Given how fit she was, he doubted she really needed it. “Want” was something else entirely, however. Bolstered by the idea she might privately yearn for more with him, too, he aimed a thumb at the center of his chest. “Then I’m your man.”
Mitzy raked her teeth across the soft lusciousness of her lower lip. “I could also use your help with a few other things, as well...”
Though so far he’d had only a brief, blocked glimpse of one of her four infants, it stunned him to realize how much he wanted to meet them and help her with them, too. “The babies?” he asked eagerly.
She shook her head. Her gaze darkened worriedly. “With figuring out what’s really been going on at MCS.”
Mitzy wasn’t sure how Chase would take her request. Especially after the “conditions” her mother had thrown out. His long pause indicated she had been right to worry. She could feel him sizing her up, trying to figure out the exact nature of her innermost feelings about him. When she didn’t really know herself.
All she knew for certain was that she had appreciated his kindness. Enjoyed kissing him—way too much! And that she wanted the cold war between them to end, so she wouldn’t have to keep going out of her way to duck his sexy presence, now that he was living back in Laramie.
He continued to study her wordlessly.
She jerked in a breath, wary of inadvertently revealing too much. “That is why you initially came to see me, correct? To lend aid in any way I needed?”
In the kitchen, an “end of cycle” bell sounded.
“Yes.” His mood was suddenly all business.
Mitzy glanced at her watch. The boys would be waking soon for their next feeding. It was time to get a move on. Wishing she weren’t quite so aware of his presence, she retreated into scrupulous politeness. “Unlike my mother, I’m not asking you to find a buyer for MSC.” She pivoted and headed for the kitchen.
Chase stood to the left of her, watching as she opened the dishwasher, pulled out two dozen newly sterilized baby bottles as well as the basket of sterilized nipples and caps, then set them all on the counter.
The way he looked at her then—as if he was thinking what it might be like to make love to her again—sent tremors of aching need tumbling through her.
“And if I could find a buyer?” he asked.
Mitzy shook her head. Aware that every time she got near him her heart beat faster, her senses got sharper and the romantic disappointment she’d felt since their breakup became more acute. All factors, she knew, that made her ripe for a renewed affair. And that could be disastrous, given the fact he was still all business. And she was...now more than ever...all family.
Yes, they still had sparks. And an amazing rapport.
Yes, she was incredibly attracted to him.
And even still enjoyed spending time with him.
But she did not want to end up in the same place they’d been before, with him choosing to pursue a financial bottom line over her feelings, or those she loved.
She couldn’t be with someone who had once felt that semiautomation of the MCS saddle-making process had been the way to go, even if it disrespected her father’s artistry and cost some of their beloved employees their jobs.
She could, however, rely on his expertise in the leather business to help get MCS back on track. And she knew her late father would very much approve of that!
Deciding she had gotten lost in his mesmerizing gaze for far too long, she went to the pantry and emerged with a gallon of purified water and a new can of powdered infant formula.
Promising herself she was not going to let herself fall victim to the attraction simmering between them, she forced her gaze back to the rugged contours of his face. “I could never let the company go.” She set both items on the counter. “Not when I promised my father I would always take care of it.”
His eyes narrowed skeptically. “Did Gus want you to run it personally?”
She made a show of opening both containers, then went down the row, adding one scoop of powdered mix to each bottle. “It’s why Dad left it to me, and made me the CEO before he died.”
“Gus never discussed you selling MCS if it became too much?”
Mitzy flushed. “Well, yes.” She bent her head and added purified water to each bottle, too. “When it became clear my dad’s cancer was terminal and he didn’t have long to live, he and I talked about the possibility.”
“And?” Moving closer, he flashed her an encouraging smile.
Mitzy handed Chase the bottle and gestured for him to continue. While he did, she topped them off with nipple, plastic screw cap and protective cover.
“What did your dad say to you?” he prodded.
“That I could sell if I wanted. But I didn’t want to.”
Chase paused. He slanted her a perplexed look. “Why not?”
“Because his custom saddle company was his baby as much as I was! He started it from scratch in a one-room operation and, over the years, built it into a multimillion-dollar operation with twenty-nine employees. The quality of the work at MCS has always been legendary. Until the last year, while I’ve been in charge,” she admitted unhappily as she lifted the capped bottles and shook them vigorously to mix. “Which is why, more than ever, I have to get things back on track. I have to carry on his incredible legacy, not just for myself, but for my sons! And their offspring, too!”
Chase seemed to understand her need to make this more than a one- or two-generation family business. He stepped in to help with the mixing, his biceps flexing against the soft cotton of his shirt. “Have you talked to anyone at the company yet?”
Mitzy consulted her watch again, then took four of the finished bottles over and put them in the warmers. “No. It’s a holiday weekend.”
“But you’re going to.” He helped her move the rest of the prepared baby bottles into the fridge.
Mitzy nodded. Knowing communication was always key. “Eventually, yes, when I have a better idea of what’s going on.” Chase’s shoulder brushed hers as he put the last of the formula into the fridge. “How are you planning to get the facts without talking to employees?”
Arm tingling, Mitzy stepped back. “That’s where you come in. I was hoping if you looked at the company records with me, via the log-in on my dad’s desktop computer, we might be able to pinpoint how and why and when everything began going wrong.”
“And then what?” He turned his pensive gaze on her.
She adopted a brisk businesslike demeanor. “I’ll talk privately to whoever is responsible for making some of the decisions that have lowered the quality of our saddles substantially.”
He came closer. “Planning to fire them?”
She scoffed and backed up until her spine rested against the quartz countertop. “No! These people are all family.” Her heart ached at the mere idea. “I’ll just make sure they understand, we’ll make a course correction and that will be that.”
He asked, tone matter-of-fact, “You have access to all the company records?”
Glad he was there to help her navigate the unfamiliar inner workings of the business, she said, “Every last one.”
He kept his eyes locked with hers. And leaned forward close enough for her to inhale the brisk masculine scent of his aftershave lotion. “Is everything computerized?”
She