The Black Sheep and the Princess (6 page)

“It's been a long time. We really don't know each other. I shouldn't have made assumptions.”

It wasn't the best apology she'd ever gotten, or even the most heartfelt, but coming from him, it was more than she'd expected.

She shifted her attention back to the road. “As for winter, I don't plan for this to be a summer-only camp, though that will be when we'll do the most work. Spring and fall will be heavily utilized and, if I can make it happen, I'm hoping to use the winter months as a teachers retreat where instructors can come and study and learn more about the alternative methods I plan to implement here.”

“An impressive agenda.” He paused for a moment, then said, “Not that it's any of my business, but—”

She barked out a laugh. “Not that it's stopped you so far.”

They both smiled a little. “True,” he said. “But what I was going to ask doesn't really pertain to the case; it's personal. I'm just curious.” So, she was just a case. She'd felt as though a lot of what was transpiring between them was personal. Being all business would certainly be smarter. Only she wasn't feeling all that smart at the moment. “What are you curious about?”

“Why you gave up the fortune Louisa left you for a rundown camp. You could have helped a lot of kids with that money, opened up a camp anywhere.”

She smiled. “Oh, that.”

“Well, it's a valid question.”

“It is, and, trust me, you're not the first to ask it.” She laughed wearily. “My attorney was the first to ask me; only his language was a little more direct.” She steered the truck around a particularly tight curve and tried to decide how best to explain. Not that she had to. But for whatever reason, his opinion seemed to matter, at the moment anyway. He'd already found out she wasn't the spoiled society girl he seemed to think she'd become. If she could dismantle a few other misconceptions, that was fine by her, too.

“Initially, it was a knee-jerk reaction to the disbursement of her assets. Both Shelby and I were shocked. Though, once that wore off, we both agreed that it was quintessential Louisa to pull something like that. One of the few things we ever agreed on.” She sighed a little. “Anyway, long story short, I'd been estranged from my mother for a very long time, since my college years. Shelby, on the other hand, had stood by her and helped her invest her money and build her empire. By rights it was his.”

“So why dump the camp on him? Was it more to punish him, then?”

“No, she got us both. Shelby's father, George, was Louisa's third husband, and Winnimocca was his when they married, so, by rights, it passed to Shelby. I was Louisa's only biological and legal child, as she'd never adopted Shelby and went on to remarry after his father's death. So, along that line of thinking, I was heiress to her personal throne, so to speak. Only neither of us wanted what we got. I blurted out that we should swap, both because it was the right thing to do, and, admittedly, because it thwarted my mother's final exertion of control over us.”

“But then you, or your attorney, came to your senses…”

She smiled. “Well, yes and no. The emotional part of my reaction passed, but the rational part was still there.” She glanced at him. “Inheriting that kind of estate is a lot more complicated than people understand. It's not like I won the lottery and someone was just going to hand me some huge check. Her money was all tied up in a variety of business investments, all kinds of things. Just randomly liquidating things in order to get an influx of cash to use to buy and fund a camp wasn't all that simple, and would put a lot of people out of work. And that's just the part that could be sold off. A lot of it was tied up in all kinds of partnerships and the like. Like I said, really complicated.”

“Actually, I do understand that a little. More than you might think.” He waved a hand. “But go on.”

She was going to ask him to elaborate, but decided to circle back to it when she was done. “I had no desire to step in and run or dismantle her empire.”

“Empire?”

“She was married to Trenton Graham—”

“I know. They mentioned it in the article. But they divorced.”

“Well, that particular divorce settlement pole-vaulted her the rest of the way into the stratosphere of society and wealth, and she'd apparently learned more than a thing or two about empire building while married to the king of empire building. More importantly, though, so did Shelby. He'd helped her build it, and was more than ready to tackle the whole thing. I was more than ready to let him. I just wanted my camp—his camp. Which he had no interest in and neither had Louisa. It wasn't on their radar. They couldn't have cared less about the property.”

“Still, he had to know—”

“Let me finish. I'm not a complete idiot. I might not have agreed with my mother's methods, personally or in business, and I wasn't around while she amassed most of what she'd left behind, but I wasn't going to walk away from everything either. It took a while, but Shelby and I hammered out an agreement that resulted in me getting the deed to the Winnimocca property, along with a cash settlement that will enable me to cover taxes, reconstruction, and some seed money to launch the place. If I can't make a go of it from there…” She shrugged. “Then I lose. Ultimately, I'm responsible for my success or failure. So I took the launch, but beyond that, it's up to me. And, even with all the headaches and Shelby challenges and now whatever the heck is going on with the vandalism and maybe the people in town…I still wouldn't have it any other way.”

“I can see your point.”

She laughed again. “Good, because a lot of people thought I was nuts. I guess I just want to be in control of my destiny, not following my mother's. I'll take the helping hand, whether she intended it or not, but nothing more. That's Shelby's domain and he's welcome to it.”
Or will be
, she thought, if she could figure out why he hadn't shown up to sign the papers. “So, now it's my turn. You said you had personal experience with inheritance; only I didn't think Donny Mac—”

“Not my father, Finn's. I don't know how much you knew of their relationship, but it sounds like the mirror image of yours and Louisa's. Only in Finn's father's case, he was rather unscrupulous about how he went about amassing his fortune.”

“Whereas my mother just married hers,” she said with a smile. It was odd, talking to him like this, about things that she'd been so sensitive about before. It wasn't like that with him. His pragmatism made it easier, she supposed. And his own past.

“Well, to each his own, but Finn had personal reasons why taking on his father's empire—also a surprise inheritance—was untenable to him. He didn't want it, at first, but, as you say, it's not as easy as just saying no thanks. It was his whether he wanted it or not, and there was no Shelby in the wings. Like your mother's situation, the inheritance was complicated. It took quite a long time, years in fact, but he did dismantle the empire, piece by piece, doing his best not to screw over the little people, but it happened on occasion. Even just putting the more unscrupulous ones out of business, there was no way to protect everyone, and there were innocent bystanders, so to speak. But the bigger plan was to use the money to help the very same people whose backs Harrison Dalton spent a lifetime stepping on in order to move up in the world.”

“So, some karmic justice, then. I can appreciate that.”

He smiled. “You know, I'm beginning to think you can.”

She shot him a smile. “Beginning to?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I'm still getting to know you.”

She shouldn't have been warmed by his easy tone, the hint of a friendly smile on his lips. His apparent interest in getting to know her, case or no case. What she did know was that leaning on him, even a little bit, would be dangerous. She'd spent most of her adult life learning how to lean only on herself. Just because things were looking a little tricky didn't mean she had to drape herself over the first shoulder that presented itself. “I'm surprised you didn't already know more about all of it, what with all your skulking around.”

“I only had a day to dig. I hadn't gotten around to that yet. I was too busy trying to figure out how dangerous this person is who's getting his jollies from vandalizing your property.” There was a long pause; then he added, “And I don't skulk. I track.”

She tried mightily to ignore his dry tone. He'd been a bad boy charmer in his youth, all moody and temperamental with the male campers, but never without a smile for anything in pink camp shorts or a tennis skirt. She'd been as susceptible as the next girl. Though he'd never once aimed that grin at her. For someone who'd passed the thirty-year mark a few years ago, she shouldn't feel all giddy because Donovan MacLeod had finally aimed that heart-stopping grin at her.

“I do admire what you're doing, Kate. Or trying to do. It's a lot of work. Refurbishing the buildings for year-round use alone is quite an undertaking.”

“Trust me, I'm fully aware of the monumental task in front of me. I just want to settle whatever it is that needs settling, and get on with it. I mean, what's the big deal about me taking on this old, unwanted property anyway?”

“Maybe it's not as unwanted as you think it is.”

She sighed and tried not to think about that. What she wanted to believe was that there was some simple explanation for why Shelby was a no-show yesterday, and that they'd set another day and time, sign the papers, then she'd show the people of Ralston what a woman was capable of when her mind was set, and everything else would fall into place. “Maybe, maybe not. I'll know more when I talk to Shelby. So, are we all done with the interrogation, Detective?”

He smiled at her dry tone. “I'm not interrogating. I'm researching, just trying to fill in as many of the blanks as possible. When will you be able to get started on the renovation work and construction? Do you have everything lined up?” He shifted slightly in his seat, which wasn't easy considering his tall, broad-shouldered frame was all but crammed into the cab of her truck. A tall, broad-shouldered frame she was having an increasingly difficult time ignoring. It didn't help any that she could feel his gaze pinned on her.

“That's actually part of my agenda in town this morning. I'm going to see Sheriff Gilby about the latest graffiti hit-and-run; then I have an appointment with the head of the chamber of commerce to try and get a little goodwill established.”

“You say that like you expect resistance.”

“Oh, I didn't expect it, but I'm getting it all the same.”

“Why? You're bringing work in the short term and a customer base in the long run. They should be lining up to help you out. What's the reaction been?”

“I'm not sure I understand it entirely, but I think it's just old-fashioned resistance to working with or for a woman. I can't actually hire anyone yet, until Shelby and I settle things, but—”

“And you don't think that might be related to the vandalism?”

“I don't know. I hadn't put those two things together. The town isn't exactly right down the road from the camp.”

“Well, if the townsfolk aren't happy to see you, and someone is spray painting ‘go home' on your trees, you might want to.” He shifted back. “Something's not adding up here, Kate.”

She wanted to believe he'd spent too much time on the streets of New York City and therefore, had just jumped to the worst case scenario out of habit, but when he put it that way, it was hard to deny he might have a point. “It's not like anyone has been hostile, or said a negative word. I'm just having a hard time finding my niche in town. I haven't been here all that long. I figure once I actually hire someone, anyone, and they see I'm serious, they'll be a little more excited about the possibility of getting some work from me. I chalked it up to them not wanting to commit labor and supplies to a job they don't fully trust is happening yet, possibly turning down other work in the meantime.”

“And you might be right. But have you thought about the possibility that it might be more than old-fashioned prejudice at work here? Maybe they've gotten wind of the developer interest.”

She shrugged, suddenly feeling very inept and not liking it one bit. “I don't know. I mean, I didn't know about it, so I'm not sure it's common knowledge, but then I don't spend a lot of time in town. I've only been down a few times, for supplies and to gather information on the local construction businesses and the like. I haven't exactly been a presence there.” Yet.

She wasn't sure what direction his thoughts were taking, but hers were going in a number of disturbing directions all by themselves. As much as she didn't want to believe it, it looked as if there was a possibility she was caught up in something a little more serious than she thought. She'd been so focused on getting things done with Shelby, she'd never taken the time to connect everything together. She'd just wanted to get her name in print as owner of the place, then figure out the rest.

“This isn't your problem, you know,” she told him at length.

“I'm not going away, if that's where you're going with this. One way or the other, I'm here for the duration.”