“What do we do now?”
Byron pulled a shabby note pad from the desk drawer and handed it to Vivi along with a pencil. “I know this might be jumping the gun, but I have a friend in the banking industry. He can explain some things.”
“How could a banker know what Mr. Charters is doing?”
“He actually works for the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It’s his job to know about investments.” What the hell was he getting himself into? He’d worked hard to distance himself from people and drama. Now he was running toward Vivi and her chaos at full speed. He supposed that was what you did for people you loved.
Vivi was asking more questions, but his mind had crashed to a stop at the word love. Did he love her? Stupid question. Of course he did. He’d known for a while, but like a bulled-up colt, he’d refused to admit to the feeling.
His chest felt like that colt had taken aim and given him its best shot with both hind feet.
“What’s wrong?” Vivi stood beside him, her small hand rubbing his arm. He realized he was rubbing the center of his chest. When she left, it was going to be a bitch. Well, he could go with her. Change wasn’t always bad, was it?
“Nothing, just thinking.”
“Well, stop. You look like you swallowed a lemon.”
Yeah, change wasn’t always bad. If he repeated that one hundred times, he might even believe it. “I’m going to call my friend right now.”
“That’s a good starting place. I’ll email Mr. Charters with the information necessary for him to wire the money. In the meantime, we’ll hope for the best.”
That was his Vivi, always looking on the bright side. He’d spent so much of his time on the dark side this woman was like a ray of sunshine on a winter day.
The conversation with his friend didn’t net much concrete information, but Michael was going to look into the recent dealing of Charters Ltd.
Byron went to Lester Charters’ website, but he couldn’t find any information, not that he’d thought he would.
Vivi emailed Charters with her banking information, and she received a quick email back assuring her the process would be started immediately.
“Nothing to do now but wait.” Byron closed his laptop and leaned back in the chair.
“Well, I can think of something to do to pass the time.” The wicked smile on her face set his blood to racing.
“You haven’t ridden Worry for a couple of days,” Byron said. “It’s cold, but we could bundle up.”
“That’s a good idea, but I was thinking more along the lines of unbundling.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Vivi had put three thousand dollars down as earnest money to hold the Leavenworth property. When the bank received the two million from Mr. Charters, she saw no reason not to pay off the property in full. Daily emails from Mr. Charters assured her he could cash in more mutual funds if she needed extra money for repairs. She’d been worried about him when he’d opposed the purchase, but he’d come through in the end.
She hadn’t been this excited since—she’d never been this excited. For the first time in her life, she had a plan and place to call her own. She was moving forward.
Skipping down the stairs like a five-year-old, she nearly collided with Cary.
“You’re happy today.” Cary gripped Rodie Owen’s hand, carefully holding him away from her body. The little boy had mud spatters from head to toe. Cary held his wet, dirty socks in her other hand. “Rodie decided to wash his Tonka Trucks beside the pig pen. The hose ran water into the pens. The pigs decided to join in the fun.”
Rodie wiggled, trying to escape his mother’s grasp. “Aw, Ma.”
Cary looked down at her son, working to retain the frown on her face. “Upstairs now, young man. You’re taking a bath.”
“Ma,” Rodie said, his voice rising in a whine.
“Is that a whine I hear?” She turned the boy loose and pointed up the stairs. “Put your clothes in the hamper, and I’ll meet you in the bathroom.” When he hesitated, she said, “Now!”
As Rodie disappeared up the stairs, Cary laughed. “He’s all boy. Dirt is his best friend with the pigs next. Now tell me, why the big grin.”
“I made an offer on the ranch, and the owners accepted. It’s mine.” Vivi pulled out her phone and scrolled to some pictures. “It needs some work, but I’m excited about that. I might need your expertise. I haven’t ever done anything like this before.”
“Neither have I, but Pansy has. I’m sure she’ll be able to help. When do we get to see it?”
“I signed the papers yesterday. I own my first home.” She fell onto the sofa and stretched her legs out onto the footstool. “I never thought that would happen.”
Cary settled into the rocker. “What about Byron?”
Vivi’s joy fled faster than a runaway train. She shook her head. “That is the only problem. He wants to stay on the ranch.”
“You could stay here. We’d work something out.” Cary leaned toward Vivi, concern in her eyes.
“That’s just it. He hasn’t said one word about me staying.” Vivi forced a tight grin. “I can’t really invite myself to move in.”
Cary nodded. “Have you invited him to go with you?”
“In a roundabout way. He said his home is here on the Circle W.” Vivi heaved herself up from the couch, unhappiness weighing her down. “He’s been upfront about his plans, and they don’t include moving.”
“Do you want me to have Micah talk to him?”
A blush heated Vivi’s cheeks. That would go over like a skunk at the baptism Friends getting involved in Byron’s decisions was not the way to smooth things out between them. “Um, no. Thanks for the offer though. We’ll work it out.”
Vivi threw on her coat and hurried across the barnyard to Byron’s. She pulled the front tight over her body to keep out the cold November air.
When he’d texted her earlier that they needed to talk a tiny spark of hope jumped to life in her brain. For a split second, she wondered if he’d decided they could make a go of it on her new ranch. Then she ruthlessly shut that idea down. No use setting herself up for heartbreak. Byron hadn’t once mentioned anything about the future.
After giving a quick knock, she opened the door. Byron sat at the desk, the top filled with papers. She hung the coat on a hook by the door and moved to stand behind him. “Hey, big fella. Looking for a good time?” She ran her fingers through his hair and grinned as he turned to look at her.
“We need to talk.”
His tone sounded ominous, and her shoulders tensed. Why couldn’t something go smoothly for once? All she really wanted at this point was to have a home and someone to love, but even that seemed out of reach no matter how hard she tried.
She dragged a chair across the floor and pulled it as close to Byron’s as she could. Raised gold letters spelling Charters Asset Management Company ran across the tops of most of the heavy, cream colored parchment. Her statements. “What did you find?”
He sorted through the pile and pulled out two statements. He tapped one finger on the top of the pile closest to him. “I sent these to my friend, the one with the SEC. It’ll take a few days before we hear anything.”
She couldn’t wait to share her news. At least in this one area, everything was going as she’d planned. “I think it will be okay. The bank called a little bit ago. Mr. Charters sent two million yesterday so I went ahead and signed on the place.”
“Good, good for you.” But his expression didn’t look like he meant the words.
She’d thought he’d have been as excited as she was by the money, but if this was excitement, she was doing it wrong.
Byron took her hand. “I’m a suspicious bastard. I’d like to have Charters checked out just to be sure.”
“Okay, but I’m sure he’ll be fine.” She wove her fingers through his and watched as he scanned one of the statements again. She was going to miss him when she left.
He ran his finger down a column. “Do you
mind my asking how much money you have with him?”
She thought for a moment and found she didn’t mind telling Byron anything. Hell, she’d given him the few statements she had in her possession. He was the one person in the world she trusted completely. “I just got an email answering that question. We started with more, but Mr. Charters says the market has been down. There is about eighty-three million right now. He’s confident it will come back up in the next couple of years.”
The choking sound coming from Byron startled her. Jumping to his feet, he paced around the small room, muttering something she couldn’t quite make out. With a piece of paper and a pen from the desk, he sat on the bed, scribbling.
When he finally looked at her again, his face was drawn down into a frown. “Did I hear you right? You have over eighty million dollars?” His face had paled, and he ran his fingers through his hair causing little spikes to stand straight up.
“I actually inherited one hundred and ninety million, give or take a few, when my grandfather died. Well, Sebastian and I did, but it was in a trust until we turned twenty-five. I gave over half of it away, mostly to the Association for the Deaf. Mr. Charters about had a cow, but I felt really strongly about helping others like my brother. The balance has lost some value over the years, according to him.”
Byron was pacing across the room, but he froze mid turn when she told him how much money she’d inherited. He stared at her.
She waited for him to laugh, gasp, say something, but he just watched her, his jaws clenched. The silence made her nervous. “I told you I’d inherited some money.”
He sank into the desk chair, braced his forearms on his thighs and hung his head. “Nearly two hundred million isn’t some money, Vivi. It’s all the money.”
~-~
No wonder she’d bought a multi-million dollar place without a second thought. “Since you own this place, let’s go have another look.” The drive to Leavenworth passed some of his favorite spots. Byron had fallen in love with the high desert of central Oregon the first time he’d driven through, and that hadn’t lessened in the four years he’d lived here.
“This area is pretty,” Vivi said. She’d said the same thing every time they’d driven anywhere, and her word echoed his thoughts. The mountain backdrop against the sage and Juniper trees was a balm for his soul.
“What’s the first thing you’re going to have fixed on the house?”
She turned from gazing at the scenery and grinned. “I’m going to find a contractor.”
Of course she was. Probably several contractors.
“The inside will need painted, and I want to refinish the floors. What kind of wood do you think they are? Not oak.”
“They’re red fir. Someone must have salvaged them from an old house. You can’t buy that anymore.”
Her eyes shone. “Really, I like that. I love old things.”
“Viv, you do know you’re going to have to do more than paint. The building you’re going to use as a studio will need to be gutted. I don’t know how much of the plumbing is going to be salvageable.
As they drove, they talked about one project after another until Vivi fell asleep. Byron glanced at her and knew when she was gone, his world wouldn’t be as bright.
He turned into the long gravel drive and pulled up to the back of the house. “You know, it wouldn’t take much to oil the logs on the outside. That would improve the looks right off. You could make some bent twig rockers. That’s what you do, right?”
“I hadn’t thought of that, but yes, I could.” She climbed the steps and turned a slow circle. “They would be perfect here. And a little table. I could have some western style cushions made. Let’s look inside.”
She fitted the key into the deadbolt on the front door, grabbed the wrought iron handle and stepped inside. “The first thing this place needs is a good cleaning.”
As they wandered through the living room, the view out the picture window caught Byron’s attention. Sparkling lights covered the town and tourists crowded the streets. The Washington State Autumn Leaf Festival was in full swing.
“Did you know Leavenworth almost died when the railroad rerouted its tracks in the thirties?
When did they decide to do this and how? Vivi turned to look toward the town, and Byron took the opportunity to watch her, soaking up her beauty for when she was gone. Just once, he wished things had worked out like he wanted. If Viv had stayed in East Hope—. But he’d known that wasn’t going to happen from the beginning. She was destined for bigger things. “In a last ditch effort to save their town, the city leaders reshaped a dying logging town into a Bavarian village.”
“It’s an amazing story. And to think, soon I’ll be part of it.”
She would be a part of the future of Leavenworth. The town would receive her intelligence, kindness and warmth.
Good thing he was happy at the Circle W.
He took in the overgrown yard and the collapsed portion of the fence partially hidden in the tall grass. An older Hesston swather and a 90’s round baler stood just outside the fence, covered with leaves and dust. They’d been top of the line in their day. He wondered how long it had been since someone had used them.
Vivi had paid too much for this property, that was obvious, but with her money, she could make it a showplace and a home. The thought of her finding a rich bastard to share her life with hurt more than he cared to admit.
“Are you okay? You got really quiet.” Vivi stood looking up at him.
“Just thinking of what the house needs before you move in. You’ll have to have the plumbing checked and the water tested. And by the looks of the roof, it will have to be replaced, too.” They wandered from room to room. Vivi had pulled a notepad from her purse and the list she made got longer by the minute.
“Cary and Micah should be able to recommend a contractor.” She scribbled something else on the list then stopped, tapping her pencil against her lip.
“You do realize you’re going to need more than one, right?”
Vivi rewarded him with her bright smile. “Sure. We could run into town and pick up some cleaning supplies. I can’t wait to start on my new home.”
He didn’t miss the fact that she’d said ‘her new home’. Byron walked her to the front door.
“Why don’t you take the truck and get a broom and some cleaning supplies. I’ll look around outside.”
She caught the keys from mid-air when he tossed them to her. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
After watching Vivi drive away, Byron made his way down the back steps. Weeds and wild Morning Glory covered everything that wasn’t moving, but the barn and corrals appeared to be in surprisingly good shape. The realtor had told Vivi that the owner, an elderly rancher, had lived here for most of his adult life. He’d raised hay and cattle on the ranch until he’d had to quit for health reasons. In the years since he’d been moved to a nursing home, the place had stood vacant.
Byron brushed the layer of dust and leaves off the seat of the swather and studied the dials. He’d cut a lot of hay since coming to work for Micah. Micah didn’t own this model, but it was known for being a workhorse.
The old girl ground out her displeasure at the first turn of the key then she fired right up. The sound of the engine was smooth as good whiskey, but when he lifted the head, the reel turned like an old man with a broken walker. The creak and groan of the moving parts were like music to his ears.
The Hesston baler was next on his list. Unlike its partner, the machine refused to start. Too bad he wasn’t a better mechanic. What he’d like to do more than anything was saddle up one of the colts and ride the land. He walked back toward the house.
His head seemed to be filled with unrealistic desires lately. This wasn’t his land, and she wasn’t his either.
The hum of the diesel engine announced Vivi’s arrival. One last look at the hills and meadow, and he turned back to the house. He’d been worried that Vivi had jumped into this ranch without thinking, which
she had. He’d been wrong. With a lot of work, this place would become a good working ranch.
This was the kind of place Byron would like to own if he could move far from the tourists that packed Leavenworth. He’d help her find someone to lease the land. Someone who wouldn’t screw her over.
That thought made his skin crawl. No one was going to screw his Vivi. He heard the truck door slam. Get those thoughts out of your head, Byron. She wasn’t his, and never would be.
Byron met Vivi in the living room and helped her unpack the bags. They spent the next several hours clearing the dust and cobwebs from the rooms, chatting about nothing. Vivi living here with another man popped into his thoughts like an irritating itch, but he banished them with a ruthless sword.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Vivi poured her second cup of coffee. Cary, Micah and the kids had gone to East Hope, and the house was unusually quiet. She sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed the sight of the mountains outside the window.
Thank god for her new friends. Discovering the central Oregon area and meeting the people of East Hope was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Pansy and Cary had mad the long drive and helped clean the rest of her new house. They’d camped out in the empty house and had a girl’s weekend filled with work, laughter and wine.
Last Saturday, she was amazed to see a long line of cars and trucks come down the driveway. Most of East Hope arrived unannounced to clear the trash and overgrown plants from the yard and barn area.
Clinton and Millie Barnes had stocked her pantry with canned goods from Foodtown and refused to let her pay a dime. Pansy and Kade brought pulled pork and all the fixings to feed the crowd. She’d never known comradery existed to this level and thanked her lucky stars she’d stumbled onto this place. Byron had been disappointingly absent.
Would her new town be as receptive?
She needn’t have worried. Various neighbors and business owners had dropped in to welcome her. She’d made the right choice. Only one thing was missing. And that wasn’t going to change.
Cowboy's Sweetheart (Sugar Coated Cowboys Book 3) Page 11