Holden winced, as if he found the whole idea painful and awkward. “I don’t think we need to make it a condition of the relationship,” he interjected swiftly.
Libby breathed a sigh of relief.
“On the other hand …” he continued with a wicked smile. He was ready for whatever came.
Was she?
Hit with a sudden case of nerves, Libby cleared her throat. “I’m not sure I …” She stopped, unable to go on. There were shortcomings she did not wish to discuss. Her ability to hold a man’s attention in the bedroom topped the list.
Holden frowned, all protective male again. “Then don’t worry about it,” he said, his gaze sincere. “We’re only going to be together for six weeks. Then we’ll be moving on. Frankly, it might be better for our friendship if we didn’t consummate the dating thing.”
Libby relaxed again. “Thank you.”
Not that she was surprised. Holden McCabe was always a true gentleman.
“IS IT TRUE?” Several LRE employees confronted Libby the next morning the minute she walked in the front door. “Are you really planning to sell Lowell Ranch Equipment?”
Lucia Gordon, the dealership receptionist, wrung her hands. “We figured you were just talking to Jeff Johnston to price him out of the market and get him to stop calling you.”
“Today, I’ve already had requests from him to fax all the financials over to him at the Laramie Inn, ASAP,” Vince Hunt reported.
Libby directed the group into her private office, where everyone stood shoulder to shoulder. She put down her purse and coffee mug. “He should not have asked you that. He should have come through me for any further information he needed.”
“Percy left the dealership to you because you’re the last of the Lowells and he expected you to take care of it,” Manny Pierce reminded her. “Not end three generations of Lowell family tradition and cash in.” The senior mechanic frowned. “We’re really disappointed in you, Libby.”
“As well as worried about our jobs,” Swifty Mortimer added.
Libby worked her coat off and slung it over the back of her desk chair. “No one is going to lose their employment over this. That I can promise you.”
Skeptical glances abounded. Clearly disgruntled, everyone filtered out.
The rest of the workday went just as badly.
Near 4:00 p.m., Libby walked over to the warehouse to do the end of November inventory.
She had just climbed into the cab of a deluxe combine harvester to compare the serial number and price with the information they had in their computer system when Holden McCabe walked into the building.
How was it, she wondered, that he knew intuitively just when to show up to save the day or lighten her mood? Despite her decision not to rely on him emotionally in any way, her heart gave a little leap.
Oblivious to the hopelessly dependent nature of her thoughts, Holden lifted one brawny arm in acknowledgment. He strode confidently toward her.
Her heart took another little leap of anticipation as he neared.
Appearing concerned, he climbed into the enclosed cab beside her and shut the door.
His shoulder and hip brushed hers as he settled onto the bench seat. “What’s going on?” he asked her as he shot her another concerned look.
Trying not to notice how much space his tall, muscular frame took up, Libby swallowed. She hadn’t wanted to cry on his shoulder this much since the night he had brought her home from the emergency room.
She drew another breath as her pulse picked up a notch and a guilty flush heated her face. “Pretty much what you’d expect, under the circumstances. All the employees are mad at me. They think I’ll be betraying the Lowells if I sell.”
He studied her empathetically. “Sometimes you have to forget pleasing everyone else and make yourself happy.” He shrugged and briefly squeezed her forearm. “I’m thinking this is one of those times.”
Libby released a tremulous breath and raked a hand through her hair. “You really do understand.” And she needed that. Even though she was convinced she was doing the right thing, this situation left her feeling more vulnerable than she had expected.
With a cajoling smile, and another pat on her arm, Holden predicted, “And everyone else will understand, too, given a little time. In the meantime—” he released her and sat back “—I’ve got some more bad news—if you think you can handle it.”
Aware how her arm was tingling from that brief, comforting touch, Libby turned her attention to the rotary thresher attached to the front of the machine. She took a second to brace herself for the second onslaught of the day. “Go ahead,” she instructed wearily.
He rested a powerful forearm on the hydraulic steering wheel. “The library has been closed indefinitely. Apparently, what Rowdy found beneath the subflooring was asbestos that had been used for electrical insulation and soundproofing.”
Libby winced. “That sounds dangerous.”
He nodded. “It can be a real health hazard if it starts to deteriorate, and this stuff looked pretty old.” Cheering slightly, he added, “The good news is all the AC filters and surfaces in the library building tested clean of any microscopic fibers that could be inhaled, so no one’s been in danger thus far. But it’s going to have to come out.”
She sighed wearily as she waited for him to continue.
He met her level gaze. “And it’s going to be a very expensive proposition. The initial estimate from the hazardous-material experts is a quarter of a million, and the county doesn’t have it in the budget.”
Libby’s heart sank as she contemplated the loss. “So what are they going to do?”
“Try and find the money somewhere, but the earliest that will happen is January.”
She clapped a hand over her heart. “And in the meantime?”
“The county is arranging for Laramie residents to have privileges in neighboring county library systems.”
“But those are thirty-five miles away, minimum!” Libby declared in dismay.
Holden exhaled, looking disappointed, as well. “It’s the best the county can do.”
She turned toward him urgently, her knee bumping his thigh in the process. “There has to be a better solution!” she protested hotly.
The corners of his lips curved upward. “Miss Mim and Miss Rosa are collecting suggestions as we speak.” His glance sifted slowly over Libby’s face, lingering on the flush in the cheeks and her lush bare lips, before returning to her eyes. “In the meantime, I was thinking. It is Saturday … so how about tonight for our first official date?”
HOLDEN WAS SURPRISED but pleased that Libby assented right away. “The distraction might be just what I need….”
He’d half feared she would get cold feet about the whole arrangement and try to beg off, but she hadn’t, so they agreed to meet at her house at seven-thirty.
Leaving her to finish the inventory, Holden went home to the Bar M ranch to take care of his horses, shower and change. Figuring there would be less pressure on them if they had dinner and saw a movie, he printed out the listings for the theater in town and the multiplex in San Angelo, then headed back to Libby’s place.
He stared at the vehicles lining her driveway and clogging the parking lot of the now-closed dealership across the road.
Her home, he soon found out, was just as congested.
Twenty-five or so women were crowded into the spacious living