King's Treasure (Oil Kings Book 3)

by Marie Johnston

  “Water,” I croaked. I missed drinking water willy-nilly. Xander had mentioned that he’d never take drinking water for granted after his travels, and I understood why now.

  “Mountain spring water, coming right up.” He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it at the faucet.

  I wasn’t expecting anything more than water, but damn. Cold fluid wicked down my throat without the oily residue that bottled water always seemed to leave behind. “It’s good.”

  “Rural water at its finest. I’ve tasted some that has a plastic chaser, but not King’s Creek water.” Dawson’s smile was so proud, and realization dawned. King’s Creek.

  “Is the town named after your family?”

  Xander put his hand on my back. “Yes, but both our mom’s side and our dad’s side have been here forever. The land is from Dad’s side and the oil is from Mama’s.”

  I drained my glass and set it on the granite countertop. This cabin was so unlike the ones I’d spent my last few months cleaning.

  I sagged at the reminder of how far we’d traveled in a short amount of time.

  Xander steered me toward the stairs. “We’re going to have to catch up to mountain time.”

  “Take all the time you need,” said Dawson. “The others are coming later so we’ll work cattle this weekend.”

  Xander didn’t reply as he led me upstairs and carried our bags.

  “I slept on the plane, but I’m exhausted.” I shot him a regretful look. “I’m afraid I might replay my first night in Kosovo.” I’d fallen asleep so hard he could barely fit himself into the bed and then I’d slept fifteen hours.

  “It’s not a problem. You get used to the jet lag and having to adjust in new and unusual places.”

  How much did I want to get used to it? What kind of career would I have, traveling that much?

  Xander stopped at a door midway down the hall, set down the suitcases, and opened it up. His childhood bedroom. Our place for the next . . . I didn’t know how long we’d be here, or where we were going next.

  This was his life, the way my husband lived. It was the way I was now living. And I’d learned enough about myself during the last six months to know that while I enjoyed traveling, and I appreciated having the ability to go where I wanted, I wanted a place to call my own. And I was afraid to have that talk with Xander.

  Xander

  The rolling gait of Fool’s Gold under me was its own therapy. As a teen, I’d taken off on him for hours, sometimes the whole day, after fights with Dad. Today, Dawson was with me, and he hadn’t stopped talking. No wonder I always took off alone.

  “Beck and Eva are flying down on Friday. It’s just them. Her brother’s been down a few times. Good guy—I almost talked him into a job.”

  “Doesn’t he develop apps or video games?”

  “Yeah, but it can be pretty sedentary. He takes to this stuff like a fish in the stock pond.”

  “Do you need the extra help?”

  Dawson lifted a shoulder. “I’m thinking about bringing a third person on. There’s always more work to do.”

  I nodded and kept riding. I’d gotten up early enough to help Dawson with chores. Savvy had still been sleeping when we’d gotten back for breakfast, so Dawson and I had saddled up the horses. Riding through our land loosened the tension that had built the closer the plane got to King’s Creek.

  Dawson squinted in the sun and adjusted his cowboy hat. “What about you? What are you doing for work?” At my side-eye, his grin was unrepentant. “Might as well practice your answer. You know everyone’s going to ask.”

  “Everyone” being my other two brothers and Dad. “Odd jobs here and there while I take some pictures.”

  “Where’s your camera?”

  “In my room where it won’t get dropped in some pasture.”

  Dawson tsked. “Didn’t realize it was a sensitive subject.”

  “It’s not.”

  “What odd jobs then?” The wry note in Dawson’s voice was enough to set my teeth on edge. He thought my photography was a sensitive subject and maybe it was, but only because no one understood it or what it meant to me.

  “I just got done helping a buddy expand his outdoor business—hiking and camping and stuff. Savvy helped clean cabins and I helped build a couple more. Then we both did guided tours.”

  “How are things . . . with the wife?”

  “You mean are we going to stay married for a year so the bastard next door doesn’t get the money?”

  “Obviously, I want you to be happy.” He adopted another crooked grin, his body swaying with his horse.

  I chuckled. “I get it. But the trust wasn’t a huge motivation behind my nuptials.”

  Dawson cocked a brow. “Love at first sight?”

  “Something like that. It was convenient for both of us, but at the time, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t have done to be with her longer. That doesn’t change that we’re still getting to know each other.”

  “Just make sure you don’t fuck up until after you’re thirty.”

  “Oh, I plan on spending all my Valentine’s Days with my wife. But you know this means it’s your turn.”

  Dawson shuddered. “Don’t start. Grams is already on me.”

  That made me grin. Dawson was the baby, destined to be the favored one. He was the youngest, so when Mama had died, while losing her hadn’t hurt him any less just because he’d had less time with her, Dad’s behavior after had bothered him the least. “Less than a year and you don’t even have a girlfriend.”

  “I don’t get out of King’s Creek that much. All the single women in town are either married already or single for a reason.”

  “There’s dating apps.”

  “I use them for sex.”

  A cough escaped. What else had I expected? I cleared my throat. “You need to get out of King’s Creek more often.”

  “I was kidding about the apps. It’s not worth the hassle.” He gestured to the cows grazing in the next pasture. “These ladies keep me busy. What can I say?”

  We reached the edge of the pasture and gazed across the ravine. Our fence ran along the edge. Our land technically extended past it on the other side, but right in the middle of the trees and the small valley that flooded in hard rains was the border of our land and the Cartwrights’. Old Danny never would’ve allowed us to fence on his side.

  Dawson squinted into the trees at the lowest point of the ravine. “Aw, hell. He lost a cow in that mess.”

  The bloated body of a cow that was long past dead was slumped in the shadows. Danny never fenced off his side of the damn ravine, and it cost him precious cows. Cows equaled money. Cows were profit. No wonder his ranch was tanking in so many ways.

  I slid my gaze to my brother as he glowered at the lost cow. It had probably broken a leg slipping down the side to get some water. “You gonna let Bristol know?”

  “Gonna let her know to fucking water her herd better. That stock pond is probably nothing but mud and it’s driving them out here.” He pulled out his phone. Why Bristol hadn’t blocked his number, I didn’t know. They probably kept each other’s number just so they could text and rub it in when the other fucked up.

  I turned my horse around. Dawson sent off his message. Neither horse needed much guidance to get back home.

  As we neared the house, I groaned. A familiar plain black Mercedes sat out front. “Is that Grams’s vehicle?”

  “Of course. She can get a two-for-one. Make sure you and the wife are going to get along until after Valentine’s Day, and pester me about who I’m seeing.”

  Dawson was never seeing anyone. He had a girlfriend in college but she’d refused to move to rural Montana. After that, he dated, but never anyone for long, claiming it wasn’t easy to find a woman who tolerated rancher’s hours.

  I was glad I didn’t have that problem. I just had to hope my wife didn’t mind not having a home.

  We rode to the barn and swung down.

  Dawson jutted his chin t
oward the house. “Go on, save your wife. I got this.”

  “Thanks, man.” I handed him the lead rope and walked as fast as I could without running. Grams might think something was wrong if I came running up to the house—something wrong between me and Savvy. Grams wasn’t an overly nurturing grandparent. Her motto in life was rub some dirt on it and quit crying.

  I didn’t care that I smelled like fresh air and horse sweat. It was as natural to me as breathing, but Savvy might think differently. Maybe I could get her on a horse while we were here.

  Savvy was at the dining room table, her hair wild around her shoulders, still blinking sleep out of her eyes. She smiled and nodded at Grams, who sat across from her, but I knew the dazed look well. People often wore it around my grandmother. She was a force and not everyone was ready for her.

  “Grams,” I greeted warmly. It was nice to see her—and not have to avoid her for the first time in several years.

  “Xander!” Grams’s voice boomed through the main floor and probably bounced off the doors of the upstairs bedrooms. She rose and straightened her suit coat. Her gray bob was sleek, not a single strand would dare be out of place.

  She rounded the table and held her arms out. I met her halfway and was encompassed in a hug unlike any I’d ever gotten.

  “I’ll be damned, kiddo. Congrats. You did good.”

  I smiled and hugged her back, but her compliment fell flat on my ears. I did good? Grams wasn’t the warm, fuzzy kind but she’d never said that to me. Never. To be fair, I’d hadn’t done much to earn a “You did good,” but she’d seen my pictures, murmured something like nice, and moved on to another topic of conversation.

  Figuring why it bothered me was easy. “I didn’t think you’d say that until after I turned thirty.”

  Grams clapped my shoulder. “The first hurdle is over and Sapphire seems delightful. Gentry’s told me about her father.”

  Savvy cupped her hands around her water glass. “She says she’s not going to hold it against me.”

  I chuckled and moved toward the kitchen. “You hungry?”

  Savvy winced. “I missed breakfast.” She glanced at the clock on the oven. “And lunch.”

  “No problem. I’ll make us both something. Dawson’s never short of food. He’d be a chef if he wasn’t a rancher.”

  Grams waited until I was back from washing my hands to say, “You’ve been dragging your wife around the world. Where are you going to settle down?”

  I tensed at the fridge. “My work takes me to different places.”

  “Photographers have homes.”

  I opened the fridge and dug out eggs and cheese. I could make a simple omelet. Grabbing some ham for my own omelet, I withdrew with my armload and closed the fridge. Photographers with thriving businesses had homes.

  “You can’t drag Sapphire all over with you.” Grams never let a subject die a quick death. “You’re newlyweds.”

  “We’re still exploring options,” Savvy answered, her tone lacking conviction. I looked at her but her tense smile was aimed at Grams.

  Grams nodded. “You’ll have a lot more after you’re married for a year.”

  Why did everything have to come down to that damn trust? I wished I could go back in time and ask Mama what she’d been thinking. Had she been terrified that we’d grow up wild men and end up lonely? That we’d end up crusty old ranchers who were more dangerous to themselves and others, like our neighbor? I didn’t know, but I couldn’t wait until the trust was distributed and all I had to do was sock it away. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but like I’d told Savvy—I wasn’t a planner.

  I gave Grams my most indulgent smile. “You’ll be one of the first to know where Savvy and I decide to settle, Grams.”

  A pleased look crossed Grams’s face. I liked to think she had more interest in her grandkids than whether or not we could keep the money she’d made off the sale of part of the oil company. No one had to ask whether she regretted gifting the money to Mama for our future. Once she’d learned of the trust’s restrictions, she’d been trying to rectify it ever since.

  I was cracking eggs when she said, “Your father and Kendall are on their way.”

  “What? Now?” Shit. They lived in Billings and it was only a couple of hours away. “Aren’t we doing cattle this weekend?”

  “He wants to visit you.” She beamed at Savvy, who sat stiffly in her chair. “He said he didn’t have much time to talk with you in Las Vegas.”

  That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I exchanged a look with Savvy. Her expression was so hopeful. She thought that if I confessed to Dad, he’d forgive me and it’d be like we had a fresh start to our life together. Dad wasn’t obsessed with the past. He wanted me to answer for my present and future. I had to tell him at some point. But later was better than sooner, like after I’d paid him back.

  The next moment, several people piled through the door and I clenched my hand around the spatula.

  Looked like it would be sooner after all.

  Chapter 17

  Savvy

  A few months ago, I would’ve been useless. Now, while I might not be ready to kick ass on a horse—or get on one at all—I could stand in the muck, by a fence, and wave my arms around to keep the cattle from backtracking out of the corrals. I hadn’t had to scale the fence yet due to an angry cow. Xander had made sure I knew how to though. He’d made me practice.

  Xander’s family was great. They gave each other crap in an uninhibited way that my family never did and never would, except maybe Pearl and me.

  Right after his dad had arrived, Xander had whisked me away for a tour of King’s Creek, then an evening horse ride of the Kings’ land. As I’d clung to the reins, he’d sat behind me in the saddle and shown me the land they’d sold to their friends, the Cartwrights. But Grams and DB had kept the mineral rights, suspecting that there could be oil. The ink had barely dried on the deed before they’d pursued that oil, inciting the family feud. The drilling had negatively impacted the Cartwrights’ ranch, and honestly, I’d have been pissed at Grams and DB too. The money the Cartwrights had gotten as land owners was nothing compared to what Grams and DB had made. The drills were no longer active, but the black abandoned wells were visible in the distance.

  The next day, Xander had taken me to Billings to show me the head office and, I suspected, to stay out of his dad’s path.

  Kendall drifted toward me. Most of the cattle had been worked. Xander had told me what it would entail and how Dawson chose vaccinations and methods of identification for his business, but all I could see was a bunch of guys straddling corrals and bending over cows. Dawson wandered around with a tablet, updating records or something. Kendall clapped her hands together. Dust particles puffed and glinted in the sunlight. She wore work boots, so different from the stylish knee-high boots she’d arrived in. All I had were athletic shoes. None of the boots Dawson had found fit me but he kept trying despite my assurances that I’d be fine with a little manure on my shoes.

  Not something I thought I’d ever have to say.

  “What do you think?” Kendall’s grin was infectious and her teal eyes glittered in the sun.

  “Interesting. I have so many questions but they’re all so busy.”

  “You can ask any of the guys. I mean, Dawson’s in charge now and he’ll talk your ear off, but he gets tied up during this time of year.”

  Eva hopped down from the gate she was perched on with Kate and sauntered toward us. The bright pink ends of Eva’s hair brushed her chin. When she’d arrived with Beckett, I’d had trouble picturing them as a couple. She was definitely the yin to his yang. He’d been all GQ handsome in a suit and tie and she’d been dressed in ripped leggings, a flirty skirt and a loose, buttoned-up blouse with nothing but ones and zeroes on it. In short, he looked exactly like the tech mogul that Xander had described and Eva looked like she designed video games.

  “I heard Dawson evaded Grams yesterday.”

  Kendall laughed but snu
ck a glance at Kate and sobered. Xander had speculated that Aiden hadn’t told Kate about the stipulations of the trust, but I couldn’t imagine why that would be kept from her. She and Aiden had been married more than a year. It shouldn’t matter by now. “Grams is a force. It was nice that she stopped by at least.”

  Eva screwed her nose up, but spoke quieter. “Does she ever stop by when it isn’t about money?”

  “She’s not that type of grandmother,” Kendall said, almost fondly. I think she respected Grams as a powerful woman, not so much as a grandmother.

  “She seemed nice,” I said.

  Eva softened her doubt with a smile. “She wouldn’t want to scare you away.”

  Kate ripped her gaze off her husband, who was straddling either side of the chute that a cow was stopped in and giving her an overall exam. His ass could grace a billboard and sell any damn thing he wanted—just like all his brothers’ asses, though the only one that got to me was Xander’s, and I’d done my share of peeking while he was swaggering around in his boots and cowboy hat.

  Kate hopped down and scurried over to us. I swallowed the shame I’d first experienced when I’d met her and Aiden. When Dawson had answered the door, I’d caught sight of Aiden first as he’d brought their luggage upstairs. Aiden was all sharp angles, precise in every fold and wrinkle of clothing to the point where even Chief would say damn, and he exuded a seriousness that naturally made tension bloom in any room.

  After seeing him, I’d expected a leggy woman who was catwalk-ready at any moment. So when Kate had stepped inside, chatting with Dawson on the landing as she shrugged out of her coat, shock had stalled me dead. Some might call her plain, but only because her beauty was quiet, understated. She had rounded curves on a frame a few inches shorter than mine. Her soft, bright presence balanced all of Aiden’s hard edges. It’d be easy to write her off as a nobody, but as soon as Dawson introduced me to her, my respect for Aiden grew. Intelligence shone in Kate’s eyes and when she smiled, I wanted her to be my friend forever. She was the type of woman lesser men would ignore rather than try to be worthy of. She didn’t cower like she was meek, but she was either shy or didn’t need one second of the spotlight.