Page 23 of The Cowboy Fix

Leaning forward on his elbows, Jonas said quietly, “I’m surprised you took her there.”

“I am too.” For the first time in longer than he could remember, Nathan felt a kinship with Jonas. For a short while, before Jonas had gone back to Denver after their mom had passed and after Blake had left, it’d been just the two of them. But the longer Jonas stayed away to build his career, that closeness stretched thin. Nathan shrugged. “She wanted to see everything.”

“I see.”

He didn’t know how Jonas could, when Nathan was more than a little confused and somehow pleased, too at her reaction. “She has an idea about fixing up Mom’s shed and using it for weddings, and she wants to set up a time to do a presentation of her ideas for improving the Triple L’s finances.”

“She’s working fast. Good. The sooner she gives us her ideas the better.” Jonas stood and took his cup to the sink. “Blake and Malorie are flying back from New York tomorrow, so how about we set up an appointment for Wednesday afternoon? You pick the time.”

From where he stood, Izzy had enough passion to save the ranch with or without his cooperation. He wanted to be there, every step of the way with whatever she planned. That way he could rein her in when necessary. “All right. We’ll meet at two.”

Jonas took off. Watching him drive away, Nathan honestly couldn’t blame his brother for leaving him and the ranch to pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer.

If he’d been as ambitious as Jonas, he would have followed in his brother’s footsteps and gone to college to become a veterinarian straight out of high school. But he liked the idea of staying on the Triple L better. Besides, who would have been left to run the ranch?

When he was a boy, Zelda had made sure he understood that adopting him was not an accident, that of all the children she and Adam could have picked, he was the one they wanted. It wasn’t until he was a teenager that he began to notice how different he was from his brothers, not just in looks with his skin, hair, and eyes darker, but in temperament too. Jonas was calm, purposeful, and intentional—if that was a personality trait. In that way, he was a lot like their dad. Blake’s feelings ran deeper. He was more impulsive. Lost his temper quicker. And he didn’t hold anything back when it came to telling his brothers what was on his mind, whether he and Blake had a difference of opinion or were ready to throw punches at each other. Nathan guessed that was why his dad had started settling their arguments with a deck of cards.

He regretted his last conversation with his dad. He owed Adam and Zelda more than he could ever repay. So, if saving the ranch meant joining hands with Izzy Payton, then so be it. He would do it.

Taking his dishes to the sink, he cleaned up the kitchen while he waited. He had about half an hour to spare before he was supposed to meet Izzy in the barn. When he was done, he slipped into his favorite, worn cowboy boots and headed out to feed and water the horses before moving them to the front pasture.

Nathan could hear Zelda’s kittens the moment he entered the barn. He didn’t know why he’d given Izzy the kitten. Maybe to prove he could be user-friendly when he wanted, but he hadn’t thought it through, had he? What was a woman who traveled for work going to do with an animal that in its infancy would need a lot of attention?

But he honestly believed, if anyone could workandgive a kitten the love and attention it needed, that person would be Izzy. Oddly, it was her resolve to take on the kitten and the job of bringing the Triple L out of financial ruin in the face of his roadblocks in the beginning that he admired the most. He hadn’t met anyone these days, except his brothers, who could go toe to toe with him and not change the important things he loved about the ranch.

When Izzy had melted into his mom’s sanctuary as if she’d somehow found a connection with Zelda, she’d ignited disturbing feelings he wasn’t expecting.

He opened Duke’s stall and began brushing the stallion down. There was no point in dwelling on how she’d had that instant kinship with the she-shed. Maybe deep down inside he wanted a wife and family, but there was no way Izzy was that woman, and he couldn’t in all good conscience ask any lady to marry him when he wasn’t even sure he would have a ranch to bring her home to. Besides, Izzy Payton wasn’t going to stay in one place long enough to make a permanent, lasting relationship or build a future that would only box her in. He wouldn’t want to be the one to do that to her.

The woman spending too much time in his thoughts strolled into the barn. Her wild red hair was tamed into a ponytail that stuck out of the back of a green cap with a colorful butterfly embroidered on the front. Her jeans were torn, and her tee was the color of the blue sky outside. Her boots were the only new thing she was wearing.

Nathan turned his back on the enticing woman.

“Morning. What are we doing first?” she asked brightly from behind him. Izzy very clearly was prepared to get her hands dirty.

Continuing to brush Duke down, he pointed at the mares. “We need to groom this lot, then move them out to the front pasture.”

“Okay.” After watching his brush strokes for a few minutes, she got right to work on Rosie.

For a while, he enjoyed the quiet and repetitive rhythm of working side by side with Izzy. When he finished, he moved Duke to the pasture, passing Izzy on the way back leading Rosie. She was humming softly to the mare and gently patting her neck.

If he didn’t know better, he could believe she fit right into the natural flow of a working ranch.

He was already brushing down Bella when she came back. Before she entered Grace’s stall, he reminded himself of the reason she was still on the ranch and why he should keep his distance. “I have to talk to Blake, but if he doesn’t have anything else planned, we’ll meet in the office in the main house at two on Wednesday.”

“That’s great. I’m ready.” She studied him thoughtfully for a minute. “Do you trust me?”

Did he?Nathan shrugged.

She pushed her hands into her front pockets and tilted her head as if she was still trying to figure him out. “It’s okay if you don’t. My job is to prove to you that what matters most is the survival of the Triple L and that I won’t do anything to make things worse than they already are. But I have to warn you, I’ll try not to, but I might step out of the bounds of what is comfortable for you. And your brothers.”

“Yeah, I pretty much got that,” he acknowledged. “How do you know the solutions you come up with will be the best ones? Like having weddings at Mom’s she-shed?” He frowned. With her boundless enthusiasm, it was difficult to keep Izzy at arm’s length. Against his better judgment, he admitted, “Half the time I don’t have a clue which direction is the best way to go.”

“I just keep trying until I hit on the right combination that will make things better,” she said gently and smiled at him. She wasn’t being cocky, but she had enough confidence to push his envy of her faith in herself into overdrive. “I promise I won’t make any recommendations you can’t abide—”

Her cell rang. Izzy dug it out of her pocket. “Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?” She put her hand over the phone and whispered. “I have to take this. I shouldn’t be long.”

He waved her off and returned to grooming Bella. She didn’t go so far away that he couldn’t hear at least part of her conversation. He shouldn’t eavesdrop but from the brief panic that crossed Izzy’s face when she asked how her mom was doing, Nathan was thrown right back into the past.

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