A Cowboy Worth Loving (Canton County Cowboys 1)

by Charlene Bright

  “I would think it would be in the company records. Do you remember the name of the company who was out here?”

  “Not really, but they had a big SRP on the side of their trucks. The trucks were white and the SRP was bright red, so that was hard to miss.”

  “Where is Mr. Simpson, do you know?”

  “He passed away about a year before Tuck bought the ranch. Tuck bought it from the state because Mr. Simpson didn’t have any heirs and he owed back taxes when he died. I think if this SRP Company had found shale there, though, the state would have kept the land and set up a fracking operation on it themselves, don’t you think?”

  “I’m not sure, Kayla. I don’t know that much about it. I will find out, though. It seems like that might be the angle we’re looking for.”

  Kayla surprised her then by wrapping her up in a tight hug. When she let go, she said, “I’m sorry. I’m just so happy you’re here. It’s so nice to have someone with a calm head to talk to about all of this.”

  “I’m glad I’m here, too. I think your brother just gets so stubborn because he’s so passionate about it. He loves this land, that’s easy to see.”

  Kayla smiled and said, “It’s also easy to see the way your face changes when you talk about my brother. It’s not that pinched, fed up look you had toward him in the beginning, either.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lucy whispered, feeling her face go hot. “I think I’ll go start some of that research, unless you need more help in here?”

  Kayla looked like she had more to say on the subject, but she let it drop. “Nah, I’m okay. I’m going out to practice roping with Brance after lunch. If you need a break, come on out to the holding pens.”

  “You’re going to rope with Brance?”

  “Yep, at the roping event this weekend. He asked my stubborn brother, but he won’t do it with him, so he asked me. I’m flattered. I didn’t think Brance had ever even seen me rope.”

  It was Lucy’s turn to try and control her smile. She got the feeling from the way Brance looked at Kayla when she didn’t think he was looking that the partnership was about more than roping. “Good, I’ll come out in a bit,” Lucy told her.

  She went into the extra bedroom then took out her laptop. She typed in Canton County Clerk’s Office. She wanted to check something before she went any further. She put in the coordinates she had for Salt Cedar Ranch. Before she took this case on, she had already done that to confirm the title belonged to Gavin and Kayla. What she hadn’t thought of then was to check on who owned the mineral rights to the property. She requested that record, and after several seconds--thanks to a slow internet connection--she had her answer. The mineral rights were still theirs. They had never been sold or leased.

  Next, she did the same with Tuck’s property. It took a little longer for her to find his because she didn’t know the exact coordinates. Finally it came back and showed that Tuck Stevenson owned the land. Then, she checked the mineral rights. She was stunned by what she discovered. In 2007, all of the mineral rights to the then Simpson Ranch had been bought by Charles Walker. That meant that Gavin and Kayla still owned them, a fact that Lucy was sure Tuck was well aware of. If the state ended up taking their land, they would no longer own the mineral rights there because, in essence, the state was saying they never really owned any of it. But they would still own the rights on Tuck’s land. Tuck had to know that as well. He spent a year getting to know them before he started his slow assault. He was feeling them out, and he certainly had to realize how Gavin felt about the ranch and tearing it up to find oil. That could explain why he wasn’t only working the legal angle. He needed them broke and desperate so that, after the state took most of their land, he could offer to buy the mineral rights on his, and they would need the money too badly to be able to refuse. The sneaky old SOB had put a lot of thought and research into it, she had to give him that much. At least now that she knew what he was up to she’d know more about how to stop him.

  Lucy looked up an oil drilling company with an S and an R and a P in the title next. She got tons of hits, but she researched each one. It took over an hour, but she found a company named Standard Resource Petroleum. Their logo was red on white with a large SRP in the foreground. Their main office was located in Dallas. Lucy called the number from their website.

  “SRP, how can I help you?” a woman’s voice answered.

  “Hello, my name is Lucille Lancaster. I’m an attorney out of Houston. I’m working for a client in Canton County. I need to get some information on a survey your company did on their land sometime in 2007 or maybe 2006.”

  “What type of information did you need?” the woman asked her.

  “I’d like to get a copy of those reports.”

  “That would have to be requested in person, ma’am, and unless you have power of attorney, it would have to be done by the landowner.” Damn!

  “Okay, if the land is jointly owned then do both of the owners need to be there?” Lucy was thinking maybe she and Kayla could make the trip. Gavin probably wasn’t going to be keen on leaving the ranch and his sister alone at the mercy of Tuck while he was that far away.

  “It depends, ma’am. As long as they both have the authority to sign, only one of them will have to be here.”

  “Thank you,” Lucy told the woman. She hung up and went outside to find Kayla. She found them all, except Gavin, at the holding pens. Kayla and Brance were on horseback. One of the hands was releasing the calf, and the other one would herd it back through when they were finished. Lucy climbed up on the fence to watch.

  As soon as the calf was released, Kayla took off. She roped the head of the calf within seconds. Lucy was impressed. She watched then as Kayla used the rope to turn the little steer to the left and Brance came in and roped its back legs. They both danced their horses so they were facing each other and there was no slack left in the ropes.

  “Eight point two!” Mike announced, looking at his stopwatch.

  Lucy clapped her hands and heard a whistle behind her. She turned just as Gavin approached on Satan. “They’re good,” she said with a smile. Gavin’s eyes moved over to watch his sister and Brance releasing the calf. His look told the whole story. He wasn’t happy that his friend and his sister seemed to be getting so close.

  “Yeah, Kay’s good. Brance is okay.” He was smiling, but his eyes still looked worried.

  “How about you? Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I’m all right,” he said. He looked over at the pen again and shook his head. “You would think there wasn’t any damned work that needed to be done around here from the looks of all the fun that’s going on.”

  “Sorry boss, I’m heading out to the south field now,” Clint said.

  “Yup, me too!” Mike said, following Clint out of the pen.

  With a hand on her hip, Kayla exclaimed, “Man, you know how to kill a party, big brother.”

  Before Gavin could quip back, Lucy said, “I actually need to talk to you two when you have a minute.”

  “Go ahead,” Brance told them. I’ll put these guys away.”

  The three of them went back over to the house and sat down on the front porch. Lucy began telling them what she’d found out. When she finished, Gavin’s brow was furrowed. “We own the mineral rights to Tuck’s ranch? All of them?”

  “It looks that way,” she said. “One of you will have to go to Dallas in person to obtain a record from the survey that was done back in 2006, I think it was.”

  “They can’t just send it to us?” Gavin asked.

  “No, there is a lot of paperwork that will need to be signed. I could have you give me power of attorney, and I can go alone.”

  “No,” Kayla said. “You go with her, Gavin. The boys and I can handle it here for a couple of days.”

  “No. You go. It makes more sense for you to go. I can take care of things around here, and you handle that sort of thing better than I do.”

  “Okay,” Kayla said, �
��I’ll go.” She looked at Lucy then and asked, “When do we leave?”

  “Early tomorrow morning?”

  “All right, I guess I’ve messed around long enough today; I should get some work done around here if we’re taking off tomorrow.”

  “I’m going out to help Mike and Clint. They’re rounding up the cattle that got through that break in the fence over on the south side. Just make me a list of what you’re gonna need me to do while you’re gone Kay.”

  Gavin left and Kayla looked at Lucy. “Do you think this is going to help us or hurt us?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure yet. Hopefully we’ll know more after we see that report.”

  “I have one more question,” Kayla said. “If we have to drive all the way to Dallas to get a copy of our report because it’s not public, doesn’t that mean Tuck shouldn’t have seen it?”

  “You would think.” Lucy said. Nothing surprised her when it came to Tuck.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gavin rode Satan out to the south field. He was so tired of thinking about all of the legal crap. His head was pounding. Why would Simpson sell the mineral rights to his dad, and more importantly, why would his father have wanted them? Charles Walker had been about as cowboy as a man could get. He loved his ranch, and Gavin couldn’t imagine him ever consenting to let anyone tear it up looking for shale. Maybe that was why he’d bought the rights to Simpson’s. Maybe Simpson was so desperate for cash there toward the end that he was considering leasing or selling them. The ranches were so close that work like that on one would impact the other.

  He could see Mike and Clint up ahead. The dogs and Clarence were helping them chase the cattle in, and he could see that a few of them had gone off into the brush to their right. Gavin signaled at them with his hand to let them know he was going around behind the small ridge so that he’d come up in the right side of them. Mike lifted his hand and waved back. Gavin turned Satan and headed that way. They crossed a little gulley and made their way through the dry, deep brush. Gavin could see the hind legs of two steer, hidden behind a huge salt cedar tree. He’d almost reached them when his world went black.

  ***

  The pain was throbbing in his gut. It was a deep, hot pain, and it felt like someone had their hand inside there and was squeezing all of his internal organs. Everything was dark and he was cold. He had no idea where he was or what had happened to him. He was afraid to breathe, because when he inhaled, it felt like the hand was replaced with a hot knife. Something cool pressed into his head. He tried to swipe at it and wipe it away, but it came right back. He grabbed at it again, and that time he felt himself grab hold of something. Finally forcing his eyes open he could make out a dark shadow in the dim room.

  “Gavin? It’s okay. It’s Lucy. You’re okay. Can you let go of my wrist? You’re hurting me.”

  His vision was clearing. It was dark in the room, but tiny shards of sunlight had pressed their way into the slats in the blinds, and he could see the glint of the light off Lucy’s hair. Why was she in his room?

  “Gavin, it hurts.” Her voice was low and steady, but he could hear the strain there. He finally processed what she was asking him to do and let go. His breaths were heavier because of his initial agitation, and with each one, he felt like his guts were being ripped out.

  “Lucy?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I got caught in a stampede. What happened to me?” He tried to look around again and asked, “Am I at the main house?”

  “Yeah, you’re in the guestroom. You’ve been out of it since yesterday afternoon.”

  “Yesterday!” He pushed against the bed and tried to lift his head. He let out a loud groan. The pain tore through his head like an explosion.

  “Gavin, stop that! Lay back down! I’m going to call the doctor. Be still!”

  “I can’t spend a whole day in bed. There are a hundred things that need to be done, and you and Kay have to go to…”

  “Gavin? What is it?”

  He felt confused all of a sudden. Kay and Lucy had to go somewhere. It was important, but he couldn’t remember where. Lucy was looking at him like he was dying. “You and Kay have to go,” he said. “I need to work.”

  “Your friends are taking care of it.”

  “What? My friends are doing what?”

  “Brance went to Dallas with Kayla.”

  “What? Are you freaking kidding me?” He tried to get up again. Lucy put her hand on his chest and pushed him back down. “Stop it! Are you crazy? You let my little sister go to Dallas with that Casanova Cowboy?”

  “He wanted to help. He was so worried about you that I had to send him away to get him out from underfoot. Kayla asked him to go with her. She’s a big girl, and Brance won’t let anything happen to her.”

  “Do you see the way he looks at her?”

  “Yes. Yes, I do. It’s sweet.”

  “You don’t know Brance. There is nothing sweet about him.”

  “She cares for him too. She’s a grown woman. You can’t pick who she falls in love with.”

  He pushed up again, this time getting all the way upright. “Love? You are crazy, aren’t you? Kay is not going to fall in love with a cowboy. Especially not that cowboy!”

  “I thought Brance was your best friend?”

  “He is. But our relationship is different. Brance has never dated a girl more than three times in his life, and that’s only because the ones who aren’t easy makes him take them out a couple of times before.”

  “Before he has sex with them?”

  “Yeah, before… damn it! They’re going to spend the night there. I will kill him.” Lucy pushed him back down. “Will you stop that?”

  “I will as soon as you calm down and stay in bed like the doctor said. Kayla’s not a little girl. Right now, you need to worry about you, or you won’t be out of this bed anytime soon. Now hush for a minute while I call Dr. York.”

  Gavin made a face at her but even that hurt. He leaned his head back into the pillow and closed his eyes. He heard Lucy on the phone with Doc York. The doctor had been the only one in Collinswood for as long as Gavin could remember.

  “Hi doctor, it’s Lucy Lancaster. Gavin’s awake.” She listened for a few seconds, and then she said, “Well, he knows who he is and who I am, and he’s as ornery as ever.” He opened one eye and looked at her. She smiled at him. “Okay, I’ll let him know. Thank you so much.” She ended the call and turned toward Gavin to say, “He’ll be here soon.”

  Gavin opened his eyes again. Talking about his sister being in Dallas with Brance had sidetracked him. “What happened to me?”

  Lucy went back over near the bed. She sat in the chair next to it and placed the cool rag on his head again. “Mike and Clint said that you rode around behind the ridge. Seconds later, they heard a gunshot. When they got to you, you were unconscious and Satan had run off.”

  “Did he come home?”

  She smiled again. “I think he went for help. When the men got you back to the truck, Satan was there.”

  “Why does my stomach hurt so badly? Did I get shot?”

  “No, but the doctor said it looked like Satan stepped on you. He probably got frightened when the shot happened and bucked you off. Then stepped on you. I’m sure it was purely accidental.”

  Gavin started to laugh and then grabbed his stomach. “Ouch! Don’t make me laugh. It hurts like hell.”

  “I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

  “I’m all busted up, but you’re defending the horse. That’s funny. Who shot at me?”

  “We don’t know. Colt went out there last night, but it was too dark. He went back out about an hour ago.”

  “So you got stuck nursing me, huh? Bet none of your other clients were ever this much trouble.”

  “Nope. Not a one,” she said. “And just for future information, you’re a lot nicer when you’re asleep.”

  He grinned. “True story.” He was quiet then for a long time
and finally asked, “Lucy, do you still think we’re going to be able to save this place?”

  “Yeah, I do. I want to show you something.” She went over and opened the curtains. The bright light nearly blinded him, but his eyes adjusted after a few seconds and he was able to see out. The side of the house the window was on faced the barn. What he saw were about five pickups, two tractors, and several men.

  “What’s going on out there?”

  “You know that guy you are so worried is going to take advantage of your sister?”

  Gavin furrowed his brow again and said, “Yeah.”

  “He went into town before he and Kayla left today. He told Miss Hildie and Miss Myrtle what happened to you. That was about three hours ago. The kitchen is so full of food that Kayla won’t have to cook for a week, and Mike and Clint have more help out there than they know what to do with. Last time I looked, they’d brought about twenty-five head of cattle up into the holding pens and a group of them were out fixing fences. The barn is shucked out, and there’s fresh hay in the stalls; the colt and filly have been fed, and the pigs and chickens. You have amazing friends. You needed them and they came.”

  Gavin felt his heart swell. He did have awesome friends. Collinswood was an amazing place to live. He’d probably been too hard on Brance, too. He just better not touch his sister.

  He put his hand down across his stomach, and Lucy immediately went over to him. “Are you okay? The doctor left some pain medicine last night. Let me go get it.” Gavin reached up and grabbed her hand. She stopped and glanced down at him.

  “I’m okay. Don’t go.”

  Lucy nodded. “Okay, I won’t. Let me close the blinds so that sunlight isn’t so bright in your eyes.” She went over and closed them and then picked up the water off the nightstand. “Here, drink some of this.” Gavin did as she asked. He suddenly realized that his mouth was as dry as cotton. The wet, cool water felt good as it slid down his throat.