saddling up olâ Beau. He hadnât been on a horse in ages and desperately needed some time to think. He already had a good idea where Tom would have wanted his ashes to be scattered and hoped to figure some things out on the long ride down to the river. Horses were the best therapy he knewâaside from sex, that is. If he couldnât have the one, heâd have to settle for the other.
He was leading Beau out of his corral when Monica appeared. âThatâs a beautiful horse,â she remarked. âI bet he could clear some fences with those long legs.â
Ty grinned and patted the neck of the leggy, bald-faced sorrel. âWorking cattle, jumping fences, scaling canyons, crossing rivers. You name it. Anything you can imagine doing on a horse, this olâ boyâs done it.â
âReally? How old is he?â she asked, stroking the geldingâs nose.
Ty scratched his chin in thought. âTom gave him to me as a yearling for my fifteenth birthday, so I guess he must be coming up on twenty, but donât tell him that.â
âWhere are you going with him?â Monica asked.
âThought weâd ride down to a place where Tom and I used to fish for alligator gar.â
Her eyes widened. âThere are alligators in that river?â
âNot gators. Alligator gar . Itâs a butt-ugly sport fish with a mouth like a gator. Theyâre also just as big. Tom and I once reeled in a six-footer. The biggest ones on record have been caught in the Red River.â
âI didnât realize Tom enjoyed sport fishing,â she said.
âYup. Ranching, fishing, hunting, flying his plane. Tom was a real manâs man.â
âThereâs so much I still donât know about him,â she said sadly. âAnd now I never will.â
âYou knew enough to love him,â Ty reassured. âAnd he loved you back, Monica. He was damned proud of you too. Hell, he bragged about you all the time and even carried your picture in his wallet. He showed it to me the day he had his first stroke. I think he had some crazy matchmaking scheme in mind.â
âHe wasnât so subtle about it with me either,â she replied dryly.
âOh yeah?â Ty cocked a brow. âWhat did he say?â
âTom never kept it secret that he didnât like Evan, but he thought a great deal of you. He wanted us to run the hotel together, but I think he had hopes of more. I set him straight that it was never going to happen between you and me.â
He eyed her levelly. âNeverâs an awful long time.â
âThis is a pointless conversation.â She shoved her hands in her pockets. âI only came down here to ask if you knew Tomâs favorite spot on the ranch.â
âYeah. I know it. Itâs a grassy knoll that overlooks the river. You can see Tomâs entire spread stretching out for miles from there. He loved that spot. Matter-o-fact, itâs where me and Beau were headed.â
âCan I go with you?â she asked. âDelaney loaned me some jeans and boots.â
She stuck out a foot to show off a pair of dusty ropers. His gaze tracked from the boots slowly upward. He was surprised he hadnât noticed sooner the boots and faded denim encasing her mile-long legs. Monica Brandt was hot as hell in her skirt and heels, but looking at her now, he was filled with the urge to back her up to a wall and peel those jeans slowly off her hips.
âPlease, Ty,â she said.
Ty hesitated. The biggest reason for the ride was for some alone time. He had so much to figure out. Monicaâs presence would only muddle his head. âItâs a long ride,â he warned her.
âHow long?â
âCouple hours. Probably four to get there and back. Five if we hang around a bit. That wonât put us back âtil about supper time.â
âI donât have anything else to do except for going through Tomâs effects,