Best Laid Plans

Ivy nodded and turned to go back inside the house. Her grandmother was going to do more than make a pitcher of tea. She had a lot of explaining to do.

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_1e18a5aa-20a7-51a8-8b41-6abefd13a814)

“SO WHAT DO you plan to do?” Corbin asked his brother.

“For starters, pay Mama Laverne a visit. I’m on my way there now,” Nolan said, getting off the interstate onto the ramp that would take him to what used to be the Madaris family homestead, Whispering Pines.

Years ago, the Madaris brothers had signed their shares of the ranch over to their youngest brother, Jake, keeping only an investment interest. That act of faith and show of confidence from the brothers had made Jake determined to make Whispering Pines succeed. And he had. It was listed as one of the largest working ranches in Texas and produced some of the highest-quality Texas longhorn cattle for the buying public.

“Good luck. Be prepared for her to twist things to the point where it will confuse your mind.”

As far as Nolan was concerned there was nothing that could be twisted and nothing to be confused about. He and Ivy Chapman would not get together. Under no circumstances would he allow his great-grandmother to interfere in his life like she’d done the others. He didn’t care about her success record. “There will be no confusion. I plan on letting her know where I stand on the matter and that I refuse to be a pawn in her game of nonsense,” Nolan said.

“By the way, you never did say what you thought about Ivy Chapman when you saw her today. Is she pretty?”

Corbin’s question immediately made Ivy Chapman’s image flare to life inside his brain. He vividly recalled how she’d unceremoniously placed those flowers on his desk. Before she’d learned the truth about the sender of them, she had looked mad, annoyed, fit to be tied. And pretty as sin. Then after finding out the truth, she appeared embarrassed, disconcerted and slightly humiliated—and still pretty as sin.

“Yes, she’s pretty but that means nothing.”

“It doesn’t?”

“No. If you’ve seen one pretty woman, then you’ve seen them all.”

“Hey, speak for yourself, Mr. One-Night Stand.”

“Whatever. You just better hope I’m able to stop Mama Laverne in her tracks or, dear brother, you are next,” he reminded Corbin.

Moments later, after ending his phone conversation with Corbin, Nolan drove through the gates of Whispering Pines. The twenty-four-hour security guard posted at the entrance had become a permanent fixture after his granduncle Jake Madaris married Hollywood actress Diamond Swain many years ago. The media and paparazzi had tried more than once to get on the private property and disrupt their lives.

He had checked with his parents to verify that his great-grandmother was here at Whispering Pines. Jake was Mama Laverne’s youngest son and she stayed with him at least six months out of the year and rotated the other six months among her other five sons.

When Nolan brought his car to a stop in front of the sprawling hacienda-style ranch house, he was greeted by Jake’s nine-year-old son, Granite. From all the pictures he’d seen of his granduncle Jake from when he’d been Granite’s age, anyone could see that Granite Jacob Madaris was the spitting image of his father. Whereas his twelve-year-old sister, Amethyst, was the spitting image of Jake’s wife, Diamond. Both Granite and Amethyst were tall for their ages, which couldn’t be helped since Jake stood way over six feet tall and Diamond was barely short of six feet. Unless you knew Granite was only nine, you would assume he was much older because of his height.

Nolan still found it hard to believe that his ranching-loving granduncle, whom everyone thought would never remarry after a disastrous first marriage, had engaged in a secret love affair with Hollywood actress Diamond Swain for almost two years before Jake had finally announced it to the family. So far Jake and Diamond’s marriage was one of the few Madaris weddings that Mama Laverne hadn’t manipulated. His great-grandmother had been just as shocked as everyone else to learn about Jake and Diamond’s marriage. That was one of the reasons Nolan considered Jake his hero. Anyone who could pull anything over on Mama Laverne deserved a medal.

“Hi, Nolan! You plan to stay awhile?” Granite asked after trotting over to meet him.

“No, just for a few hours,” he said, grabbing Granite around the neck in a playful hug. “Where is everyone?”

Granite smiled up at him. “Dad’s inside the house working on the ranch books and Mama Laverne is inside, too. But I don’t know what’s she’s doing.”

Probably busy tending to other people’s business, Nolan thought.

“Mom and Amethyst left this morning to go shopping in Los Angeles, along with Syneda and Remi,” Granite said. “They won’t be back for a couple of days.”

Syneda was the wife of his older cousin Clayton, and Remi—short for Remington—was their daughter. “Sounds like they’ll be doing some serious shopping,” Nolan said.

Granite chuckled. “They will. Mom said it’s a mother-daughter trip, but she promised to bring me something back.”

Nolan nodded. “How is school going?”

He knew both Granite and Amethyst were homeschooled by a private tutor. “School is great, but I’m glad it’s spring break. We get two weeks instead of just one.”

Nolan figured when you were homeschooled, your parents could make the rules. “You got a lot planned for those two weeks?”

Granite bobbed his head up and down grinning. “Yes. I’ve been helping Dad with roundup every morning. And he’s going to take me to see Luke at his rodeo school for lessons next week.”

Luke was his cousin who’d been a rodeo star and was now the owner of the Luke Madaris Rodeo School in Oklahoma. “Sounds like it’s going to be a fun trip.”

“It will be. Just me and Dad. No girls allowed.”

Nolan was about to respond when the front door opened and there stood his granduncle Jake Madaris. He admired his granduncle, not just for outsmarting Mama Laverne with his marriage to Diamond, but simply for being an all-around wonderful granduncle who loved his family, especially all his nieces and nephews, and he showed it in everything he did. Jake was not only a dedicated rancher, but he was also a highly successful businessman and one hell of a financial adviser. Over the years, Jake had made a number of wise investments on behalf of the entire Madaris family. Even if Nolan never worked another day in his life, thanks to Jake he could live a very wealthy and prosperous lifestyle.

“Dad! Look who’s here,” Granite said with excitement in voice.

Jake Madaris smiled at his son. “I see. Nolan, what a nice surprise,” Jake said, leaving the doorway to give his grandnephew a huge bear hug. “What brings you to Whispering Pines in the middle of a weekday?”

Nolan didn’t hesitate in answering. “Mama Laverne.”

Jake, Nolan noted, couldn’t hide the humor in his eyes when he said, “Must be serious.”

“It is.”

There was no need to tell Jake anything. Everyone was still shaking their heads in amazement as to how Mama Laverne had outsmarted Lee and pulled off his marriage to Carly. And everyone knew that he was next on the list.

“Come on in. She’s out back on the patio shelling peas.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

BY THE TIME Ivy was finishing up making the sandwiches, Nana entered the kitchen and said, “Today is a beautiful day. I hope there will be many more like it, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Ivy decided to keep her answer short. She really didn’t have much to say by way of small talk until her grandmother explained a few things.

It didn’t take long for Nana to make the tea. Ivy put the plates with the sandwiches on the table. When she’d arrived, she hadn’t thought about eating, but when Nana had mentioned she’d made some chicken salad, Ivy couldn’t prevent her stomach from reminding her she’d missed breakfast. The reminder of why she’d done so brought everything, especially why she was here, back to the forefront.

She waited until Nana was seated and had said grace for the both of them before asking, “Nana, why would you think Nolan Madaris and I would make a good couple?”

“Because you will.”

Ivy shook her head. “No, we won’t. There is nothing about the man that interests me.”

“Then you need to take a second look. I haven’t seen him recently, but last time I looked he was stopping feminine hearts all over the place.”

“Well, he won’t be stopping mine. Nana, you read the newspapers like I do. I’m sure you’re aware every time Nolan’s name appears in print, which is quite a bit. Usually it’s the society column detailing his latest conquest—usually a debutante or some sophisticated lady. I have enough sense to know I am not his type.”

“Of course you are.”