which she’s been so damn miserable—”
At the word miserable, Renner booked it out the door.
He tried to think where she’d be this time of day, but he had no freakin’ clue what time it was. Or what day it was. Too many long hours on the road with limited sleep. Too many hours filled with thoughts of her. Too many hours trying to figure a way out of this mess.
Renner hoofed it up the path that led from the barn to the lodge. He heard a noise and glanced up at the parka-clad woman at the top of the path. Her cheeks were rosy. Her brown eyes were enormous behind her glasses. Her lips were parted with an O of surprise.
“Renner? Is that really you?”
“Yep.”
Brilliant answer.
Then Tierney did the most un-Tierney-like thing. She shrieked, raced down the hill and threw herself into his arms.
He closed his eyes, held her close and breathed her in. This was where he belonged. With this woman. No matter what happened, no matter where they ended up, as long as they ended up together, everything would be all right. He trapped her face in his hands and gazed at her adoringly. “I’m sorry I left like I did. I love you. God, I love you so damn much that it’s been killin’ me to be away from you.”
“When I didn’t hear from you—”
“You grabbed the bull by the horns?” he said dryly. “Or should I say, you got pissy and took the whole damn bull? BB is a dangerous animal, Tierney. Makes me crazy to think you’d pull a stunt like that. You could’ve gotten hurt.”
“But I didn’t.” Tierney poked him in the sternum. “You forced me to get creative to capture your attention since you wouldn’t return my calls.”
“I . . . I needed . . .” He rested his forehead to hers. “Hell, I don’t know what I was thinkin’. I hoped I could come up with the money, turn this situation around, but nothin’s changed.”
“Wrong. Everything has changed.” Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “I want to kiss you. I’ve imagined what I’d do when I saw you again. Most of the scenarios were X-rated.”
He laughed. “I really love that about you too.”
“But I know once I start kissing you I won’t want to quit.” Tierney stepped away from him, but she grabbed his hand. “Come on. I need to show you something.” She led him up the path to the back door of the lodge and up the staircase into their office. When he tried to tug her into his arms for a full body-on-body kiss, she ducked. “No way. Once you put your hands on me, I’m toast. I need a clear head for this.” She pointed to the couch. “Sit. I’ll get the paperwork.”
“What? No PowerPoint?”
“It’s not quite done,” she tossed over her shoulder as she pawed through files on her desk.
“I was kiddin’.”
Tierney peered at him over the top of her glasses. “Never kid about PowerPoint.”
Damn, he loved this woman.
She wandered over, file folder clutched to her chest. “Umm. Would you like coffee?”
“ No.”
“How about a soda?”
“No.”
“Maybe you want something stronger?”
Why was she so nervous? Her nervousness set him on edge. “If I wanted something to drink, I’d get it myself. Now get on with it.”
His snappish answer had the intended effect. She squared her shoulders and took the chair to his left. “While you were gone, PFG sent a certified letter, invoking the clause from the initial contract, which required payment in full. Although not required to do so, the official reasoning for the change in the contract terms is ‘questionable financial judgment that could result in possible loan default.’”
Renner muttered, “Total bullshit.”
“I concur. I broke down the payoff amount and realized PFG had not figured the price of the land and the improvements you’d made before your loan application into that payoff amount. So as your self-appointed financial overseer, I requested an immediate reconfiguration of the total due, which they are required to complete as quickly as possible because of their change in contract terms.”
He understood Tierney’s need to explain every minute detail, but it was damn difficult not to urge her to get to the point.
“You with me so far?” she asked.
“Yeah. Keep goin’ but I wouldn’t mind if you just hit the high points. Or the low points.”
“When I received the revised loan payoff amount, I was surprised to see it wasn’t as much as I’d projected.” When he started to ask a question, she held up her hand. “No, I did not secretly use some of my own money to buy off a chunk of the loan to lower the total amount due.”
“Okay. Show me the number.”
“But don’t you want to know about—”
“No. I wanna know exactly how much money it’ll take to pay off the note.”
Tierney turned the paper and tapped her pen on the number at the bottom of the page.
Renner whistled. “That’s . . . still a shitload of cash.”
“Yes, but when you break it down, the amount of collateral you have in the land is sixty percent. So you probably could find a traditional financial institution to lend you the money. But I’m expecting in this economy the terms would be less than ideal and the payments would be steep.”
“But doable if I could shave a couple hundred thousand off the bottom line.”
“How would you do that?” she demanded.
He didn’t look at her. “I’ve been talking to a couple of other stock contractors and they’re willing to buy BB outright. Cash.”
“No way. That is not in the plan. BB could be the center of a great breeding program, because you could earn more by selling his semen than selling him outright.”
“Now you’re officially scaring me. How the hell do you know the value of bull semen?” Renner sighed. “Tobin.”
“He’s smart and he’s got some great ideas. But explaining that part of Plan B will have to wait until we’re through this Plan A.”
Renner grabbed her hand to force her attention. “What? You have two plans?” He sighed again. “Of course you have two plans.”
“Plan A or Plan B. You have two choices.” Tierney linked their fingers. “I need you to listen to me very carefully. I may have not offered full disclosure on why I was in Wyoming, but that didn’t make anything that happened here, or between us, any less real. I love you. I want to be with you, in this community I’ve grown attached to. But if that’s not what you want, I’ll walk away. From you. From everything.”
His heart almost stopped. “Walk away? Why?”
“My father presented me with another option. I haven’t given him an answer because you left and I wasn’t sure what you wanted. But I’m offering full disclosure now. PFG will mark your loan paid in full and you will retain sole ownership of the Split Rock if I return to Chicago and my position with Pratt Financial Group.”
His anger resurfaced and a displeased growl escaped. “No. Fucking. Way. I will never ever let you be used as a bargaining chip again. Never. You understand me? I wouldn’t take the deal when that bastard tried to bribe me a few weeks ago and I sure as hell won’t let you take it either.”
Tierney’s eyes clouded. “What deal?”
“Part of the reason I was so pissed off that day I got wind of the contract clause? Wasn’t because of the contract, Tierney. It was because your father had the balls to use you against me. He promised to forgive every penny of the loan, transfer full ownership of Split Rock back to me if I broke it off with you permanently.”
“Happy to see I’m worth so much to him,” she said bitterly.
“You’re worth everything to me. I didn’t wait to give him my answer. I told him no. Period. My feelings for you weren’t for sale.” He frowned. “Which is why I was so surprised that he left a copy of the contract in my truck.”
She fidgeted. “Ah. He didn’t do that. I did. I swear I had no idea about that stupid clause until he got all cocky and told me. Then he warned I couldn’t leg
ally disclose it to you. So I had Tobin make a copy of the contract—your original from your desk—he circled the pertinent section and put it in your truck. So technically I didn’t do it.”
He kissed the back of her hand. “Have I mentioned how much I love this steel-trap mind of yours?” He let his lips move up the inside of her wrist. “And your other parts. Want me to refresh your memory on which parts?”
“Later. But first you need to hear the other option.”
“Fine. Hit me.”
“Shareholders. I’ve rounded up enough shareholders to buy into the Split Rock to pay off the loan. Plus, we’d have enough operating funds for two years. And before you ask, it was not fully funded by me.”
“Then who?”
“Ever since we hosted that community party, people in Muddy Gap have been asking how they can show support for the Split Rock. After talking it over with Janie and Harper, we decided to pitch the idea to locals—a chance to buy in and invest in the community. We wanted a mix of business owners and individual investors.” Her eyes sparkled. “The best part? We had enough financial backing to pay off the loan . . . within three days.”
Renner found himself picking his jaw off the floor. “Seriously? Who kicked in?”
“Well, the Mud Lilies pooled their resources. Bernice. Susan Williams. Dodie and her family members. Janie and Abe. Harper.” She grinned. “Besides you and me, Harper would own the largest chunk. Bran will do anything to support Harper’s career and make her happy. He probably would’ve fronted all the money if no one had come forward.”
Beyond stunned, he just gawked at her. “Seriously? This is perfect. This is better than perfect, better than me being solely responsible for taking on the challenge of running it or PFG taking over. I—I . . .” A lump clogged his throat. “How did you ever come up with this idea?”
She pressed her lips to his. “Because this is our home. Here we have what we’ve both wanted. A place to belong. A sense of community. A chance to give back and be part of something permanent. We both want to set down roots.”
“God. Tierney.” He rested his forehead to hers and tried not to feel dizzy with hope.
“It’s a little overwhelming. But it’s a good thing, right?”
“It’s an amazing thing. I can scarcely wrap my head around it.” He stared at her for a beat. “What was Plan B?”
“If you would’ve sent me packing back to Chicago, the shareholders would’ve used the money to invest in a semen collection facility for stock breeding programs. Seems Abe Lawson recently earned some kind of ag degree. He, Tobin, Hank, Bran, Fletch and Eli were going to approach you about tying their idea in with the Jackson Stock Contracting Company. Even if it wasn’t associated with the Split Rock.”
“I’m interested. I guess Pritchett will be moving to Wyoming or looking for another job.”
An anxious look darkened her eyes. “You all right with this? I worried that you’d accuse me of overstepping my boundaries again.”
“No more boundaries between us. Ever.” He kissed her. And kept kissing her until she began to make those low-throated sexy moans. He broke the seal of their mouths to whisper, “You have no idea how much I missed you.”
“Not as much as I missed you. Wanna hear something funny? I snuck into your trailer and slept in your bed a couple of nights because the sheets smelled like you.”
Overwhelmed by her, by everything, wanting to take everything she offered before she changed her mind and snatched it back, Renner blurted, “Tierney. Marry me.”
Her eyes went wide. “You want to marry me? Not just live together?”
“Despite evidence to the contrary, I believe in marriage. Besides, third time’s a charm, right?”
She whapped him on the arm.
“Kiddin’. I want to spend every moment of the rest of my life with you as my wife. As soon as possible. Please marry me, Tierney Pratt.”
“Yes. God, yes.” She kissed him so sweetly that he didn’t realize she was crying until he felt his cheeks were wet. “But we’re not getting hitched in Vegas.”
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Epilogue
Four weeks later . . .
The party was in full swing. The new Split Rock Ranch and Resort shareholders had invited everyone in the community to the celebration and grand reopening. Also, Willie had lined up a tribal elder to perform a Crow cleansing rite to put restless spirits at peace, not only around the structures, but also across the area that’d long been considered bad luck land. Tierney wasn’t sure she believed in that type of woo-woo Indian stuff, but she agreed it couldn’t hurt.
The Mud Lilies had turned the party into Tierney and Renner’s belated wedding reception. Bets were placed whether the happy couple would smash cake in each other’s faces, given the drink Tierney had thrown in Renner’s face that had started their romance ball rolling. It was funny now, to hear the comments from locals, that they “knew” Renner and Tierney were meant for each other from the start.
Two weeks ago, after a quick trip to the county courthouse to officially tie the knot, they drove to Chicago to pick up the rest of Tierney’s belongings from storage. They’d spent the weekend in the city, visiting Tierney’s old haunts. She’d introduced her husband to her friends Sari and Josie, which led to the inevitable question: did Renner have any hot-looking single cowboy friends in Wyoming?
The most important thing they’d done in Chicago was pay off the note in person. Tierney wanted to leave after that, but Renner insisted they meet with her father.
Gene Pratt was strangely subdued when his secretary ushered Renner and Tierney Jackson into his office. Renner gave him a copy of the paid-in-full loan receipt. Then he’d shaken her father’s hand, thanking him for the loan because it’d brought Tierney into his life and she was worth more than any amount of money.
Class act, her husband.
“So are you pregnant yet?” Garnet demanded, pulling Tierney from her thoughts.
Maybelle looked like she wanted to throttle Garnet. “Do you remember our discussions about boundaries?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I suppose that means as a part owner of the Split Rock I can’t demand the cowboys workin’ for us always wear hats, unbuttoned white shirts, tight Wranglers and spurs at public events?”
“No.”
“Shoot. I guess I’d better apologize to Tobin. I chewed him out for bein’ out of uniform.”
Tierney bit back a laugh.
Maybelle whipped out her notebook after Garnet left. “For the record, as one of the new owners, will you be involved in the day-to-day operations of the Split Rock in your previous position?”
“I’ll be involved, since I’m a majority shareholder. Janie Lawson is general manager of the facility. Harper Turner is handling retail—in fact she’s expanding the entire store. Tobin Hale is heading up the new livestock breeding program. I’m focusing on building an independent financial consulting business, as well as supporting my husband”—she got such a thrill saying my husband—“in his endeavors to move his base of operations for Jackson Stock Contracting to Muddy Gap.”
“That’s lovely, Tierney. We’re happy for you two. We’re glad you’re sticking around.”
Tierney watched Maybelle lumber away.
His warm, hard chest pressed into her back and his mouth grazed her ear. “I couldn’t help but overhear . . . Are you pregnant, Mrs. Jackson?”
“No.”
“Do you wanna be?”
She turned into his arms. “We’ve been married less than a month and you’re already talking about babies?”
“Must be Hank and Lainie’s darlin’ little Brianna that’s putting thoughts in my head.” Renner kissed her. Seemed he was always kissing her in public just because he could. “I give Abe and Janie two months before she’s knocked up. So I’m just following the Lawson boys’ lead and giving you a heads-up that I wanna have babies with you, Tierney. Lots of them.”
“Where would we put all t
hese babies? We live in a small cabin, remember?”
His brow furrowed. “I wish you’d let me build you a real house.”
“Some day. But for now, can’t we just be happy with what we’ve got? Being with you every night makes it more than a house; it makes it a real home. Our home.”
“And to think I never wanted to get tangled up with you.” Renner gave her the smile that was hers alone. “I love you.”
She toyed with the neckerchief he’d looped around his neck. “Oh yeah? The sooner we cut the cake, the sooner you can take me home and prove your undying love for me.”
“Such a tyrant. Come on, I bribed Garnet into putting extra sprinkles on the cake just for you. Because I have it on good authority that everything in life is better with sprinkles.”
“I used to think that. But now I know everything in life is better with . . . you.”
“Damn sugar mouth. Gets you whatever you want.”
“And everything I’ve ever wanted is right in front of me.” Tierney kissed him.