Page 58 of Misadventures Of A Single Mom

I smiled, savoring the cocooning warmth of the bed and Ty’s words.

He rolled out of bed and I heard him rustle into his clothes.

I vaguely felt his knee press into the bed. “Please, be careful while I’m gone. I have plans for you, for thisrelationship, when I get back.” He dropped a kiss on the top of my head and was gone. Left for the burning Montana wilderness. I missed his body heat for about thirty seconds before I fell into REM sleep until nine when I woke with a start.

He loved me? Had I dreamed that whole conversation? What were Ty’s exact words?I’ve fallen for you.Why the hell hadn’t I woken up? That’s right, having sex for two days straight wore you out. One of the most important conversations of my life and I’d slept through it. When Ty got back, I’d just blame it on him. It was his fault I missed it.Right.

I showered and dried my hair, the whole time with a silly grin. I went extra fancy and did my hair, which meant putting it up in a ponytail. I threw on clean shorts but I put on Ty’s T-shirt I’d worn the night before. I was being a sap, but it smelled like him. And because my lips were worn out from all the kissing, I treated them to some lip balm. And I smiled some more.

Thanks to Veronica, Goldie’s trusty employee, I had the day off. I ate stinky cheese and watched morning talk shows in between bouts of napping. I had no idea a sex marathon could be so exhausting.

My cell phone beeped from the bedroom signaling a text. Sighing with laziness, I went to read it.

Ty: new info re Morty @ DD ranch. meet @ 1

I perked up at his message. I’d all but given up ever learning anything new about Morty, knowing I’d tried all I could, just short of sleeping with Dex. What had Ty found out?

I looked at the time. 11:30. I had just enough time to change into jeans and boots to protect myself from animal poop—or dead bodies.

I spentthe hour driving to Dex’s ranch working through everything I knew about Morty Moore. It wasn’t much and I’d finished that train of thought by the time I drove by the mall. Morty had worked at the Rocking DD Ranch and had a side jobselling stolen horse semen. Someone blew up his parents’ house. He’d been killed for some reason, by somebody. That’s it. That’s all the definitive information I had.

After that I thought about sex with Ty. I had a mental porn movie going, starring the two of us. It lasted until I was south of Norris. I was smiling to myself and felt surprisingly horny as I drove through the Rocking DD archway. I was eager to see Ty even though it had only been a few hours since he’d left for the wildfire. Must have been put out much quicker than he’d thought.

I followed the driveway like I’d done the last time up to the large horse arena. I intentionally skipped Dex’s mega-mansion first, not super interested in seeing the house Dex intended for me, as his future wife, to clean every day. As if. The house had to be over five thousand square feet. No chance in hell I could keep that monstrosity clean.

The sky was big and blue, the sun bright. It was exactly the same as my previous visit, although there appeared to be less action. I parked and got out. I didn’t see anyone else around, although the side door to the stable was open. I smelled hay and horses. No Ty. In fact, I didn’t see his rental car.

I held my hand up to my eyes to shield the sun and looked around. Where was Ty? I ventured into the arena first, taking time for my eyes to adjust. Only half the lights were on, the building cool and quiet.

“Hello?” I called out. Nothing.

I returned outside and looked around again. I heard some nickering and horse snuffling coming from the stable and headed that way. A few horses had their heads out over their half stall doors. Nothing else was going on down the long central aisle. No one on poop patrol with a wheelbarrow. No hay tossing. Nothing. I pulled my cell from my pocket to see if I’d missed a message from Ty.

“Crap,” I muttered to myself. No service.

I returned to the car to consider my options. My watch said 1:15 and Ty wasn’t here. I didn’t have much choice but to go up to Dex’s house and knock on the door.

I pulled up and parked in the circular drive. The house was much larger up close than from the main driveway. It was two stories; a large porch ran the length of the main section with a wing off to the left. A four-car garage was to the right. Shake shingle roof. Stained siding and deep eaves. Tall pillars made from roughhewn pines graced the entry leading to double wooden doors ten feet tall. The home was what Donald Trump would build if he wanted to live in Montana and get horse poop on his shoes.

I rang the doorbell.

“Hello, Jane,” Dex said as he opened the door. He stepped back. “Come in.”

I took in the large entry, two stories tall. Slate floors, several closed doors which I assumed were closets for winter coats and boots. Beyond was a great room facing west that had wall to wall windows with vistas of the Tobacco Roots. The furnishings were dark leather and lots of wood. An interior decorator had been through because there were unusual knickknacks and throw blankets worthy of a show home. A large elk head was positioned above a river rock fireplace big enough to stand in. I had to admit, it was beautiful.

“Hi. I’m supposed to meet a friend of mine here. Ty?”

“Would you like a drink?” He turned and walked toward what I assumed was the kitchen. Since he hadn’t answered my question, I had no choice but to follow.

The kitchen was everything you’d expect. Stainless steel appliances worthy of Wolfgang Puck, a marble topped island the size of my kitchen, gleaming wood floors. By the time I’d taken inthe views from the big windows—which were everywhere—Dex held a glass of red wine out to me.

“Thanks,” I replied, not sure what to say. I wasn’t a big wine drinker and it was a little early in the day. I took a polite sip. Good stuff. There was no way Dex was a boxed wine kind of guy. “So, about my friend?”

Dex took a sip of his wine as well. “What do you think of my home?”

“Um, well, it’s very nice.” Dex made me nervous, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly why. He wasn’t answering my question about Ty, although he never seemed one to like to talk about other men. I took another sip of wine to ease my nerves.

“I knew you would like it.” He put his wineglass down on the counter. “Would you like a tour?”

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