Lace & Lassos (7 page)

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

He squeezed her shoulders and she felt a lightness she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

Her mind turned back to Harold who had claimed that his father owned the house. “Harold said that he has the deed to the property.” She turned it over in her mind. “That can’t be true, can it? I’m the heir according to the will.”

Wayne frowned. “I don’t know, honey. I think we need to talk to a lawyer. If you don’t have one, I’ll have you talk to the lawyer who has handled our family’s affairs. He’s great. You’re not in this alone, Kaitlyn Barrett. I’m right here.”

The way that Wayne said it gave her a feeling inside that she couldn’t define. Like she wasn’t alone anymore.

She heard the sound of a truck motor and stood up from the couch. “Is that Harold?”

“Probably help arriving,” Wayne said as he stood, too. “While I was outside I called in reinforcements. I figured we’re going to need the help to get this trailer unloaded by five.”

“Thank you.” She went to the window and saw three trucks coming down her driveway. “You must have called in the army.”

Wayne laughed. “Just the family.”

She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Yes, an army.” She looked down at what she had on. “I’m wearing the same clothes as last night and I don’t want to ruin this blouse. I’ll be right back after I change.”

After putting on a pair of faded blue jeans and a T-shirt, Kaitlyn hurried back into her living room. The door was open and Danica was carrying in the jewelry box that Harold had taken away from her.

“Hi.” Kaitlyn took the jewelry box and set it aside before giving Danica a hug. “Thank you for coming,” she said.

“Of course.” Danica smiled. “That’s what friends are for.”

Wyatt, Dillon, Zane, and Jessie had come to help and there was laughing and talking as everything was brought in from the horse trailer. The tile floor was soon wet and muddy—nothing could help that with a storm and people going in and out.

Kaitlyn found herself smiling and talking with everyone. Her spirits felt lighter with them around. Someone helping her. The easy way that they talked to her, like she’d never left, made her feel at home.

Her cousin’s claims were always at the back of her mind, but she kept them there and let herself concentrate on the moment. For now she was getting everything back in order and then she would face what coming battles were on the horizon.

When it was close to lunch, they were almost finished unloading the trailer. Kaitlyn had everyone stack the boxed items up so that she could go through each box one by one. A part of her was afraid that Harold really could prove the house was his. She didn’t know what she’d do if that was true.

After the trailer was unloaded and they had cleaned up the mud and water off of the floor, Kaitlyn insisted on fixing lunch for everyone. Danica and Jessie helped.

Kaitlyn didn’t have a whole lot of groceries since she was living on her own, but she did have hamburger, corn tortillas, cheese, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and salsa, so they made tacos and had them along with iced tea. They used paper plates, paper napkins, and plastic ware, so there wasn’t much to clean up afterward.

As they ate, Kaitlyn was amazed at how easy it was to fall into conversation and laughter with the Camerons and to feel like she belonged.

Maybe this was the beginning of healing.

Maybe it was her new beginning.

After eating, the Camerons hugged Kaitlyn, told her to call if she needed anything, then left. Wayne stayed for a while longer. Just as he was getting ready to leave to get back to his ranch, they heard the sound of an engine outside.

“Someone’s coming up the drive,” he said as he pulled aside a curtain and looked out the window. He frowned. “It looks like Harold’s truck…and I think it’s the sheriff behind him.”

Kaitlyn’s stomach twisted with dread. “That can’t be good.”

Wayne didn’t say anything as he let the curtain fall back into place. He looked at her and held out his hand. She took it, grateful for the solid, comforting feeling it gave her to have him there.

They went out onto the porch. Harold parked his truck in front of the house and waited for the sheriff to pull up beside him. When the sheriff climbed out of his cruiser, Harold got out as well.

Both men walked through the rain to the porch. Harold’s face was bruised and he had the beginning of a black eye. He’d wiped away all traces of blood and had changed into a clean shirt.

Kaitlyn was rigid with tension, even with Wayne at her side. He had one hand resting on her shoulder and he squeezed as if to let her know that he was there for her. Her heart beat hard and she set her jaw.

The sheriff was good looking in a hard, sexy way. He was a large man, tall, and filled out his jeans and leather jacket well. He had his badge on his belt and he carried what looked like a clipboard with some kind of rain protection over it.

When the sheriff and Harold were at the foot of the stairs, the sheriff said, “Mind if we join you?”

Wayne glanced at Kaitlyn and she gave a nod. “Come on up,” Wayne said as they stepped aside so that the sheriff and Harold could join them on the porch.

“Sheriff Cooper, this is Kaitlyn Barrett.” Wayne introduced them. “Kaitlyn, Sheriff Dan Cooper.”

The sheriff took off his western hat and held it under the clipboard under his arm so that he could offer his hand to Kaitlyn. “Ms. Barrett,” he said.

Kaitlyn took his hand. He had a firm handshake and nice green eyes.

Harold stood back a ways, a self-satisfied smirk on his face, and the dread in Kaitlyn’s belly grew.

“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” Sheriff Cooper said. “But unfortunately this isn’t a social call.”

Kaitlyn managed to stand still, her chin tilted up. “What can I do for you, Sheriff?”

The sheriff took the clipboard and removed the rain protection then handed the clipboard to Kaitlyn.

“This is the deed showing that John Barrett owns this house and all of the lands it’s on,” the sheriff said. “When your father died, everything reverted back to John. You can petition a court if you want, but I’ve seen these before.”

“No.” Kaitlyn shook her head as she looked at the deed, but it was there in black and white. George H. Barrett and John J. Barrett, with right of survivorship. “This can’t be right.” Kaitlyn looked at the sheriff. “I know that everything was divided up between them.”

“I’m sorry.” The sheriff took back the document. “But I have to ask you to be out of the house in the next five days. Unless I see something different from a court, I have to enforce the trespassing laws.”

“But don’t you take any of our grandma’s things.” The look in Harold’s eyes was hateful. “Like I told you before, none of it is yours.”

This couldn’t be real. It was a dream. An awful, awful dream.

“The fact is,” Kaitlyn said, her hands clenched at her sides, “I have the will. You can say what you want about the house and you haven’t heard the last word on that. But the fact is everything in that house was my daddy’s and he left it to me. You try to take any of it and I will have you arrested.”

Wayne took the clipboard with the deed from Kaitlyn’s hands and looked it over. His expression was grim as he handed it back to the sheriff.

“Five days.” Harold spit over the side railing before he looked back at Kaitlyn. “You’ve got five days to get out.”

It was obvious that the sheriff felt for Kaitlyn. “I am sorry ma’am, but I have to enforce the law. I hope you understand.” Then he looked over at Harold.  “I will warn you right here and now, Mr. Barrett.  Unless you have something proving what’s in that house is rightfully yours, I will arrest you for theft.”

The sheriff put his hat back on, touched the brim as he acknowledged Kaitlyn again then shook Wayne’s hand before he turned and walked back down the front porch steps.

Harold sidled after him, giving one more hateful look to Kaitlyn and Wayne before he headed down the stairs after the sheriff.

Nearly numb with shock, she turned around and walked back into the house.

Wayne followed her and when the door was closed he took her in his arms.

She tried to step away but he held her too tight. “I will deal with this.” Her voice sounded strained. A tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. “You needn’t be bothered with it.”

“I will be with you.” He ran his thumb along her wet cheek. “You had better get used to me because I’m here to stay.”

She rested her face against his chest. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, but she needed him. The fact that he would be there for her helped lighten the weight on her shoulders.

“I’ll call our family’s attorney.” Wayne pushed her hair behind her ear. “He’s a good man. Sharp. He can help us.”

“What if he can’t?” She could barely speak above a whisper. “What if there’s no way to prove that this house and the property belonged to Daddy and now belongs to me?”

“We’ll figure something out.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “Just know that I’m here for you, every step of the way.”

Chapter 7

The rain-washed sky greeted Kaitlyn the next morning along with a sense of dread. She was losing the house. She had just over four days to move out of her home unless she could prove that it belonged completely to her father.

Yesterday afternoon Wayne had called his family’s attorney but the attorney had been in court and couldn’t meet with her until this morning.

Just as she was ready to go to town, Wayne’s truck came up her driveway and her heart seemed to skip a beat as he pulled up. She grabbed her purse, stepped out on the porch, locked the door behind her, and then went down the stairs to meet him.

The ground was soft from the rain, but at least it wasn’t raining any longer. She wore a flowing skirt of metallic browns and greens and a brown blouse that went with it along with flat shoes.

When she reached Wayne, he brought her into his arms for a kiss. His lips were warm and she inhaled his masculine scent. A thrill went through her belly.

“Ready to see the lawyer?” He took her by the elbow and guided her to the passenger side.

It felt good to have someone with her, supporting her, taking care of her even. Over the years she had always been the one to support and take care of others. She had never minded. But now she needed to be able to rely on someone and she was grateful for Wayne.

She climbed in, arranged her skirt, and then he closed the door. “I keep thinking that I’m going to wake up and this will all have been a dream,” she said after he climbed in on the driver’s side. “That I’m not about to lose my home.”

He reached over and squeezed her hand as he gave her a smile of support. “The lawyer will help us figure things out.”

She nodded and clasped her hands in her lap to give them something to do.

Now she recognized that a part of her had thought that going back home would be good for her. The part of her that remembered the good times and the family that had taken her under their wings, the Camerons. All of the good feelings from her childhood had been wrapped around her life with the people who had treated her like she was part of their family.

The depression had told her otherwise, but now she knew better. Home was the place she’d known deep inside that she needed to be.

But she was losing her home and that would take away her happy place…

“What are you thinking about?” Wayne asked as she looked out the passenger side window.

She brought her gaze to him. “Mostly how different this is turning out than I’d hoped it would. I thought this would be a place to heal. A place to come back to and learn to live again.” A heavy sadness settled on her shoulders. “But now… All of that is being ripped away from me.”

“Hey.” He reached across the seats and grabbed her hand. “No matter what, you have me and you have the rest of the family behind you. You will never be alone or without a home as long as we are here. The Cameron family has been here since this valley was first settled. We’re not going anywhere.”

The conviction and determination in his tone gave her a comforting feeling she hadn’t had before.

“Thank you.” She smiled. “For everything.”

“Aunt Grace wants to know when you’re coming for a visit like you’d talked about with her at the party.”

“I’ve missed her.” Kaitlyn smiled. “She was like a mother to me after my own mama died.” It had been when they were almost out of grade school.

“Remember first grade?” He gave her a quick grin. “In those days you wouldn’t have anything to do with me.”

She sniffed. “What do you expect when you put grasshoppers down my shirt and mud pies decorated with worms in my lunchbox?”

“Just wanted your attention.” He winked. “You were so damned cute.”

“You sure had a way of showing it.” She shook her head but couldn’t hold back a smile. “Of course I always got even.”

“But then it would be my turn to trump you,” he said.

She laughed. “But I always came out on top.”

He grinned. “Those are fightin’ words.”

“Truce.” She held up her hands. “No grasshoppers and no mud pies.”

“All right.” He laughed. “For now.”

“Just remember that I don’t just get mad, I get even.” She gave him a devious smile. “Ever have grasshopper pie? I think I have a recipe.”

He made a face. “Okay, okay. You win this round.”

“Ha.”

He looked like he was deep in thought for a moment before he spoke. “You used to help Aunt Grace with Danica when she was a baby, after our parents died.”

“Danica wasn’t even born when I started hanging around you Camerons.” Kaitlyn smiled. “Your parents died right after Danica was born, didn’t they?” She tilted her head to the side. “Aunt Grace moved in with you all and she let me play with the baby. She was like a little doll I was allowed to play with. She was so cute.” She narrowed her eyes at Wayne. “Unlike the rest of you.”

Wayne laughed. “Hard to compete with a cute little doll like Danica.”

The drive was about forty minutes and it went by quickly enough as they talked.

When they reached the lawyer’s office, they didn’t have to wait too long until they were ushered in to meet with Mr. Drake. They shook hands with him then seated themselves in front of his desk.