Best Laid Plans

“Nana?”

Helen glanced up at her granddaughter and smiled. “Ivy? I wasn’t expecting you until later.”

She and her grandmother had made plans earlier in the week to have dinner later today and take in a movie. “Yes, but we need to talk.”

“Oh? What about?”

“I think you know. I paid a visit to Nolan Madaris this morning to return his flowers, only to discover they hadn’t come from him at all. And then imagine how I felt when he showed me a note I had supposedly written him.”

Her grandmother smiled. “So, the two of you have finally met?”

“Yes, but that’s not the issue here. Why did you let Ms. Laverne talk you into doing something so outlandish?”

Her grandmother shook her head. “Laverne didn’t talk me into anything. It was both our idea and one we decided to execute. You and young Nolan were taking entirely too long to suit us.”

Ivy tilted her head to stare at her grandmother, certain the woman was an impostor who’d taken over her nana’s body. She recalled when Tessa and her family had discovered one of her elderly aunts had the first stage of dementia. One of the signs was changes in mood, personality or judgment. She could certainly attest to the fact that her eighty-year-old grandmother’s actions were out of character.

“I am in my right mind, Ivy,” her nana said, as if reading her mind.

Ivy drew in a slow, deep breath. “If that’s true, then we definitely need to talk.”

“I agree,” Nana said, placing the snippers on a nearby table and tugging off her work gloves. “It’s almost lunchtime. I made some chicken salad this morning. Go ahead and start on the sandwiches. I’ll be there in a minute to make the tea.”

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

“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.”

Ivy tried to rein in her temper that had never, ever been directed at her grandmother before. She bit into her sandwich and then took a sip of her tea before asking, “Do you think I’m so lacking that I can’t find anyone on my own, Nana? That you have to invite men to call me?”

“No. And we’re not talking about any man, Ivy. We are talking about a man who I believe will one day be your husband.”

“He will not be my husband. Have you forgotten that I never, ever plan to get married?”

“We will see.”

Ivy couldn’t do anything but stare at her grandmother. She’d never known Helen Chapman to be so illogical. Deciding to try another tactic, she took her grandmother’s hand and said in a softer tone, “Look at me, Nana. Nolan is used to dating real pretty girls. Girls with capital Gs printed on their foreheads for gorgeous. I’m not chopped liver but I know my limitations.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

Nana pulled her hand away, picked up her sandwich and took a bite. Then she took a sip of her drink before saying, “The only limitations you have are the ones you place on yourself, Ivy. Regardless of what you think, you are pretty. You are gorgeous. Contrary to what you evidently believe, being smart and intelligent doesn’t make you unattractive.”

“Yes, but it makes me oblivious to stuff most women find important. Like their looks and clothes. I like who I am just fine.”

“And you should. Earlier you asked if I thought you lack something and I told you no. What I didn’t say was that I think because of that Damien fellow, you’re denying yourself a chance to meet a nice guy. One who will think you’re beautiful, both inside and out, and who you’d want to marry.”

Ivy rolled her eyes. “Even if I was the least bit interested in ever getting married, which I am not, why would I want to marry a man like Nolan Madaris? A better question to ask is why would he want to marry a woman like me?”

“Because you were made for each other. Why can’t you see that?”

“And why can’t you see that we aren’t and that I’m not his type?”

“Quite the contrary. Laverne and I think you and young Madaris are a perfect match.”

A perfect match? She had to be kidding. “Nana, I want you to promise me that you will drop this whole thing. If you only knew how embarrassed I was after going into his office to give him those flowers back, only to discover he hadn’t sent them at all. And then to find out he thought I’d been sending those notes to him. You can’t imagine how humiliated I felt.”

“There was no reason for you to feel humiliated about anything. Our goal was to finally get the two of you to meet and we were successful in doing that.”

Ivy took a sip of her tea. Yes, they’d been successful in achieving that. But she had no intentions of seeing Nolan Madaris again and there was no doubt in her mind he had no intentions of ever looking her up either.

Ivy decided she would no longer argue that point with her grandmother because she could see it would be a total waste of her time. She figured when Nana and Ms. Laverne saw their antics had failed, they would soon realize that as well.

* * *

NOLAN FOUND HIS great-grandmother just where Jake said she would be. On the patio, shelling peas. She looked up the moment he stepped through the French doors, which as far as he was concerned, dispelled the notion that she had a hearing problem. Everyone knew Felicia Laverne Madaris heard just what she wanted to hear.

“Nolan, this is a surprise.”

He doubted it. He had a feeling she’d been expecting him. “Hello, Mama Laverne.” He walked over to her, leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but there’s a reason for my visit.”

She smiled up at him. “Is there?”

He shook his head, thinking she had the gall to look innocent. “Yes.” He slid into an empty chair to face her. As soon as he sat down she shoved a handful of pea pods into his lap, directly onto his pair of Giorgio slacks.

“While you’re here you might as well make yourself useful,” she said.

He drew in a deep breath and began shelling peas. Doing so reminded him of years gone by when she’d made all her great-grandsons do this very thing, the day before their mandatory cooking class with her had started. At the time he’d resented learning how to cook, but now he appreciated her for caring enough to take the time to teach all of them. And there had been so many of his cousins learning at the same time. It had been about more than cooking, though, which he now saw. It had taught them how to get along not only as cousins but to form relationships that were, in most cases, closer than brothers.

To know Mama Laverne was to love her, although at the moment he wanted to strangle her. He would never actually harm a hair on her head. Not a single strand. Not this ninety-something-year-old woman whose hands were a lot older than his, yet moved with a quicker precision than his while shelling peas. Years of experience and a demand of discipline.

She was the reason all seven of her sons had grown up to be God-fearing men. Even after losing her husband, she hadn’t given up. She had been there for her sons, their children and now her sons’ grands. She was the glue that held the Madaris family together. She was the backbone. She had a heart of gold. She thought of others before she thought of herself...maybe too much at times. She was the epitome of a strong woman.

But did that give her the right to interfere in their lives like she’d been doing lately? Hell, it hadn’t been lately; it stretched all the way back to his grandparents’ generation. He knew the stories were more fact than fiction. Wasn’t it time for her to stop the foolishness? Take a much-needed break? Did she not think they were capable of selecting their own mates if and when they desired one? And shouldn’t it be when they were ready to make the move and not when she thought they were ready?

“So, I take it you got something to say, Nolan.”

He glanced at her. Yes, he had a lot to say and would make sure that no matter how frustrated he was with her that he would give her all the respect she deserved. “You had no right to send Ivy Chapman flowers and let her think they were from me.”

“They were from you. Eventually you’ll get the bill. I told your aunt Sarah to hold off sending it until I told her to do so.”

Nolan was too stunned to say anything for a moment. His aunt Sarah, his cousin Reese’s mom, owned a florist shop in the Madaris Building. Mama Laverne had flowers sent for a full three months to a woman he didn’t know and intended for him to pay for them.

Without saying anything, he placed the peas he’d shelled into the container on the table and the remaining pods back in the pail they’d come out of. He stood, brushed off his slacks and began pacing the floor, reining in his escalating anger.

He wasn’t certain how much time passed before he finally stopped and said, “No matter what you say or do, nothing will ever develop between me and Ivy Chapman.”

“If you say so.”

He frowned. “I not only say so, I mean so. She’s not my type.”

“You don’t know your type.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said you don’t know your type, obviously. You thought Andrea Dunmire was your type and she proved you wrong.”

“That was years ago, and I’d like to think I’ve matured enough to know what type of woman is good for me and what type woman is not. You know that old saying about learning from your mistakes. Well, trust me, I learned from mine.”

He had been wrong in thinking Andrea was his chosen one. The one he thought he would spend the rest of his life with. That day she hadn’t clicked off her cell phone as she’d thought and he had heard her conversation with her cousin, he had felt a deep pain in his heart when she’d said she was only putting up with him, his touches, his kisses and sex with him to give her cousin a clear path to Blade. And what was so sad was she hadn’t denied anything when he’d confronted her. The pain of her betrayal and manipulations had been deep.

“How have you learned from your mistakes?” Mama Laverne asked him, cutting into his thoughts. “By deciding never to give your heart to any woman again? That’s not learning from your mistakes, Nolan, that’s giving in to them.”

He tried to hold his anger at bay but found it hard to do so. “Whatever way that I decide to handle my business, Mama Laverne, is my business.”

“Whatever way you decide to handle your business is a moot point now that you and Ivy will be spending time together.”

He shook his head. His great-grandmother was so sure that crazy scheme of hers had worked. He had no problem bursting her bubble. “I like my life just the way it is.”

“You mean dating all those women around town? Trying to make Clayton’s and Blade’s past reputations as womanizers look like those of choirboys in comparison? Oh, I’ve heard all about you, Nolan. I read the papers, you know. I’m aware of each and every time the name Madaris shows up in print. I know you’ve become a skirt chaser of the worst kind. What you do is your business just as long as you’re aware of one thing.”

“Which is?”

“You’re messing up my timeline.”

Her timeline? Now he’d heard everything. “I’m sure Corbin will be glad to hear that.”

“Corbin isn’t next on the list.”

Her words gave Nolan pause. “He’s not?”

“No. I decided to skip over Corbin, Emerson, Chance and Adam for the time being. Victoria is next.”

“Victoria?” he said in disbelief. She had to be kidding. Victoria, his twenty-six-year-old sister, was no more ready to be any man’s wife than he was ready to be any woman’s husband.

“Yes, Victoria.”

Nolan couldn’t believe this. He refused to believe this. He had to talk to someone. Hell, he needed to alert the entire family. Definitely warn Victoria. No one would agree to this. Victoria, who’d been named after their deceased paternal great-grandaunt, was the first female Madaris born in their generation. No one would agree to her being pushed into marriage. They would finally see that Mama Laverne had gone too far in her matchmaking schemes.

“Victoria won’t be getting married,” he said. As her oldest brother, he was protective of his sister. As were all his cousins and brothers. That protection went doubly so for his baby sister, Lindsay, who was attending college in Florida.

“Don’t worry about Victoria, Nolan. The guy I have in mind will do right by her. Just like I believe in my heart that you will do right by Ivy.”

Nolan had heard enough. Coming here had been a total waste of his time. He walked back over to his great-grandmother. He loved her to pieces but at that moment he was more frustrated and annoyed with her than ever for sticking her nose into his business. For trying to manipulate his life. “Mama Laverne, I’m only saying this once more,” he said with as much respect as he could muster. “Ivy Chapman is not my type, and she made it pretty clear today that I’m not hers. There isn’t—and never will there be—anything between us. Please stop concerning yourself with my love life or my lack of one.”

With nothing else to say, Nolan turned and left. He ran into his granduncle Jake on his way out. “How did it go?”

Nolan shook his head. “She thinks she has her plans all laid out with no room for error. She even had the nerve to tell me in so many words that I was wasting her time because she needed to move on to Victoria.”

A surprised look touched his granduncle’s face. “Victoria? What happened to Corbin, Adam, Emerson and Chance? They’re older than Victoria.”

“She’s skipping them to marry Victoria off. It’s time for the family to step in and do something, Granduncle Jake.”

“Something like what?”

Nolan shrugged massive shoulders. “I don’t rightly know. I need to get away for a while and think about it. Friday morning I’m leaving for my place on Tiki Island and plan to be there a week. When I return I’m calling a family meeting.”

CHAPTER FOUR

IVY MENTALLY AWAKENED from the ringing of her phone. Without opening her eyes, she reached for her cell phone on her nightstand. There was no doubt in her mind it was past the time she usually got out of bed, but when you were your own boss and worked from home, you had the luxury of sleeping late. Especially after putting in additional hours to finish a project from hell earlier than expected. And she planned to sleep the rest of the day since she didn’t get into bed until daybreak.

“Hello,” she said in a groggy voice.

“Congratulations!” a bubbly feminine voice said. “You’ve won a week for two on Tiki Island.”

Ivy slowly opened one eye. They had to be kidding. She never won anything. Pulling herself up in bed, she pushed back the hair from her face. “I won?” she asked, hoping she was speaking with a live person and not a recording.

“Yes. You’ve won a week for two in a beautiful beach cottage.”

“For two?”

“Yes, so you can include your husband, boyfriend or significant other,” the bubbly woman said.

Ivy frowned. She had none of those, but she did have a best friend. It would be a great girls’ trip if Tessa was available to go with her. More questions began flooding her mind, like how had she been selected? She didn’t recall entering any type of contest. “How did I win?”

“Your name was selected from a list of customers who frequent Altamonte Dry Cleaners.”

Ivy nodded, thinking that explained things. Since she hated ironing, she would drop her things by the cleaners every Thursday. “Is there a time frame that I have to take the week?”