Page 15 of The Cowboy Fix

“Yup.”

“You love the ranch.” She was going to get him to smile again if it killed her. “I’m guessing you’ll do whatever it takes to keep from having to sell the Triple L.”

His brows arched. “Like what?”

She knew she was pushing hard but she kept going. “I have several suggestions. A couple you might have already considered and rejected. Malorie told me your dad raised a breed of horse called the Colorado Ranger. I did some research and found several ranchers still have breeding programs and often lease stud services.”

“You’re thinking we could lease Duke out.” When she nodded, Nathan crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. “To do that we need his pedigree documents. Dad had his breeder’s certificate and kept meticulous records. I haven’t been able to find them. Without them, it’s not impossible, but it would take more time than we have to prove his lineage.”

Izzy leaned toward him. “All right, then. I understand horse training and riding lessons are the most profitable. Trail riding on horses and dirt bikes appears to be popular.”

“True.” He didn’t move a muscle. “We can do it, but it’ll take time to build up a steady roster of students. Riding dirt bikes on the trails is a no-go. They tear up the terrain too much. Whatever we do has to preserve the land and the beauty of the ranch.” Nathan went back to his soup. “This is good. So, how did you get involved in rescuing businesses?”

Okay, if that’s how he wanted it.

“When I was in college my mom got sick. It took a while to figure out what was wrong with her, and she got a lot sicker before they diagnosed her.”

“But they figured it out?” He’d stopped eating. Jim had never paid much attention to her concerns or worries, so she’d learned to keep them to herself. It was a little disconcerting to have Nathan actually listening.

“She has an autoimmune disease. Rheumatoid arthritis. She was so active before that and at first, I was scared to death I was going to lose her. But there wasn’t anything I could do to make her better. RA isn’t something you cure. You just learn how to mitigate the symptoms. Mom didn’t want me hovering and wouldn’t let me quit college, so I put all my energies into graduating in a field where I could make a difference. It was a happy coincidence that my college courses and my passion for helping failing businesses aligned.”

Why had she never told Jim that? When he didn’t ask many personal questions that explored her past and deeper plans, it should have been a strong clue that he wasn’t interested enough to last the long haul.

“So, kind of like taking the worst house on the block and making it livable again.” He finished his soup and nudged the bowl aside.

“Exactly.” She nodded. “You like the remodel shows?”

“I got stuck on them during my convalescence.”

Ah, there was his smile, brief though it was. He took his bowl to the sink.

She stood to help clear the table, but Nathan waved her back. “Enjoy your wine. I’ll take care of the cleanup. What is your mom doing now?”

This man definitely wasn’t Jim. She was pretty sure if Nathan asked a girl to marry him, he wouldn’t leave her standing at the altar dressed in all her white finery and her somethings blue while he packed his bags and then called to tell her he was leaving on a world walking tour with another woman.

That Nathan wasn’t leaving dinner clean up to her added another point to her would-love-to-find-an-amazing-man list. Someday. Not now. Sternly, she reminded herself that Nathan was almost a client, not some Joe Johnson she might have met at a coffee shop and agreed to go on a date with. Still, she wouldn’t mind being the one who listened to Nathan when he needed someone to talk to.

“She’s on a Mississippi River cruise with her best friends. She says life is too short. I agree with her, and since I can’t slow her down, I try not to worry when she’s off on her adventures.”

“It sounds like you and your mother are a lot alike.” Nathan followed her to the couch. They took their wine with them.

She sat and raised her glass to Nathan, a silent thank you for putting away their meal. “I think you would like my mom.”

Which meant he should like her, too, and trust that she knew what she was talking about when she made recommendations for the ranch. But he’d have to figure that out on his own.

“Do you have siblings?”

“No. It’s just Mom and me.” She sipped her wine, watching his thin face, black hair brushed across his forehead. His beard and mustache were cut close to his face. It was a sexy look. He really could be charming if he wasn’t at odds with his brothers. If she had brothers, she’d do her best to keep them close. “So, what are your plans for the ranch? Especially now that Malorie, Andee, Reece, and Timmy are part of your family and planning to live here?”

“I’m still working that out,” he said quietly, setting aside his empty wine glass.

She put her glass beside his. “Maybe—we can work it out together.”

Her mom would love the Triple L, but more than that, the former counselor in her mom would understand Nathan Lohman.

Izzy could do that—be there and offer a shoulder for him to lean on, but nothing more serious than that.

She let go of her breath when he finally agreed, “Maybe we could.”

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