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the display. Tyler. No doubt he wanted to rage at her some more. She figured he deserved his say, too.
    She punched the phone on and inhaled a breath to speak.
    “Don’t you ever hang up on me again.” His annoyance all but reached out and shook her.
    “I…I’m sorry. I just wanted to apologize.” She pressed the phone to her chest and allowed one ragged sob to escape. Confrontations were never her thing.
    He repeatedly called her name, each effort louder than the last.
    She wiped her nose with the tissue. “Yes?”
    “Are you crying?”
    “No. Yes. See, hurting someone’s feelings is not typical behavior for me. Truly. If you knew me better, if you knew all I’ve been through, then you’d understand. I was wrong to strike out like that. Humans are a lot like animals don’t you think? Someone steps on your paw, and you want to strike back.” She imagined she heard soft laughter. Maybe she was getting through to him with her chatter. Now, if only she could make some sense to this man who seemed to fluster her so easily. To listen to her, he’d never believe she graduated magna cum laude. “You really do kiss quite well, as I’m sure you know. I mean, you made my toes curl in my boots.”
    “Lacy, Lacy, Lacy.” He sighed. “What am I gonna do with you?”
    “You could say you forgive me for being bitchy with you today. Grandpa says you and your ranch foreman are coming on Friday for the cattle you bought. Why don’t you let me make the two of you breakfast? No one makes French toast like me.”
    There was a lengthy pause. “French toast, huh?”
    “Oh, yeah, cowboy.” She reached out to pet Honeybun. “I’ll even heat the maple syrup for you.”
    “Well, who could resist that?”
    She pumped her fist. Thank you, Gus .

Chapter Five
    With all the insecurities heaped on her the last couple years, there were two things Lacy was fairly confident in—her computer skills and her cooking. Nevertheless, she was a bundle of nerves on Friday morning. Her first batch of bacon lay in a heap in the trash can. Even Honeybun wouldn’t eat it. The dog did, however, lap up portions of the two eggs she’d dropped. As a consequence, she muttered her mantra over and over. Relax and don’t prattle when he gets here .
    The collie announced the arrival of the cattle trucks just as Lacy finished her second batch of bacon. Tires crunching the gravel on the long driveway set her nerves on butterfly mode. She forked fingers through her hair, tugged on the hem of her T-shirt and willed herself to calm down. This was just breakfast with her grandpa and two men. Certainly nothing to get so rattled about.
    Of course, it would help squelch the swarm of bombastic bees in her stomach if Grandpa would stop referring to breakfast as her “cooking for her beau.” He’d been teasing her about it since she informed him they’d have guests this morning.
    “Wonder if your beau thought to bring you flowers.”
    Grandpa brushed past her to open the back door and holler a welcome to Tyler and Pete. He then stepped outside, claiming he wanted to talk to the ranch foreman from the Star-D ranch. Lacy narrowed her eyes at his retreating back. Oh, she knew what he was doing—giving her some private time alone with Tyler.
    The object of her nerves stepped inside and hung his hat on a peg. He stilled in the entry from the mudroom to the kitchen, the breadth of his shoulders nearly filling the doorway. Lord have mercy, he was all male in his black Western shirt and jeans that hugged his muscular thighs like a second skin.
    “Mornin’ Lacy.”
    Two words. Two measly little words and wetness pooled between her legs. Oh, this is so not good.
    Honeybun must have picked up on the increase in her pheromones. The collie trotted over to Tyler, her backside wiggling and switching. She wagged her tail, whined and peed on his boots.
    Tyler’s gaze slowly rose from the offending puddle to Lacy’s face. “Did you teach her to do that?” Something