He’s living with me, and he’s going through a difficult time. He’s angry and rebellious, he doesn’t care about his grades, he isn’t making friends. He seems to have no interest in planning for his future. So, I thought maybe one of you men who have been through rough times and still managed to turn out successfully would have some influence on him. You know, maybe have a good talk with him and convince him of how important it is to follow the rules and focus on the future.”
He felt his eyebrows rising as he digested her unexpected explanation. She had bought him for her nephew? Remembering all the wolf-whistling women who had cheered him from the stands, he wondered how he’d ended up with this one. Not that he was complaining, exactly, he thought, studying her flushed face. “So you want me to have a bracing man-to-man talk with your nephew.”
She cleared her throat. “That was my original idea. But now I think maybe...”
She’d changed her mind, he realized. Somewhere between him taking off that tie and coming out of the bathroom in his regular clothes, she had decided he wasn’t the right one to talk to her nephew, after all. It was a good thing, he thought with a wince, that he had developed a pretty good self-image during the past few years. If he was the sensitive type, Blair Townsend just might have hurt his feelings.
What he should probably do was shrug his shoulders, agree that this had all been a mistake and let her go on her way, both of them having made their contribution to an extremely worthwhile cause. He was no one’s mentor, no kid’s role model. The very idea should have made him laugh. But something about the way she looked at his scuffed boots got his dander up. Her nephew could do worse than to take advice from him. And Blair just might find herself enjoying some time with him, as well.
“So what weekend is good for you?” he asked matter-of-factly.
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“You bought me to spend a weekend with your nephew. Let’s go for it. Tell me when you want to do it, and I’ll set everything up.”
Blair shook her head. “No, really. I think—”
“You said he’s angry and rebellious and headed for trouble, right? You want him to talk to someone who’s been there, someone who had to choose between freedom and jail, right? Well, lady, I’m your man.”
Blair looked at him thoughtfully. “You really think you can get through to him?”
“I’m no psychologist,” he admitted. “And I’m sure no expert on kids. But I came to this ranch as mean and angry and rebellious as any kid they’d taken in before. There were some who predicted I’d be in prison before I turned twenty-one. Instead, I own a successful ranch and serve on the board of directors of several civic organizations. I pay taxes and vote in every election. You might say I’m a respectable citizen—though I guess there’s a few who’d define me in other ways.”
“You own a ranch?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you read the brochure?”
“I told you, I didn’t intend to buy anyone. It was just an impulse when the idea occurred to me about Jeffrey.”
“So now that you know I’m an upstanding guy, you want to give it a shot?”
“Well...” She rubbed the back of her neck, as if it had suddenly tightened. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt for you to talk to him.”
“Might even help,” he murmured.
“I suppose that’s possible.”
He wasn’t flattered by the lack of confidence in her voice. It only made him more determined to prove he could do this.
Scott McKay had never been one to back down from a challenge.
“This will work out just fine,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “When d’you want to do it?”
“You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“Hey, for your generous donation to the ranch, talking to a kid is a small favor for me to do in return.”
She dug into the leather purse she’d worn over her shoulder and pulled out a thin calendar. “Jeffrey and I are free next weekend. Beginning Friday, he has a three-day break from school.”
“School? Isn’t he out for the summer yet?”
“No, he still has a couple more weeks.”
“So you want to get together next weekend.”
“If that’s convenient for you. Are you available then, or do you need more time to—?”
“Sure, that’ll work.”
She looked surprised at his quick acceptance. “Don’t you need to check your schedule?”
“I don’t keep a schedule. If you want to go next weekend, that’s when we’ll go.”
“How can you run a business if you don’t keep a schedule?”
“I improvise a lot.” He uncrossed his ankles, then crossed them again in the opposite direction. “Okay, so beginning next Friday, you and Jeremy and I will—”
“Jeffrey.”
“Sorry. You and Jeffrey and I will spend some time together, get to know each other, have a good time. Do you have any specific plans?”
“What I would like for you to do is talk to Jeffrey about how crucial it is for him to focus on his future. He needs to know that the grades he makes in school are important, that he has to cultivate the right friends and make the right choices.”
She made it sound as if she was trying to get the kid into Harvard. “How old is he?” he asked, thinking that if the boy was just fifteen or so, she could cut him a little slack. He’d have some time left to have fun before he had to seriously buckle down. Now, if he was, say, a senior in high school, he’d better...
Blair started to answer, but a knock on the door interrupted her.
“Excuse me a minute.” Scott stood and opened the door. Joseph, the ranch teen who’d been assigned as Scott’s host for the day, smiled shyly at him. “They’re wantin’ to take some pictures, Mr. McKay. Out by the arena. Miss Lindsay wants to know if you can come.”
“Well, I...”
“Go ahead, Scott. I have to leave, anyway. My nephew’s expecting me.” Blair stood, slung her purse over her shoulder and handed him a business card. “My numbers are on there. Give me a call after you’ve checked your calendar and we’ll decide where to meet—unless you change your mind, of course, which I would completely understand.”
“I’ll call you.”
She nodded, hesitated, then stuck out her hand. “It was very nice to meet you.”
Because her rather stiff, proper manner amused him, he couldn’t resist taking her hand, then tugging on it to pull her closer so he could brush a kiss against her cheek. “It was very nice being purchased by you. I’ll be in touch.”
Her
