of surprise. She squared her slender shoulders. “You two know each other?”
An inscrutable glint appeared in Holden’s eyes as he informed her casually, “We met a little while ago at the Daybreak Café.”
Which wasn’t surprising, Libby guessed, since the restaurant owned by Holden’s sister, Emily, was the place in town to have breakfast.
“I was chatting up the locals, asking around, to see how people felt about the dealership,” Jeff explained.
Libby tensed, not sure how she felt about that. Shouldn’t any questions have been directed at her first?
“Anyway, we’re still on for dinner this evening, right?” Jeff asked.
She nodded.
“Great. I’ve got a lot of questions and things I’d like to discuss.” He inclined his head and strolled off.
Holden gave Libby a steady look that sent heat spiraling through her. “Tell me you’re taking someone with you. Like a lawyer.”
Clearly, Holden didn’t trust Jeff Johnston. For reasons that had more to do with his loyalty to her late husband—and to her—than to Johnston’s overarching ambition, she suspected.
Libby folded her arms and moved closer to him. “I’m not paying a lawyer to sit through polite get-to-know-each-other chitchat.”
Holden looked at her soberly. “Obviously, Johnston wants it to be more than that. He appears anxious to get you to sign on the dotted line, here and now.”
She stepped back. “Then Mr. Johnston will be disappointed,” she said firmly, uncomfortably aware that she’d had the same impression of the businessman. “But if it will make you feel better … you can tag along,” she offered reluctantly.
Holden grinned as happily as if she had invited him into her bedroom. “Seriously?”
Doing her best to quell her conflicting emotions, Libby nodded. She did not want to depend on Holden, emotionally or otherwise. She had allowed herself to do that once, right after her husband’s passing, and the result had been disastrous for both of them. To the point that guilt and discomfort from that time were still with both of them.
But she was smart enough to know that the easiest way to keep one man from becoming too aggressive with her was to put another equally driven and protective man into the mix. So for now, for tonight, she would allow her late husband’s best friend to appease his conscience by employing his innate gallantry on her behalf, once more.
Having decided that, she sighed.
Glancing up at Holden, she couldn’t help but note how good he looked in that green corduroy shirt and jeans. His short dark hair was thick and rumpled, and his face had the shadow of beard that came from going twenty-four hours without a razor. But it was the cobalt-blue of his eyes, the compassionate set of his sensual lips, that really drew her in.
“Thanks for inviting me,” he said.
Libby gave him a glance that warned him not to get too carried away. “It makes more sense to have you at the table with us than to have you hovering somewhere in the background, trying to watch over me from a distance.” Which, she knew, he was likely to do, given the depth of his concern about the potential pitfalls of the situation she was in.
And if she was completely honest, Libby admitted, she wouldn’t mind having Holden at the first official meeting.
The handsome rancher was bound to be a lot less emotional about the proposed transaction than she, and would give her perspective on everything said.
In certain situations, two were better than one.
This, Libby figured, was one of those times.
“I DIDN’T REALIZE THE TWO of you were dating,” Jeff Johnston said to Holden and Libby after they had ordered their meals.
Taking comfort in the laid-back ease of the Wagon Wheel Restaurant, she sipped her iced tea. “Holden is here as a friend.”
Jeff quirked a brow. “Do you always take friends to business meetings?”
Aware that her throat still felt parched, and that she was far too conscious of Holden and his sexy masculine presence, Libby took another drink. “No.”
Jeff glanced at her curiously. “Then …?”
She searched for an explanation for herself, as well. Ignoring Holden’s equally probing look, she told Jeff, “You wanted to know how the ranchers in the area feel about the dealership. Holden can tell you that.”
The other man turned to him. “How is the level of service?”
“Excellent,” Holden stated promptly. “First and foremost, prices are fair.”
“Almost too much so,” Jeff countered. “Since the profit the company is taking on sales is slightly below the industry standard.”
“It’s a competitive market,” Libby interjected. “We aim to please.”
“And they do,” Holden said candidly. “From the time you walk in the door, Lowell Ranch Equipment employees are there to help you decide what heavy machinery you need, and how to obtain financing. And they are just as dedicated when it comes to providing any service or parts required. Because of that, they have a very loyal customer base.”
“You’re not just saying that because Libby is your ‘friend’?” Jeff chided.
“Libby doesn’t need me to exaggerate on her behalf,” Holden said, beginning to sound a little irked at the remark. “Lowell Ranch Equipment has been in business for three generations, and has served a hundred-mile rural area for the last seventy years. The commitment of the sales and service staff has never wavered.”
Jeff nodded, as if his research had garnered the same data. “I notice a lot of the employees are older, though. Fifty plus …”
For the thirtysomething Jeff, that was a problem, Libby noted unhappily. “Ten of our employees are in that age demographic—they have worked at the business their whole adult lives. Three others are in their twenties, but equally as committed to careers with us.”
He frowned. “Meaning you would be opposed to me letting at least some members of your staff go, and bringing in my own people?”
She stiffened her spine, the tough businesswoman inside her coming to the fore. “I won’t sell to you unless there is a guarantee you’ll continue to employ every person currently working there for as long as they want to stay, at their current salary and benefits.”
“You realize that could sour the deal,” Jeff warned.
Libby turned her hands palm up. “Then it does.”
He sat back in his chair as their dinners were put in front of them, and considered her position. “Well, that explains why everyone is so loyal.”
Libby picked up her knife and fork. “We’ve had virtually no turnover, because it is such a good place to work. The fact the customers know who they are going
