17
THEREHADBEENheated words, shouted accusations and one very creative threat involving an electric cattle prod that left Ty fighting the urge to look behind him with every step away from the house he took. Total chaos had ruled for several minutes until Reagan had loosed a sharp whistle that had nearly rendered Ty and his brothers deaf, mute and blind as their skulls shattered.
Jack Malone had scoffed at the three of them. “For your sake, I hope you don’t always expect to find the solution to your problems in the bottom of a bottle.” With that, he’d spun on his heel and started down the hall, heading for the front door. He’d paused there, gripping the doorknob. “Get yourself cleaned up and meet me in the barn, Covington.”
“You ask for one, you’re going to get all three of us,” Cade had responded, the low, slow words as clear a threat as if he’d handed the older man a formal challenge.
“I don’t do threats, young man. You should remember that.” He’d stepped into the brilliantly clear, brutally cold day. “I’ll deal with Tyson alone or not at all.” It would have made sense for him to slam the door. That he’d shut it with controlled care expressed his anger far more effectively.
“Crap.” Ty sank to the edge of the bed. “I’m not up for this.”
“It’s my fault.” Eli sat next to him and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his forehead in his hands. “I’ll deal with him.”
“No.”
They all peered up at Emma.
“This is Ty’s mess.” She’d glanced at each of them in turn, her gaze coming to rest on him as compassion paired with the hidden hard-ass in her. “I love you, but it’s time you started cleaning up after yourself.”
“Told you,” Cade muttered, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Ty rose again, forcing himself to stand without hanging on to anything...or anyone. “You’re right.” He glanced around the room. “Anyone interested in checking out my junk when I get dressed should stay. Everyone else? Out. I’ll deal with this.”
And that was where he was now—headed to the barn to find out what particular pound of flesh Jack Malone had come for.
The snow had been cleared between the house and the barn, but the downhill trip still proved exhausting. Getting home was going to suck. Picking his way into the big building with careful steps, Ty was forced to remove his sunglasses to peer through the barn’s dim interior. “Mr. Malone?”
The man stepped out of Gizmo’s stall. “Wanted to see what my daughter’s money paid for. Appears it was to save a fine horse and an irresponsible man. Seems that would give her fifty-fifty odds of making sound financial decisions with her inheritance in the future, wouldn’t you say?” He didn’t wait for an answer, instead turning his back on Ty dismissively as he shut Gizmo’s stall door and continued to look over the horse. “He’s a beautiful specimen.”
“He’s not a ‘specimen.’” Ty knew Malone was provoking him, knew better than to let the man get to him. But that he’d basically reduced Gizmo to nothing more than a sperm factory really pissed Ty off. “‘Specimens’ are found in petri dishes, Mr. Malone. Gizmo is both my companion and business partner. He’s also going to provide the next big genetics push for the breed.” Ty tilted his Stetson back and crossed his arms overhis chest. “You’re well aware of that or you wouldn’t have been working so hard to breed three of your mares to him.”
“That’s fair.” Malone shifted and propped an elbow on the stall door. “But let’s be honest, Mr. Covington. You’d have to sign over exclusive breeding rights to the Malone ranch if you ever thought to reimburse my daughter for the financial investment she made in you and your ‘business partner.’”
Ty’s stomach hit the dirt and started digging, because apparently ground level wasn’t sufficient for how far his stomach intended to fall. “I want to be clear here, Mr. Malone. I always intended to pay her back, with interest, for the investment she made in me and my horse.”
The infamous rodeo cowboy pushed off the door and strode across the hitching area toward Ty, his steps sure, his temper brewing. “Damn skippy, you will.”
“The dude ranch is mortgaged, but we’re realizing a healthy profit. While I can’t repay her in a lump sum, I’m willing to—”
“Shut up.” Malone stopped inches from him, but they were still effectively toe-to-toe. “You want to know what this cost her? I meantrulycost her?”
“She gave me the figures, Mr. Malone.”
The older man snorted and shook his head, yanking his hat off. Malone tilted his chin back and stared at the ceiling for so long that Ty looked up, too, just to see what he was staring at.
Turned out it was nothing and everything—nothing visible, everything intangible.
“She told you about her brother.” Jack Malone’s words were half statement, half accusation.
“She did.”
“Did she tell you she was the first one to reach him after he and his horse went down?”
A whole new level of understanding hit Ty like a sucker punch to the solar plexus. Clearly, she’d withheld a few critical details from her description of that day.
“I didn’t think so,” Malone said quietly. “She was thirteen, Mr. Covington. She was thirteen and worshipped her older brother with every cell in her little body.” He ran a hand around the back of his neck, the ropy muscles in his forearm tightening as he lowered his chin and glanced at Gizmo again. “I’m going to assume she also left out the part where she tried to perform CPR on Michael and how we had to pry her off him to let the medic get to my son.”
“No, sir. She didn’t share any of that.”