Page 22 of The Cowboy Fix

Slipping the phone in the back pocket of her jeans, Izzy shook her head at Malorie’s not-so-subtle suggestion and slipped out the door to go to the barn. She didn’t need her friend to play matchmaker just because Mal was happier than she’d ever been since deciding to stay in Strawberry Ridge with Blake and Timmy.

It was quiet in the barn except for the sound of the horses’ tails swishing and the occasional nicker and thump of feet. In the tack room, Zelda nursed her kittens. Izzy scratched the cat’s head until she started purring. She didn’t want to bother the kittens while they were feeding, only she couldn’t resist gently smoothing out the fur along Cookie’s back.

So, she had someone besides herself to look after. That would be a novel change.

Leaving Zelda and her kittens just as she found them, Izzy made her way to the guesthouse, fixed herself a sandwich and a cup of tea, then settled at the table with her laptop and dinner.

Researching destination weddings was easy. She made a list of the things that would need to be done in order to have the venue at Zelda’s shed—investigate if an event permit would be required; look into insurance coverage; the cost of flyers that could be posted at the courthouse, library, and downtown businesses, online advertising on the local social media sites.

Writing an article for the local newspaper wouldn’t cost anything but a little time. She would need to build a website. All the brothers would have to do was decide on an opening date. Izzy paused, then added an open house to the list to introduce The Wedding Cottage to the community.

She’d never thought about being in the wedding planning business—she very much liked the job she already had—but it was fun turning a building no longer used except for keeping precious memories alive into a growing concern that could bring the Triple L and the Lohmen’s a steady income.

She added and expanded on a few more ideas to her proposal. Finding the right events that would appeal to Nathan especially, was a challenge she could live for.

She limited her suggestions to the top five contenders: The Wedding Cottage (her favorite). Trail riding and hiking excursions because Nathan had already half-agreed they were a possibility. Weekend camping trips. And a longshot from what Nathan had told her, restarting Mr. Lohmen’s Rangerbred breeding program.

It was close to midnight before she finished fleshing out each idea and putting it all into a presentable document. Now all she had to do was get Nathan’s approval so she could present her plan to all three brothers when they came to the presentation she would schedule tomorrow.

That might be the hardest part.

Chapter Seven

The next morning,Nathan scrambled eggs and made toast while coffee brewed. He liked it black so didn’t bother with the usual additives most people preferred. He glanced at the clock. He’d gotten up early so he could catch Jonas on his way out. His brother had come home after Nathan had gone to bed but before his pain reliever kicked in. He hadn’t wanted to get out of bed, nor did he want Izzy to find out he’d overdone it yesterday with the long, circling, bumpy ride.

The doc hadn’t been kidding when he’d warned him not to jump back into his normal routine too fast, but only do what didn’t hurt. Before last night he hadn’t appreciated the advice, but now—Nathan shrugged.

He got a cup from the cupboard and filled it to the brim, his thoughts returning to the one person who wasn’t deterred no matter how much he grumped at her. He wanted to keep it that way, though he wasn’t sure why. She seemed to take him with a grain of salt, something new for Nathan. Most people just stayed out of his way.

That old saying...keep your friends close and your enemies closercould apply if he still considered Izzy the enemy, which after her response to his mom’s shed, how could he?

Izzy Payton had gumption. His dad had told him once when he’d asked why Adam had married Zelda, that it was because she had courage and pluck. She always wanted to do what was right and what she could to help others. Nathan had a feeling that Izzy operated under the same rules.

“You’re up early,” Jonas broke into his thoughts. He poured himself a cup of coffee and then added creamer before nabbing one of Nathan’s pieces of toast.

“I need to talk to you about something before you take off this morning.” After popping two more pieces of bread in the toaster, Nathan followed his brother to the table. Jonas wore paint-spattered jeans and a tee shirt. “How’s the new office coming?”

“Slow, but Sloane is giving me a hand with painting when she can.” Jonas watched him over the rim of his cup, waiting for him to get to his point.

Suddenly, Nathan wasn’t in a hurry. The toaster binged. He went to butter the slices, then brought them back to the table. He wasn’t surprised when Jonas stole another one. He’d kind of counted on it. As payback, he said, “I heard Sloane is considering moving to Waco, Texas.”

“Who told you that?” Jonas’ brows pulled together.

Nathan suppressed a smile. “You know, with everything that’s been going on, I don’t remember. She didn’t mention it to you?”

“No.” The toast he stole dropped like a stone to the table.

“That’s surprising. You guys are such good friends.” Nathan remembered a conversation he’d had with her about six months back indicating Sloane wouldn’t say no to something more with his brother. At least he thought that’s what she had hinted at. Jonas was crazy to think all she wanted was his friendship. “With the number of tourists visiting that town, she’ll have more automotive work than she can keep on top of.”

“She’s a grownup woman. She can do what she wants,” Jonas said, his expression the same one Nathan had seen him wear in court.

“I’ll bet she thinks the same thing,” he pushed a little more, but it was clear that maybe he was wrong. After knowing Sloane since they were in grade school together, it could be Jonas didn’t have the kind of feelings that led to asking her to be his lifetime partner.

That was too bad. She would fit into the family so well.

Jonas picked up his toast. “So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

“I took Izzy on a tour of the ranch yesterday.” Nathan slowly let out a deep breath. Jonas’s brows shot up. He pushed the remains of his breakfast aside. “We ended up at Mom’s shed on the back property.”

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