Page 6 of The Cowboy Fix

Before Malorie could dispute her claim, Izzy headed in the direction of voices she could hear in another part of the house and found Andee, Reece, and a boy Izzy didn’t know watching a movie in the den. “Hi, guys.”

The twins jumped up and threw their arms around her. Andee gushed, “Aunt Izzy! You made it! Are you hungry? We can make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

“Thank you, but I’m good. I ate along the way.” Just managing not to spill her coffee, she hugged the twins back and watched the boy with them slowly stand. “Who is this young man?”

Reece grabbed the boy’s arm and pulled until he came into their circle. “This is Timmy Wallace. He’s B.J.’s son, and when mom and B.J. get married, he’ll be our brother and we’ll live on the Triple L.”

That was a lot of words for Reece to say all at once since usually, he let his sister do the talking for them both. Colorado clearly agreed with Mal and her kids.

She held out her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Timmy. My name is Izzy Payton. Malorie is my best friend.”

It took a moment of careful study, but finally, Timmy shook her hand, then asked, “We’re watchingPrincess Bride. You want to watch it with us?”

Izzy would bet Andee picked out the movie. Malorie made the twins take turns and Andee tended toward the more family-oriented with a dash of romance shows.

“You go ahead. I’m going to visit with Mal.” She shooed the kids back to the couch. “I’ll see you guys in the morning, okay?”

“Timmy too. He’s spending the night,” Reece said as he returned to watching the movie. “His dad is staying at the ranch.”

The Princess Bridewas a classic story about adventure and true love. Izzy loved it, but the truth was that even though Malorie had gotten a second chance at love,shewas no longer a believer. Being left at the altar by the man she’d thought was her Wesley had taught her a hard lesson. She was glad Malorie and Blake had found each other, but she wasn’t interested in dipping her toes in the icy water of love again.

She wished she could forget the sight of Nathan leaning on his cane while he jubilantly held up the playing card that indicated he’d just won whatever argument they were having. She wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall during the conversation that followed her departure.

When she was a kid, she and her mom used to play War all the time, so she was familiar with the concept of high card winning, except the Lohmen brothers weren’t playing a friendly card game. And Nathan didn’t look like the kind of guy who gave up easily. But then why did they need her to work her magic for them?

“How’s your mom doing?”

Izzy leaned on the kitchen island. “Better. Her rheumatoid arthritis symptoms are under control for the time being, but it turns out her blood sugar was too high. The doctor put her on some medicine and a diabetic diet, which hopefully she’ll follow. She’s a woman on her own course and doesn’t like to be distracted by something as trivial as watching what she eats—her words, not mine. I’ll have to keep an eye on her to make sure she follows the doctor’s orders.”

“I’m glad it wasn’t something worse. So, what are you going to do next? The Triple L is right up your alley, but I’m not surprised Nathan won’t give you a chance. He’s not an easy one to persuade if his mind is already made up.” Malorie sat down at the table in the corner of the attached dining space. “What do you think of the ranch?”

“Oh, I love it. A person could do worse than spend a lifetime living there and keeping it running smoothly.” Not that hanging around was her plan. Izzy smothered a yawn.

It’d been a long, few days, capped off by her encounter with the Lohmen brothers. She’d turned down several jobs while getting her mom settled into a new health routine, but she hadn’t gotten her nomad gene from her father, who’d died when she was a baby. Her mom kept a house in Portland as her base and was already chafing at the bit, ready to go on her next adventure. As soon as her doctor’s appointment was over, she started planning a Mississippi River cruise with her best friends.

“So, what’s next?” Malorie took her half-empty cup to the sink.

Izzy followed. “The owner of a string of retail stores in Denver wants me to come as soon as possible. If he doesn’t turn the store around soon, he’ll have to file bankruptcy.” She frowned. She frequently had more than one request to restore a business at the same time. “But I’d like to stay and help the Triple L if I can get on Nathan’s good side, so I gave Denver a name of someone else who can steer him in the right direction.”

“I could talk to Nathan,” Malorie offered as she swabbed out the mugs.

Grabbing a towel, Izzy dried them after Malorie put them in the drying rack. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll try again in the morning.”

“There is one good thing. While he’s still healing, he can’t run away from you.”

“Mal! What a terrible thing to say.”

“I know. Sorry. That was bad,” she agreed, her eyes sparkling. “But it’s the truth.”

Izzy couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s sick sense of humor. “He could tell me to go away and shut the door in my face.”

“He won’t do that,” Malorie said with a wink.

“We’ll see.” Izzy shook her head. Folding the towel, she laid it on the counter and realized how tired she must be when chasing Nathan Lohmen down the Triple L’s long drive, trying to get him to listen to her ideas, seemed like a good idea. “I’m going to bed.”

*

When Izzy surfacedthe next morning, the house was quiet. She showered, dressed, and finally made it to the kitchen where she found a note and the coffeemaker ready to turn on.

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