Ty. Even the smiles that made Dex feel as if he was looking into an expression his mother would have freely offered.
The bottom line was, he wanted to know more…to somehow understand. Besides, the elder Coopers intrigued him. He wanted to know what made them tick. What had precipitated the choices they’d made all those years ago? And before he returned to Atlanta, Dex would have the answers. He was very good at getting to the bottom of things.
Surviving in the shark-infested waters of HMOs and high finance had taught him a good many things. Not the least of which was survival of the fittest.
But nothing he’d ever learned or experienced had prepared him for the attraction brewing between Leanne Watley and him. Dex mentally reviewed every moment of the time they’d spent together. He decided it was her innocence, her naïveté that drew him. He’d never known a woman quite like her. She also intrigued him. Ty had likened her to a sister. But the vibes Dex had gotten from her were in no way sisterly.
He scowled as he considered the dance he was supposed to escort her to on Friday night. Had he imagined it or had she seemed excited at the prospect? Then again, it could have been him who was excited.
Dex closed his eyes and banished thoughts of Leanne.
He was a stranger in a strange place. He didn’t know what he was feeling. If there was something between Leanne and Ty, Dex had no place in it. He’d have to ask Ty about her when they spoke. And he’d have to find a way to avoid her for the next few days. The last thing he needed was a case of lust for his brother’s woman.
Brother. The word still felt alien, but it was an undeniable fact. He had a brother. He had another family. The question was, what on earth would he do with them when he had the answers he wanted?
Better yet, what would the Coopers do when they discovered he’d pulled the wool over their eyes?
He pounded his pillow with a fist and tried to get comfortable. Getting comfortable was as impossible as finding any kind of resolution to this quandary.
It was a lose-lose situation.
There would be no winner when he and Ty revealed their true identities and returned to their respective homes.
Maybe trading places hadn’t been such a clever idea after all.
Chapter Three
It wasn’t a dream.
Dex sat up in bed just as the rising sun spilled its warm glow across the aged hardwood floor. Morning had arrived with a good deal more pomp and circumstance than Dex was accustomed to. The crowing of a rooster and the clanging of pots were sounds he could have gone the rest of his life without hearing at the crack of dawn.
His valet George always greeted him promptly at 6:00 a.m. with a tray of steaming coffee and an array of newspapers. The day’s wardrobe awaited him in the dressing room when he completed his morning workout and shower. By 9:00 a.m. he was at the office ready to work.
But not today.
Sometime during the night as he tossed and turned he had made his decision. He would consider this a mini-vacation at a rather rustic resort. There was no reason not to relax and enjoy. He would have a much-needed, whether he chose to admit the need or not, break from the pressure of running a major medical corporation, and he would learn about the Coopers.
When he and Ty were ready they would go public. But not yet.
Dex threw the covers back and climbed out of bed. The wood floor felt cool beneath his feet, a definite contrast to the plush carpeting of his own bedroom. He strode over to a large armoire, which he had ascertained last night was in lieu of a closet. Scowling, he rifled through it. The shirts were all alike in design, the colors varied slightly.
Disgusted by the lack of selection, he dragged a shirt from its hanger and went to the bureau in search of pants. He found several pairs of scruffy-looking jeans and selected the least offensive pair. In another drawer he found white tube socks. For the boots, he supposed with a grimace.
From the duffel bag he retrieved a pair of his own underwear. He drew the line at wearing another man’s shorts.
Since he found no robe, he tugged on the jeans and slipped into the hall, scanning warily for any of the Cooper clan. Silence ruled on the second floor. Everyone appeared to have gone downstairs already.
Good.
Dex padded down the hall to the communal bathroom. Though large and well stocked with linens and bath accessories, it was singular nonetheless. He lowered the toilet lid and placed his attire for the day there. He tried locking the door but, after several frustrated failures, gave up. The latch wouldn’t work. Everyone was downstairs anyway, why sweat it? He grabbed a towel from the linen closet and slung it over the shower curtain rod. After peeling off the jeans, he adjusted the water to an inviting temperature and then stepped beneath the hot spray.
His eyes closed in appreciation. Dex relaxed for the first time since this adventure had begun.
Despite his best intentions not to think about her again, the image of Leanne Watley filled his mind. Those big blue eyes and that silky blond hair. His gut clenched at the thought of threading his fingers in those lovely tresses. The feel of her lips against his jaw sent a stab of desire straight to his loins. His body reacted instantly and his mind conjured up Leanne’s even more enticing assets.
He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about her that way. Forcing his eyes open, he banished the image. If anything, she was Ty’s girlfriend. He wasn’t Ty. He couldn’t allow this thing to progress.
“Fool,” he muttered.
Dex grabbed the bar of soap and began soaping his body. He didn’t need any complications during his stay here. He had to keep this simple.
For all parties concerned.
Rinsing his well-lathered body he frowned when his gaze halted at his feet. He cocked his head away from the spray and stared at the water swirling around his feet and then down the drain. He looked at the soap in his hand, it was blue. Then why was the water going down the drain tinted green?
An explosion of giggles launched him into action. Dex jerked the shower curtain open. Court’s sons, the four-year-old twins, stood next to the tub, an empty mouthwash bottle in their hands.
“What are you doing?” Dex demanded.
The two dark-haired boys looked first at each other, then at Dex. They dropped the plastic container and ran for their lives in a flash of Scooby-Doo pajamas, leaving the door wide open and shouting, “Mornin’, Uncle Ty!”
Swearing under his breath, Dex stamped over to the door, leaving a trail of water on the tile floor, and slammed it shut. He whipped back around and almost fell in his haste. Catching himself, he retraced, much more slowly this time, his path. As soon as he’d washed his hair and rinsed the soap from his skin, he dried himself and the floor.
He thought about the bean-throwing incident and then the mouthwash. Didn’t anyone discipline these children?
As a child he was never allowed to behave in such a manner. His grandparents had ensured his proper training from the age of four. Though he’d never had a nanny, at least not that he could recall. He remembered clearly the first day George, his valet, began his employment as Dex’s teacher and mentor to the finer points of etiquette.
Dex stared at his reflection in the mirror and wondered what George would think of him now. Pretending to be someone else and wearing this getup. Give him Armani any day. George would likely shake his regal head and make that annoying tsking sound. Since he wasn’t here, Dex didn’t have to worry about that.
Back in Ty’s room, Dex tugged on the cursed boots. His feet ached even before he stood. The gift on the bureau snagged his attention again.
Would it be perceived as odd if he didn’t open the present right away? Would his seeming indifference to the act of generosity hurt his grandmother’s feelings? He sighed. He had no choice but to open it.
Dex placed his hands on either side of the box and hesitated still. His heart thundered in his chest. This was ridiculous. It was just a present. It wasn’t even for him. Not really. The gesture meant nothing to him personally. He removed the lid, the scent of leather filling his nostrils, and studied the gift beneath. Leather chaps. The perfect gift for a cowboy, he supposed ruefully. He picked up the note from inside the box and read it.
Ty, I knew you needed a new set of chaps but wouldn’t buy any for yourself. Your old ones out in the tack room are being recycled. A welcome-home present seemed like a good enough reason to buy new ones for you.
Love, Gran.
Dex closed his eyes and struggled with the emotions suddenly churning inside him. The Montgomerys never did little things like this for each other. He stared at the note once more. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d received a personal note from his grandparents. If either of them wanted to tell him anything they sent a message with a member of the household staff or his personal secretary. They didn’t bother with personal notes.
But then, the Montgomerys had other assets. Just because he was angry with them at the moment didn’t mean he failed to recognize how much they loved him. Gifts such as this were never necessary. Dex always had everything he wanted given to him well before he needed it.
The Coopers had nothing on the Montgomerys on that score. Of course, he wasn’t actually keeping score. Was he?
Twenty minutes and a half dozen false starts later, Dex made his grand entrance into the dining room. Donning the chaps hadn’t been easy, but he was fully garbed now. From the hat to the boots.
“Good morning,” he said cheerily to the rest of the group assembled around the table.
Grandfather Cooper choked on his coffee. Grandmother Cooper’s eyes widened in a look of disbelief. The rest of the family burst into laughter. Dex frowned. What was so funny? He looked down at himself and then back at them. He looked exactly like the cowboys he’d seen in the movies.
What was the problem?
Maybe they’d all heard about the mouthwash episode. He narrowed his gaze in the direction of the twins.
“Planning on roping and branding cattle this morning, bro?” Chad suggested, barely restraining a new wave of laughter.
Dex didn’t get the joke.
“Sorry to be the one to tell you,” Court added between chuckles. “But today we’re cleaning out the barn and surveying the pastures. You won’t need your chaps today.”
He was overdressed, he realized then. He opened his mouth to explain, but then thought better of it. What could he say? That he was ignorant to the ways of cowboys?
Grandmother Cooper gestured to the vacant chair next to her. “Take your hat off, son, and have a seat. Your breakfast is getting cold.”
Before taking his seat, Dex, determined to save face, leaned down and kissed his grandmother’s lilac-scented cheek. “Thank you for the chaps, Gran. I wanted you to get the full effect,” he told her as if he’d known exactly what he was doing when he put them on.
Court and Chad still looked amused. Grandfather Cooper had regained his composure with only a hint of a smile lingering about his expression.
Grandmother Cooper smiled kindly. “Well, you accomplished your mission, son.” She patted his hand. “You look very handsome.”
The telephone rang before Dex had a chance to sit down.
“Ty, would you get that since you’re still up?” Grandfather Cooper asked.
“Then we can get the going effect as well,” Chad teased, sending the younger Coopers into another fit of laughter.
Dex clenched his jaw long enough to restrain his temper. “Be happy to oblige,” he drawled, doing his best imitation of John Wayne.
He straightened slowly, allowing the phone to ring once more in order to give him the general direction in which to look. The hall. He sauntered from the room, knowing full well Court and Chad were grinning behind his back. Judging by the way they were dressed, he definitely looked like the circus clown leaving center ring.
Annoyed more with himself than anyone else, he scooped up the receiver and barked a hello.
“Dex?”
“Ty?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Thank God.
Dex stretched the cord and got as far away from the dining-room door as possible. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me about the investors and the chaps? And Leanne,” he muttered hotly.
“Me? Why didn’t you tell me about that piranha you’ve got working for you! And I think George is suspicious.”
“What?” Dex was confused. What piranha?
“Bridget whatever-her-name-is,” Ty snapped. “She won’t leave me alone.”
“Oh.” Dex stroked his chin thoughtfully. Bridget could be relentless and territorial. Their physical relationship had always been convenient, nothing else. Not that she hadn’t tried to make it more. “Tell her you want the monthly status reports early. That should keep her busy for a while. My best advice would be to avoid her if you can.”
“What about George?” Ty demanded. “How do I handle him?”
“Tell him you’re not in the mood to talk if he starts prying. That usually does the trick.” It sounded as if Ty had the same problems Dex did. “What about your investment meeting?” he prodded.
“There’s nothing to tell,” Ty related what Dex already knew. “I’m trying to expand the Circle C’s market and improve profit.”
“I thought as much.”
“You’ll get an official response in a few days,” Ty went on. “Let me know the moment you receive it. I’m anxious to know which way the wind is going to blow on my proposal.”
Dex cocked an eyebrow. “All right. And you let me know how it goes there.”
“Will do. Anything else? I don’t know how much longer I can hide in this bathroom. George may be spying on me as we speak.”
Dex chuckled. Yes, Ty was feeling the pressure too. “One more thing. About Leanne.”
“What about her?”
“I thought you told me you were just friends.”
“We are,” Ty said flatly. “I guess I forgot to mention that our families would like it otherwise.”
“I guess you did,” Dex retorted dryly. “And this dance?”
“The one on Friday night? It’s just a fund-raiser. I take Leanne every year just to keep the peace between the two families. A little bit of square dancing, foot stomping.”
To keep the peace? Dex didn’t even want to know what that meant. “Okay, I guess I can take her.”
“You’d better be nice to Leanne and behave around her,” Ty warned. “She’s young and innocent and I don’t want her hurt in all this.”
“Neither do I,” Dex said, surprised that his brother felt it necessary to warn him.
“Good. Now, how’s my family?”
Dex heard the wistfulness in his voice. Ty missed his family. Could Dex say the same? Maybe, he wasn’t sure…yet. “The Coopers are fine. I have to go. They’re waiting for me.”
When Ty didn’t respond, Dex added, “Ty, I have to go.”
“Okay, but one more thing. What’s between you and this Dr. Stovall?”
“Dr. Stovall?” Dex paused, searching his brain for recognition. “Nothing. She’s a pediatrician, I believe, at the hospital. Sort of a do-gooder—”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Ty interjected sharply.
Dex sighed. This did not sound good. “Listen, Ty, watch your step. I have to come back there, remember?”
“Don’t worry. Everything’s under control.”
“Good. I’ll talk to you when I can. Gotta go.”
Dex hung up the receiver. It took him three long beats to prepare himself to reenter the dining room.
“It was one of the people I met in Chicago,” he announced to the expectant faces still gathered around the table. “I should have word in a few days.”
Nods and sounds of acknowledgment echoed around the room. Grandfather Cooper maintained a solemn, clearly skeptical expression.
Dex pulled his chair out and sat down. He looked at his plate, laden with eggs, bacon and biscuits, just in time to see a Cheerio land in the middle of the two sunny-side up eggs. His gaze met the wicked one belonging to his five-year-old niece, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table eating dry cereal from a bowl.
“Morning, Uncle Ty. You’re a sleepyhead this mornin’,” she accused.
Before Dex could think of an appropriate response, the rest of the men stood.
“The day’s a wastin’. We’d better get going,” Court suggested.
Another Cheerio plopped into Dex’s plate. “I’ll just eat something later,” he said as he pushed up from his chair.
Grandmother Cooper frowned. “Don’t rush out without your breakfast. You can catch up with your brothers later.”
“Really,” Dex assured her. “I’m good.”
He left the room amid a chorus of “Uncle Tys!” resounding behind him. The twins had joined his niece, whom Dex now mentally dubbed the princess, in her farewell dramatics. Dex was pretty sure he’d never faced an opponent in the boardroom as formidable as those three kids.