Rocky Mountain Cowboy (39 page)

“Why didn’t you?”

“I’ve proposed investing my money in the ranch lots of times to him. He told me not to.” She rose to her feet and lifted the long strap of her handbag over her shoulder. “But you know how threatening the bank was getting. I just couldn’t sit back and do nothing, not when I have the means to resolve the matter. I don’t think Dad would have wanted me to let the ranch go into foreclosure. Hawk was trying to get us out of all the trouble, but the problems were just getting too costly, especially after the barn burned.”

“Well, Christ, he ought to be grateful you had the ability to help him out,” the attorney said angrily with a shake of his head. “What the hell is he thinking— refusing your help when he’s got all this trouble?”

“His pride,” Jack’s wife said softly. “It’s hard when someone you want to impress has to give you a helping hand.”

Jenny understood what the woman was telling her, but it didn’t change the mess she now faced. “What do we do next, Jack?”

“Nothing we can do.” He shook his head. “Except get him to see reason.” The attorney didn’t look too certain that was going to work. “You two have to work this out somehow. There are less than thirty days left before the court steps in and forces a sale of the ranch to satisfy both your interests. They will officially dissolve the partnership Hawk had with Tom and, if he can’t buy out your interests by then, make him sell the property. You still own the house and the land it sits on free and clear. You could petition the court to let you pick up the rest of the land or however much you can afford after Hawk’s interests are met.”

J
enny released a long sigh. “That’s an awful recourse.”

“You could ask Hawk to sell out to you now. Do you have the money to buy him out?”

“No. I’d have to get a loan, but he would never agree to that. He’s already said no to that proposal. And it’s his home. It has been for a long time. I don’t want to force him off the ranch.”

“Well then, I suppose you could take him to court and make him form the partnership with you. You did have a verbal agreement. I’m a witness to that. No court will agree he had a right to refuse signing those papers just because you paid a couple of loans and put money in his account. They’d probably think he was as crazy as I do.”

Jenny frowned. “Either way, working together now is going to be impossible. Knowing how stubborn he can be, I imagine he won’t be speaking to me for some time.”

“Yeah, I don’t imagine he will,” Jack concurred, exchanging a sad look with his wife.

“Well, thanks,” Jenny told him and gave both of them a departing handshake. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I decide what to do. Maybe once he settles down, he’ll listen to reason.”

“Good luck.”

She left, knowing she’d need all the luck and perseverance she could get.

∞∞∞

Four offices down
, Brad was just concluding his meeting with the two men Jenny and Hawk had seen in the hallway earlier. The blonde banker raked a hand through his hair as his two
guests
rose to leave.

“You have your final timetable, Caldwell. My people have given you all the time
you’re going to get. We invested a lot of money up front on this Hot Springs Resort project. You get this deal started or give us our up-front money back. It’s that simple, isn’t it, Mac?” the older man said to the younger man beside him.

“Yep, it sure is, boss.” The big man gave Brad a quick humorless grin. “‘Course I wouldn’t mind trying to convince that pretty little gal
to cooperate that I saw with you at the Cattlemen’s meeting. I bet I could get her to agree to just about anything after a little time alone with her. Got a way with the ladies, I do.”

“You know, Caldwell,” the older man speculated. “You might want to think about using her to get that cowboy to sell. Mac and I saw them in the hall a little while ago, going into an office down from yours. He looked pretty tight with her, like he’d hate to see something happen to her.”

Brad had definitely considered the idea. Using Miss Fletcher as some kind of hostage to a deal just might get that stubborn half-breed to sell. Tom’s pretty daughter hadn’t wanted much to do with him personally, even though Brad had been trying to influence her since she’d arrived. And according to his jealous sister, Larson and Miss Fletcher were indeed
pretty tight.
The two of them had probably been going to see Jack Higgins, their attorney. Jack wouldn’t tell Brad anything, but there were other ways to find out what they’d been up to.

“I haven’t had much luck talking her into anything,” he admitted reluctantly, wishing his visitors would leave. He hated the threat they posed. He liked to do the threatening, not be on the receiving end of it.

“Well, quit talking and start forcing,” the older man stated impatiently. “You don’t have to get her to like you. Just use her as leverage. Time is running out. Think of it this way, Caldwell— it’s either you or them. Get rough. Get it done. I’ll be glad to lend you Mac if you need him. He knows how to get the job done better than that washed up wrangler you got working for you. Hell, the idiot couldn’t even kill that half-breed a couple weeks ago, and he sure as hell is no good at breaking and entering.”

Brad gave Mac a long look. He might come in handy with his size and all. Then again it might be better to stay the hell out of his path. He had no illusions about who would be doing the leg breaking if it came to that. He walked the two men to the door.

“I’ll get something going here real quick. The deal will go through on schedule.”

“You’re already behind sche
dule, Caldwell. Fix it— fast.”

The big man smiled maliciously over his broad shoulders as he left with the smaller man.

CHAPTER 23

Jenny was in the kitchen, fixing herself dinner that evening, when Hawk walked in, dressed as he’d been that morning. She hadn’t seen him since he’d stalked out of Jack Higgins’ office this morning. She’d wondered all day where he’d gone. He hadn’t come back to the ranch. She had come to the miserable conclusion that he must have gone to see his ex-girlfriend, the woman he always returned to. That disheartening thought had made her wonder if his walking out on her meant their affair was over and his with Cindy was on again.

Overall, it had been an awful day. She had spent all of it, every hour, vacillating between being furious with him and feeling guilty for breaking her promise to him.

Earlier, in the afternoon, she had sat on the porch swing, rocking back and forth, thinking and staring across the ranch yard to the majestic mountain peaks beyond. The first of November was a week away, and the first snowfall was just around the corner. She remembered that, as a child, Halloween had often been spoiled by a snowstorm, forcing all her friends inside, putting a damper on their trick or treating.

A s
illy thing to remember as an adult, but she’d been sitting on the porch all afternoon thinking about things like that; memories of things she cherished; things that made her want to stay. She didn’t want to leave, even now. She’d agreed to the partnership, and she wasn’t going to change her mind just because Hawk didn’t want to be her partner now. This was her home, too, and she was going to fight for it. To hell with him and his unreasonable pride! She had waited sixteen long years to come home, and now that she was here again, she was going to stay.

The house was hers. She could continue her design work from here. She’d find some way to manage the ranch without Hawk’s help. If he didn’t come around, maybe she would have to buy him out. She could get a loan for
the property. If he refused to sell, maybe she’d have to sue him in court.

Oh God, how awful that would be! No matter how stubborn and nasty he’d been about her money, she still loved him desperately. She’d never be able to take his home from him. What a mess!

By the time Eli and Hank had joined her on the porch, she’d been deep in misery. They had heard what had happened at the attorney’s office. Hawk hadn’t fared well in the two cowhands’ analysis of their failed partnership. Like the attorney, they thought he was being bullheaded and unreasonable. Eli was ready to jump all over his butt.

But Jenny didn’t want them angry with Hawk. She tried to explain what
his reasoning may have been, but they didn’t understand his refusal to let her help any more than she did, particularly in the face of the bank’s threat of foreclosure. It was frightening for all of them to think of losing the ranch. It was their livelihood, their life. They had faith in Hawk’s ability to solve the crisis over time, but time was running out. She may have stopped foreclosure, but Brad could still devise some other scheme to harass them. Without Hawk’s cooperation in forming a partnership, the ranch would still be in jeopardy. The three of them could only hope that after he calmed down, Hawk would finally sign the papers that guaranteed the Bar F/Bar L’s survival.

Looking at him as he entered the kitchen, though, didn’t give her much hope that he had come to his senses. Without acknowledging her, he walked across the room, to the refrigerator. She noticed he seemed a bit unsteady on his feet. He swayed sideways, slightly off balance, as he pulled the refrigerator door open and grabbed a bottle of beer out of it.

Jenny watched him twist the top off and flip it with thumb and forefinger toward the garbage can. He missed. Obviously, he’d had one too many beers already. She sighed disgustedly, and returned to the frying pan on the stove.

Behind her, she heard him pull a chair out from the table. Wooden legs scrapped across freshly waxed linoleum.
Crap, he was going to stay! She flipped the lone hamburger she was preparing for herself. Damned if she was going to ask him if he wanted one, or if he’d eaten.

“Sit down.” She heard his brusque demand and ignored it. He tried again. “I want to talk.”

That made her turn around. He was straddling a chair, resting one arm over the backrest. In the other hand, he held his partially finished bottle of beer.

“Sit.”

Her back stiffened and her chin came up defiantly, then she swallowed her pride, turned off the gas under her burger, and sat. She was hoping that he had decided to sign the partnership papers after all. He still looked angry, though, so she took a seat on the opposite side of the table from him.

“I want to buy you out.”

His announcement stunned her and dashed her hope of reconciliation. Disappointment dissolved into anger. So this wasn’t going to be a resolution of their differences? Damn him!

“With what? You’ve already told me you can’t afford to,” she reminded him.

“I’m selling my airplane. That will give me enough to pay back the money you spent on the loans. I can also pay off a portion of your interest in the ranch with the extra money I’m making. I’ll give you a promissory note, with a good interest rate, on the balance. But you’ll have to get the rest of your money out of my account. I don’t want it there. I can’t afford it there.”

Jenny shoved to her feet, placed her hands on her hips, and glared at him furiously. “Well, you’ve thought this all out, haven’t you? What did you do? Go to some bar and sit there all afternoon coming up with this ridiculous obstinate solution?”

“So what if I did? It’s a good plan.” Hawk rose to his feet, knocking over his chair. He placed his hands on the table top and leaned toward her, mirroring her anger.

“It’s a stupid plan! I’d never let you sell your plane. And I won’t sell out to you.”

“I’m not
asking
you anything. I’m
telling
you what I’m going to do.”

“Well, I’m not taking your damned money, so screw you!”

“You’ve already done a hell of a job of that, honey, so no thanks!”

Jenny recoiled as if slapped
. “You bastard! Get out!” she swore at him. “This is my house. Daddy left it to me. So get your gear and move out to the bunkhouse.”

“Fine!”

“Fine!” Uncontrollable tears welled in her eyes.

Blowing out a breath, he slammed his beer bottle down on the table, then spun around and strode out of the kitchen, into the living room, toward the stairs. Jenny reached over the table and grabbed his beer bottle. Blinded by her tears, she threw it across the room, where it hit the sink and broke into dozens of pieces, just like her heart. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she sank into the chair behind her and dropped her head on the table. Every curse
word and bad name she could think of passed through her mind as she heard Hawk stomp up the stairway, then come down a few minutes later and leave through the front door, slamming it behind him forcefully enough to shake the walls.

Crying didn’t dispel the anger or ease the hurt that ripped through her, but she cried anyway. She’d just told that stupid gorgeous cowboy she loved him twenty four hours ago, and now she wished she could take it all back. Damn his bullheaded stubborn unreasonable pride!

∞∞∞

On Saturday, she made herself scarce while he removed the rest of his things from his room. She spent most of the day grooming her horse and riding him around the foothills. By the time she returned late in the afternoon, his room was empty of everything except the furniture. All his books and clothes and gear were gone. The computer in the study was also gone. Apparently, he was going to run the ranch from the bunkhouse. Well, so be it, she thought. Let him try. When the court took away his right to operate the ranch and made him sell, she’d be ready to purchase it and run it herself. Hank would work for her. Eli, too. They could help her do what she couldn’t do herself.