Free A Cowboy Under the Mistletoe by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page A

positions in mind, though, and now that was a lost cause.
    Because Ty had her front-door key, she used the intercom to get buzzed in.
    Her dad answered. “Hey, sweetie! We’re making turkey sandwiches and drinking a really good pinot noir. Come on up and join the party!”
    “Be right there!” Oh, boy. They would assume she’d want turkey sandwiches on the Saturday after Thanksgiving because she always had before. She wondered if Ty was forcing down a sandwich to be sociable even though he’d had a large helping of mac and cheese not very long ago.
    Her mother came out of the hallway and hurried to meet her. “Honey, I had no idea you would be seeing him again tonight. But once we were here, what could we do? He seems nice.”
    “He is nice, Mom.” She gave her mother a hug. “And surprising me with Thanksgiving leftovers is a sweet and thoughtful idea.”
    “I actually wanted to find out what was going on with this new guy.”
    Whitney laughed. “I knew that.”
    “So you’re not surprised we showed up?”
    “I was at first, but when I thought about it on the drive home, I figured it out.”
    “Forgive me?”
    “Of course.” She smiled at her petite mother, whose head was a smidgen higher than Whitney’s shoulder. Her parents were physical opposites, and Whitney had inherited her height from her dark-haired dad. Her coloring came from her mother, who was just beginning to go gray.
    “I debated with myself for a long time after we talked on Thanksgiving, but in the end, I had to come up here. I trust your judgment, but I heard that homesick note in your voice, and here you were inviting this rakish-looking centerfold person into your apartment. You’ve never lived this far away before, and I just...needed to see for myself that you were okay.”
    “I understand, Mom.” She wrapped an arm around her mom’s shoulders as they walked back to the apartment. “Did Ty mention the celebration at his foster parents’ ranch?”
    “He did, just a little bit ago. Had we known about that we wouldn’t have given him so much wine.”
    “So much wine? Is he drunk?”
    “I don’t think so. He’s a big guy, and I fed him a turkey sandwich so that should help, but I gather you were supposed to go to this party at the ranch, too. You should go so you can drive him just in case he’s not up to it. We’ll hang out here until you get back.”
    Whitney had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. This was not the evening she’d been looking forward to. “I’ll see what he thinks.” She mentally added the mac and cheese to the turkey sandwich. Considering he’d only had about thirty minutes to eat a sandwich and drink wine, he couldn’t have consumed that much. “But you’ve come all this way and I know you’ll have to start back tomorrow, so I hate to run off and leave you.”
    “Ty has to head back to Cheyenne tomorrow, too, doesn’t he?”
    “Yes. Monday’s a work day for him.”
    “Then you two should go to the party tonight regardless of which one of you drives. That’s what you planned and that’s what you need to do. I’m feeling like a buttinski right now.”
    “Don’t worry about it. I don’t have to go unless Ty’s not okay to drive.”
    “But you should.” Her mom pulled her back from the door and lowered her voice. “He’s nothing like I thought he would be. Your dad and I have been talking with him and he’s a lot more modest and gentlemanly than I expected. He’s also smart and funny. I can see why you like him.”
    Whitney weighed her options. If she stayed here with her parents, she wouldn’t get to spend any more time with Ty before he left. He’d drive to the ranch and that would be the end of that. She hated to leave things that way after all the plans they’d made.
    “Okay, I’ll go to the party,” she said. “Please don’t wait up for me, though. It could be late. And take my bed.”
    “I knew you’d want to give us your room, so we already have our