Salacious Sale

by Lola White

  “Why?”

  Eugene’s mouth puckered and his eyes glittered with protectiveness. “She’s better than them. Running her own business and making it a success, too. They’re jealous, or they want what’s rightfully hers.”

  “Huh. Speaking of that…” Cody shifted in his chair. “She told me about the water rights situation.”

  “Wiggins is a bastard.” Eugene balled up his trash and made a surprisingly forceful toss toward the trashcan.

  “Grandpa… There’s not a whole lot of money left in your savings. I talked to your accountant.”

  “Olivia will deposit some money in there on the fifteenth of the month.” Eugene’s pride was evident in the way he said, “Like clockwork.”

  “That’s for letting her use your land, right?”

  “Yup.”

  “Grandpa—”

  “No.”

  “You don’t know what I’m going to say.”

  “Yes, I do, boy, and the answer is no.”

  Cody hesitated. He rubbed his forehead, hoping that would help him find the right tack, but he knew in his heart that fireworks were about to go off. There was no emotion on the old man’s face, no surprise in his voice. His eyes were flat, slightly narrowed, and watchful—but resistant.

  There was no easy way to say it, so Cody just blurted it out. “The Great Gas & Petrol Company has just offered our family an obscene amount of money for the Double O.”

  “No.”

  “Grandpa, just hear me out—”

  “No.” Eugene’s words started to slur a bit more as his face flushed and his anger rose. “I won’t sell my home!”

  “You can’t live on your own, you can’t afford a private nurse and you might not have the final say, either.” Cody groaned and stared up at the ceiling. “Grandpa, Dad doesn’t want the ranch. He wants the money, and I can’t take you with me. You’ve got to live where there’s someone who can help you.”

  “Olivia can help me.”

  “You just said she’s running her own business. How can she watch over you, too, when she doesn’t even live in the same house?”

  Eugene’s brows lowered, his color rose and the slur of his words deepened until Cody struggled to understand them all. “The Double O is the only thing in the world the O’Neals have ever owned. That house, the property and everything on it is your legacy. You’re the last one, boy!”

  “I know, but my job is—”

  “You can teach anywhere, Cody. What’s wrong with the school in town? Hell, they’ve even got a few more in River’s Edge and that’s just down the road.”

  “I already have a job I love and I can’t take care of you. I’m not a doctor.”

  “Your father is. Tell him he’s got to come home.”

  “He won’t.”

  Eugene shook his head. “I won’t go.”

  “Grandpa”—Cody slid to the edge of his chair—“you won’t have much say.”

  “Bullshit! My therapy is coming along and I won’t let anyone start telling tales on what I am or am not capable of. I’ve lived my whole life in that house and I won’t let anyone tell me I’ve got to leave it when there’s no cause.”

  “The doctors here have already said you can’t live by yourself.”

  “You and your father will have a hell of a legal battle on your hands if you try to take me out of that house, boy.”

  Cody looked at his grandfather’s expression and his heart plummeted to his toes. The old man was more than determined, but his yellowed skin spoke volumes about his health and the fact that his left hand was still nearly useless didn’t ease any worries.

  A sudden surge of fear—of losing his grandfather, of losing the only stable influence in his life, of being left alone on the continent by himself—rose to choke Cody. On its heels came an anger that burned white-hot in his gut.

  He struggled to keep his voice gentle. “Grandpa, you’ve been in the hospital for months. They won’t let you out because you can’t survive on your own. You need a place where there is care around the clock, a place where everything is right there at your disposal, to make it easy for you. Those places cost more money than anyone has, unless we sell the Double O.”

  “No.” Eugene struggled against his pillows. “They came sniffing around years ago, convinced there was oil out in the western paddock, and I said no then. I sure as hell won’t sell now, when—”

  “When you have no way to take care of the land or of yourself?” Cody sat forward in his chair. “You need round-the-clock assistance, Grandpa. I don’t know how many times I have to say it. And how do you think we should pay for it? What do you think my father’s going to do when he finds out how much money is at stake? You know he wants to fund his hospital.”

  “I won’t let them drill on my land.”

  “How much longer do you think it should be yours?” Cody refused to wince or apologize for stating such a harsh truth. The details had to be taken care of. He had a life to go back to. He couldn’t stay at the Double O forever.

  Eugene’s face turned crimson. “Well, then why would you sell it all? Why can’t you just…lease them the western acreage?”

  Cody listened to his grandfather spit the word ‘lease’ as if it fouled his mouth. Heart squeezing, he watched the old man’s flush rise and deepen, and he heard the anguish in the slurred words, but he didn’t know how to ease his grandfather’s transition. He couldn’t begin to fathom the emotions that stemmed from the understanding that Eugene, as a man who had once been active and strong, a man who took care of his family and took pride in his ancestors’ small accomplishments, had entered a phase of life that left him helpless and reliant on the kindness of others, unable to hold on to the things that had once brought him joy.

  Cody sighed. “I’m sorry it has to be this way.”

  “It doesn’t!” Eugene waved a hand wildly enough that Cody feared the heart monitor on his finger would fly off. “You’re doing this, but you don’t have to. No one is forcing you.”

  “We need the money.”

  “The land is worth more than money, Cody. That land is your great-grandfather’s blood, sweat and tears. That land holds memories, hopes and dreams and love.”

  “You can’t eat hopes and dreams!” Cody’s temper got the best of him and he bounded to his feet, waving his own hands in a mirror image of his grandfather. “Hopes and dreams won’t pay for your therapy. It won’t pay for a nurse. It won’t pay to keep you alive!”

  “Ahem.” A nurse with an unoccupied wheelchair appeared in the doorway. “I do hope you’re not upsetting my patient.”

  “I’m not trying to,” Cody growled. “Please excuse us, ma’am. We’re working on family business. I promise we’ll keep it down.”

  The woman shook her head and came farther into the room. “No can do. Your family business will have to resume after Eugene’s physical therapy.”

  “No, it won’t,” Eugene stated. “I’m done with this business. Go home, Cody. Take a good long look at the Double O and really think about what you’re giving up.”

  Chapter Five

  Olivia seethed. Gripping the lead of the horse following her, she tried to keep her touch gentle on the reins of the stallion she rode. The poor beast flicked its ears, telling her it sensed her emotions, but there was little she could do about that.

  She was pretty sure that her fear, anger and desperation colored the air around her. And Cody O’Neal was to blame—unless he was going to sell her the Double O, which she doubted. She felt as if her only chance to get through to him centered on seduction, but he’d already proven that physical temptation wouldn’t be enough. Hence her surprise mission to take him out for a ride through both their properties, pointing out all the resources he should save, showing him all the work she’d put into both their fortunes.

  She had to make him fall in love with the property. She had to make him reluctant to sell, one way or another, and maybe by dual means.

  As luck would have it, Cody was sta
nding on the bottom porch step when she arrived at the Double O, a stubborn set to his jaw. In one smooth motion, Olivia dismounted, tied her horse and got in his face.

  She thumped her new nemesis on the chest. “You made Eugene mad enough to spit nails today. We had to slow him down in therapy so he wouldn’t give himself a heart attack.”

  “It couldn’t be helped, Olivia, but that’s not your concern. This is family business.”

  “My family, too! My life is tied to your decisions concerning this ranch and I think I deserve an explanation.”

  “I’ve got to sell the Double O.” Cody lifted his chin.

  Aggravation sparked red hot in her chest. “Sell it to me, then.”

  “Can you pay what I’m asking?”

  Olivia’s eyes burned under a rush of hopelessness. She knew what the fair market value of the land was, and though she didn’t think Cody would get close to that price, she could guarantee someone else would give him more than she could. She’d have to mortgage her own ranch and probably sell her soul to Wiggins to afford a portion of the Double O just then—and those prices were exactly what she was aiming to avoid by persuading Cody to keep his family’s property.

  “Let me use the land,” she suggested wildly, “and I’ll take care of Eugene—”

  “You can’t. He needs medical attention!”

  “I’ll hire a nurse. If you insist on him going into a living facility, I’ll pay. Just give me the land.”

  “It’s not just Eugene I’ve got to budget for, Olivia.” Cody thrust his fingers into his hair. “There are others with a claim on this place, and I don’t know how much say I’ll even have in the matter. I’ve got an accountant looking into it, but if my father is the one in charge, you better prepare yourself for the worst.”

  “Convince him—”

  “Impossible.”

  She couldn’t bring herself to think such a bleak thought. She turned to gaze out over the grass that was gently waving in a smooth breeze, gleaming gold under the afternoon sun. Olivia would stick to her plan, showing Cody the nooks and crannies that made their land special, immersing him in the history as well as the present and the possibilities for the future their combined acreage had to offer. She would make him fall in love with the plains and make him think twice about rejecting the pleasure she could give him.

  One step at a time.

  “Let me show you.” She tugged the horse she’d brought for his use free from the railing she’d tied it to. “I brought a nice, gentle soul for you to ride. I wasn’t sure if you knew how.”

  Cody glared at the beast. “A little. My school uses equine therapy, and we used to have a few horses here.”

  “That’s been a while, hasn’t it? Let’s hope you had enough practice at your school.” Olivia held the stirrup and encouraged Cody up onto the horse with a slightly deranged smile. So much was riding on their outing. “We’ll go a ways toward the river, see the back scrub, then I’ll take you home for dinner. Everyone’s looking forward to meeting you. After that, I’ll drive you home.”

  Cody winced and shifted in his saddle. “All in one day?”

  “It’ll only take a couple of hours.”

  “I don’t have that much time, and I certainly don’t intend to sit on this creature for that long.”

  She watched for a few minutes while Cody circled the front yard, testing his ability. He got his bearings on the horse quickly, but sat awkwardly enough that she was happy she’d brought her gentle giant, rather than testing him with one of the spitfire stallions from his own ancestor’s line. Cody would have bitten the dust a time or two already, and while that would have suited her need to punish him, she would gain little from his injured his pride.

  “There are things I want to show you, Cody, but we don’t have to see them all today, I suppose. We’ll just go a little way, and tomorrow we can see something else.” She lowered her eyebrows to show him her resolution in the matter. “And the day after, and the day after that, until you’ve seen every inch of your own property and mine. Hell, I’ll even feed you dinner.”

  “And maybe drive me home in a car? Or should I expect to gallop across the plains every night?”

  “I’ll drive. Promise.” Gritting her teeth and forcing her lips into a smile, Olivia jumped onto her own horse and led the way across the yard toward a narrow track that had all but grown over with wild grasses. “Down this way, you can still see the fencing Opal O’Neal installed after the First World War. There are lots of ropes and pulleys for the gates, leading from one corral to the next. She was left on her own and needed a way to move the cattle by herself so—”

  “I know,” Cody interrupted. “Fencing like what you’re talking about really started to come into its own in the Thirties, for exactly that reason. Lots of people went off to war, but we still had to get the cattle to the markets back home.”

  “Yeah.” Olivia held on to her smile for all she was worth. “We don’t use them over at my ranch because the guests who come want what they call an authentic experience.”

  “You make them move heavy gates on their own, huh?”

  “I even took hinges off a few, just to give the men a workout.”

  “Interesting. Maybe I’ll have to remember that sort of tactic when I’m dealing with the boys back home. Sometimes it’s good to show them the sense of accomplishment that comes from hard work.”

  Evaluating how much time they had to pass before they reached the spring she was determined to show him, Olivia unclenched her jaw and tried to pretend interest in his life. After all, if she wanted him to care about hers, she had to provide an example. “Eugene says you teach math.”

  Cody nodded. “Yes, and I’m the substitute history teacher.”

  “Eugene says you don’t want to teach at a local school.”

  “I’m not just an ordinary teacher. None of us at the center are. We’re specifically trained to deal with disadvantaged and troubled youth, those who have no opportunities or might be on their last chance. All the boys are troubled in some way. It’s a fairly new program the state is trying out and, if it works, maybe the program can be expanded.”

  “How will you know if it works?” Olivia frowned over her shoulder at him. “What is ‘it’, anyway? What needs to work to be considered successful?”

  Cody grinned. “The boys. They’ve got to graduate, leave the center and live productive lives as productive citizens. Our first class is graduating this year. One hundred percent graduation rate, with seventy-five percent going to college in the fall and another twenty percent heading off to trade schools.”

  “And the last five percent?”

  “We’ll be watching them closely. They will be the true markers of whether or not the program is sustainable.”

  Olivia slowed her horse and turned to stare at the man behind her. “But they still have no opportunities. They won’t have a college degree or a trade. Do they even have jobs waiting for them? You’re sending them out with nothing but an education.”

  “I think that’s a decent start to life,” he argued. “Knowledge is something nobody can take away. No matter what else those young men do or go through, they will have been given the means to control their own destiny with a little hard work.”

  She liked his obvious passion, and his message hit close to home. Olivia lifted her chin. “That’s what I did. I had a piece of property and a goal to make that property work for me—the means to control my destiny with a little hard work. But now, someone wants to take it away.”

  Chapter Six

  To Cody’s surprise, Olivia could be very charming when she wanted to be. He’d seen the fire in her eyes when she’d arrived at the Double O the day of their first ride. It matched the one in Eugene’s every time Cody mentioned selling out. But Olivia didn’t let her anger draw blood from his hide. Throughout their journey, he’d seen the effort she’d made to smile and speak politely.

  Her mood had eased each subsequent time they’d ridden out together. Thr
ee days passed in a row with nothing but peace and laughter between them and perhaps a growing fondness for the lady’s company, except Cody couldn’t forget that the woman’s goals seemed to hinge on blatantly seducing him out of his property. He was definitely tempted—just the plump curves of her mouth made him want to surrender the Double O into her keeping—but it would have made everything so much easier if she’d had the money to buy the land outright. All Cody’s problems would have been solved.

  Instead, he’d found himself atop a horse so often that just the thought of riding out again had started making his ass hurt an hour before Olivia arrived. He now followed her, forced to watch her sway in the saddle—her hips beautifully curved and her back straight—through an ocean of grass, some as tall as his knee and some so short it twisted around his horse’s hooves. And all the while, he catalogued every resource he could identify, pinning a mental price tag to each thing despite himself.

  Great Gas & Petrol Company had been very generous in their offer.

  “And this officially marks the start of the wild scrub land.” Olivia tugged her horse to a halt and swiveled to look at him. “Your back acreage.”

  Surrealism caught Cody for a fraction of an instant. Like some fairytale princess, Olivia had paused in a shaft of late afternoon sun, the golden light creating a magical nimbus around her head and body. It left her face in shadow, but her hair gleamed like Rumpelstiltskin’s treasure. Some muscle buried deep in Cody’s sternum pulled taut, refusing to release.

  Struggling to regain his breath, he rubbed his chest and stared at the untamed tangle of brush before them. He could sense the savage nature of the property—a grassland jungle hidden among miles of wheat and pastureland. It sent a nervous tremor up his spine, but somehow, he felt it suited Olivia.

  Survival of the fittest.

  “There’re wild pigs in there?” he asked.

  “Feral, so I guess that’s close enough.” Olivia slid off her horse and dropped the reins so that they puddled on the ground. “Come on. I’ll show you the mulberry tree.”