The Rancher Wore Suits. Rita Herron
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couldn’t resist a chuckle. Should he offer to fix Nellie’s brakes for her? He was a decent mechanic; he’d fixed his share of farm equipment. Then again, did Dex know anything about cars?
Probably not. And if he did, Ty felt certain he didn’t actually work on them. Dex wouldn’t want to get grease on his expensive suits.
While the woman maneuvered her way through the parking-garage maze, Ty mentally reviewed the few things Dex had told him about himself. Dex had a medical degree, but he’d traded in his stethoscope for a computer. Now, he ran a huge medical conglomerate called Modern Medical Maintenance, Inc. which he’d affectionately called M3I. As if a man could be affectionate about a medical empire, Ty thought. The company owned a chain of cutting-edge facilities throughout the Southeast that sounded like they focused more on maintaining a profit margin than providing quality medical care.
Ty winced. Was he any better, though? He wanted more money to better the ranch.
Hell yes, he was different. He wanted to increase the ranch’s profits so he could make life easier for his family. But he’d never take advantage of people’s business problems or medical conditions to make a buck.
The VW hit a pothole, and he tried to adjust his legs in the cramped space, but his knees hit the dash and his head thumped the ceiling. The city air, the constant barrage of noises and the small space damn near suffocated him.
Oblivious to Ty’s discomfort, the woman wove into the fast-moving traffic. Even this late in the evening, cars flew by as if they were racing in the Indy 500. Ty searched his memory for the woman’s name. But Dex hadn’t mentioned anyone specifically, except for Bridget, his financial advisor.
A car slowed in front of them and several cars blasted their horns. Ty held onto the seat as more horns blared, and a man in a van rolled down his window, shouting obscenities. Lord help them if these maniacs ever came to Rolling Bend and got stopped by a cattle crossing. Where was everyone going in such a hurry?
Buildings and billboards raced by, along with skyscrapers as they drove through downtown Atlanta. A million lights glittered from high-rise apartments and offices, obliterating the stars he might have seen in the Montana sky. How did these people live without fresh air?
“Dr. Montgomery,” the woman began. “I know I mentioned this to you before, but I hope you’ll reconsider giving me the money.”
He gripped the seat edge. Maybe they did business like this in the city, but he was a Montana boy at heart. Sucking in a deep breath, he resorted to the pat answer Dex had told him to use.
“I’m sorry, Sugar, but all my financial decisions go through my advisor.”
“Sugar?”
Judging from the tone of her voice, Ty had committed a cardinal sin. “Miss—”
“It’s not Sugar or Miss,” she said in a tight voice. “It’s Dr. Stovall.” She flashed him an angry look, then pressed her pouty lips together.
He fidgeted in the seat, feeling like a fish out of water, dying on the dusty ground. What the hell had he gotten himself into? At this rate, he’d be discovered before he ever met the Montgomerys.
SO MUCH FOR being indebted, Jessica thought, fuming as she exited I-85 and veered through the Buckhead streets toward Dex Montgomery’s estate.
He’d probably been offended by her car. Or maybe he thought she was foolish for being so tenderhearted she’d actually named her car Nellie.
Heck, why had she told him that little bit of trivia?
She’d just been so nervous and for a minute, he’d looked at her as if he was actually attracted to her, like he would really be interested in what she had to say, so she’d thought she’d seize the moment before it seized her, and she’d started babbling.
Darn it, she’d promised herself no man would ever affect her this way again. Hadn’t she learned anything from her painful divorce? Jack had been a charmer, too. But looks didn’t mean a man had character or that he could accept flaws in someone else.
She didn’t even like Dex Montgomery; how could she let him rattle her so? For heaven’s sakes, he didn’t even use his medical degree to help people; he’d swapped it for stock options and boardrooms.
No, it wasn’t his potent sexuality. She was simply nervous because she’d hoped for his help in funding the hospital wing, and she had so much riding on his decision.
And he’d made the decision in a skinny minute without a single humane thought about whom he might be hurting. Why shouldn’t he? The man had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had never wanted for anything, while she’d struggled for every scrap of education and every recognition she’d achieved. And those poor families and their sick children…
She stopped at the entrance gate to the long wooded drive of his estate, cranked her window down, refusing to apologize as the glass squeaked and squawked. Finally, she turned to Dex, confused at the baffled look on his face as he stared at the security gate. She was tempted to leave him here and make him walk up the drive.
Then again, maybe he was simply tired tonight, and tomorrow would be different.
Yeah, right.
Still, she pasted on a smile, forcing herself to be professional. “Go ahead, Dr. Montgomery, tell your security to let us through so you can get home to your family. I know you must be anxious to see them.”
ANXIOUS was definitely the word, Ty thought, as he cleared his throat and tested his brother’s name—his new name for the next week or so—“This is Dex, and uh, Dr. Stovall.” He glanced at the doctor’s face, hoping to see some hint of forgiveness for his blunder, but she stared straight ahead as if he didn’t exist.
So, she was a doctor, albeit one with a rattletrap of a car. That didn’t mean she had to snub him.
He clenched his jaw, then realized he wasn’t thinking straight. She couldn’t be snubbing him because she had no idea he was Ty Cooper, Montana cowboy; she thought he was doctor/millionaire Dex Montgomery and she was mad because he hadn’t fallen into her trap and offered her money.
Remembering his mission for being here, his anger died. He couldn’t get involved personally with her or anyone else because he’d be going back to Rolling Bend soon. Besides, when she found out who he was, she probably would snub him. Just as Paula had years ago. She was too educated to pay attention to the real Ty Cooper.
No, he wouldn’t set himself up for that humiliation again.
She shifted into drive again, the little bug spinning gravel as she bounced up the paved drive beneath an awning of trees that lined the entrance to Dex’s house. It was too dark to see if the grass was green, but since it was May he supposed it would be. Thank God they had grass, and Dex didn’t live in one of those downtown postage-sized, cookie-cutter condos surrounded entirely by brick and mortar. He thought of the rolling hills, the mossy green valleys and the dirt drive to the Cooper farmhouse and felt a pang of homesickness.
Seconds later, he forgot it as he stared in awe at the mansion in front of him. The houses they’d passed were big enough to be hotels, but this one reminded him of the governor’s mansion.
How many people actually lived here?
Dex had mentioned his grandparents, a cook, a gardener, some kind of personal valet named George.
All people he didn’t know.
Whereas back home he had his grandparents, his adopted brothers Chad and Court, their wives Jenny and Brenda, and their kids.
Dr. Stovall pulled into the circular stone drive in front of massive white columns and Ty gulped. Would the people in this mansion be waiting for him with welcoming arms or would they recognize him as a fraud the minute they saw him?
Chapter Three
Jessica watched Dex Montgomery unfold