“You’re not splitting up are you?” Joey asked.
Rob sent him a quelling glare.
“But Jeeze, Rob, not now. Not with—“
“That’s enough, Joey.” He said it firmly.
His brother held his eyes for a minute, then sank back against his chair with a huff and said, “Well this is gonna be a real pleasant evening.”
* * *
Betty Lou Jennings, the real estate agent whose shape roughly matched her beehive, glanced Kiley’s way. They were alone in the bathroom, but Kiley held up a finger and nodded toward the door.
Betty Lou nodded in understanding, and Kiley said, “I’m glad I ran into you, Betty Lou. I need a little more time to come up with the money.”
“Miz Kellogg, I am out to dinner with my family.” Betty Lou always sounded as if she had inhaled a little helium. “If you want to discuss business, call me during business hours. Not that it’s going to matter. I told you I was putting your partner’s share back on the market, and that’s what I’m going to do. It’s what he asked me to do, and you don’t have any say in it.”
“I don’t want to lose half of that ranch. I can’t lose it. Not now. I just need some time to get the money—”
“You should’ve thought of that before you tried to swindle a decent, upstanding man like Robby McIntyre.”
“He told you?” she asked.
“No details. It must be pretty bad, though, if he’s willing to give that place up.” Betty Lou lowered her voice to a loud whisper. “Especially given that it’s sitting on a potentially lucrative deposit of crude oil.”
“He told you about that too?” Kiley gasped.
“Of course he told me. It’s a selling point. He’s so desperate to get out of this partnership that he’s willing to take significantly less than he paid for the place, too.”
“How much less?”
Betty Lou smiled evilly, fully into her role. “More than you’ve got,” she said. Then she bustled back into the restaurant.
Kiley turned to the sink and quickly wet her eyes. Then she braced her arms on either side and let her head hang between them.
The door creaked, and Kendra said, “Trouble in paradise?”
She jumped as if startled and shot her sister a look. “None of your business.”
Kendra sighed and came closer. “What’s going on, Kiley? I thought you two were—how do the cowboys put it? Knockin’ boots?”
It had been so much more than that. It had been beautiful, and Rob probably regretted it had ever happened. She’d thoroughly polluted his pure, clean life. Her lips pulled tight and real tears threatened. “You just had to show up, didn’t you? After I’d already told him you were dead. How was I supposed to explain that?”
“He can hardly be mad at you for that,” she said.
“No. But it made him suspicious. And it didn’t take much digging to find out I’d been raised by a con man who was doing time. Then he realized he’d been tricked into buying half the place.”
“You tricked him? What did you play?”
“Slippin’ Jimmy and Grandma’s Rock,” she said miserably. Her eyes were honestly burning. “I didn’t realize how much I was gonna—” She shook her head, snagged a paper towel and ran it under the faucet, then pressed it to her eyes.
“Gonna what?” Kendra asked, coming closer. “Love him? Do you love him, Kiley?”
“It doesn’t matter. He’s selling his half. I just…I don’t want to lose him.”
She wet the towel and dabbed her eyes again, then tried to press them dry with her fingers. “Gotta get back out there. Do I look okay?”
Kendra lifted her hand and pushed Kiley’s hair off her forehead. Then she said, “No.” And then she opened her purse, took out a compact, and dabbed powder around Kiley’s eyes.
Kiley blinked, stunned by how tender she was being. She almost wept again, wishing it could be real.
“I’m sorry if we ruined things for you, Kiley,” Kendra said.
She shrugged. “It never would’ve worked anyway. He’s…he’s good. He’s just good, you know? Way too good for someone like me.” She glanced at the mirror, then reached into her purse for a comb, and brushed her hand over the little velvet covered diary. She pulled it out, handed it to Kendra. “I found this at the house. In that hideyhole in the bedroom closet.”
Kendra took the tiny book, ran her hand over the velvet. “I don’t know if I want to look at it. All my hopes and dreams are in there. All our crazy plans from childhood.”
“I don’t think it’s ever too late to reclaim some of those crazy plans. It’s what I’m trying to do.”
Kendra held her gaze, and Kiley glimpsed some kind of deep pain behind her sister’s eyes. “It’s too late for me,” she said. “But maybe not for you.”
She handed the book back, but Kiley shook her head. “No. Keep it. One of these days, maybe you’ll want to remember.”
Kendra nodded and dropped the diary into her bag.
* * *
Somehow, they got through dinner. Somehow, Rob managed to act pissed off and Kiley managed to act wounded and kind of angry about it, and Joey, who was in on everything, managed to act confused and concerned. Kiley declined dessert and everyone else followed suit, and finally they were able to make their excuses and leave.
She got into the parking lot and looked around for her car. Rob had insisted they drive it there. But it was nowhere in sight.
Rob, however, was heading right toward a little red Jeep Wrangler’s passenger door.
“What are you—?”
“Don’t smile too hard, they might still be watching,” he said. “But this is your new ride.”
“Are you freaking kidding me?” She almost grinned then glanced toward the windows, and frowned again.
“Hop in. Keys are above the visor.”
She hopped in, flipped the visor, caught the twin keys that slid off it into her lap. She started it up, and it came to life on the first try. “This is the nicest car I’ve ever had.”
“Yeah, well paste your RBF back on and let’s get out of here. You look a little too happy.”
She sent him a grateful look, put it into reverse to back out of the spot, and didn’t dare smile until they hit the road.
“Do you think your family bought it?” he asked.
“Yeah. I do. I was very convincing in the restroom. How about your part? Did you pull it off?”
He nodded. “Joey took me aside and handed me the envelope, said it had been delivered to the saloon. When I checked to be sure your father was within earshot, I found he was taking care of that on his own. You’re right, he’s nosy as hell. Anyway, the oil company’s logo was unmistakable the front. It was very authentic looking.”
“Did you say your lines?”
“I did.”
“I’m really sorry I missed that.” She was truly enjoying herself. The Wrangler drove like a dream. “Will you do it for me now?”
“Aw, come on—”
“Do it just like you did it for Dad. Please?”
He sighed heavily, then nodded. “Okay, but you have to be Joey. Hand me the envelope.”
Smiling, she mimed handing him something.
He took the invisible handoff, looked at it, and began. “Another one? How the hell do they find out so fast?”
“Probably bribing someone at the geological surveyor’s office,” she replied, as Joey had been instructed to do.
“I’m glad it’s not my problem anymore.”
“You stand to make a lot of money, Rob,” Kiley said, again, repeating what would have been Joey’s line. “This is the wrong time to sell.”
“I already have a lot of money. My sanity’s worth more.” He said it in a low, angry tone. Then smiled and lifted his brows. “Eh?”
Kiley let go of the wheel to applaud, then took hold again in time to pull into their driveway.
“Do you think it’ll work?” Rob asked.
“It should. I don’t know. I
guess we’ll see.”
He nodded. “I guess we will. In the meantime…” He opened the glove compartment, pulled out a square blue packet, handed it to her.
She looked down at a full set of guitar strings, then up him again, feeling warm all over. “You didn’t have to do that. You’re too sweet to me, Rob.”
“Oh, I’ve got my own selfish reasons. I’m gonna demand you play for me before the night is out. That’s the price of those strings. Take it or leave it.”
She nodded. “I’ll take it.” Twisting the key, she pulled it from the switch, and said, “Thank you, Rob. For…for all of it. For even still being here.”
“I’m where I want to be,” he told her. “And you’re welcome.”
Chapter Sixteen
* * *
“I think I’ve figured it out,” Kiley said.
They were sitting on the sofa, watching Ancient Aliens. She wasn’t sure why he was watching Ancient Aliens at midnight, but she knew why she was. She didn’t want to go to bed alone.
She wished she could believe his motives were similar.
“Figured what out?” he asked.
“How to pay back all my…legless Chihuahua donors.”
He closed his eyes, either because it was a painful reminder of who she really was and what she’d done, or to avoid smiling at the terminology. She couldn’t tell which in the blue glow of the TV screen light. “How?”
“I can get a mortgage. You know, put my half up as collateral, take the lump sum and pay all those legless-chihuahua-donors back. And then just make monthly payments to the bank, like a normal person would.”
He sat up straighter and nodded. “That’s a pretty good plan.”
“Once Holiday Ranch starts making money, I’m gonna start paying back the others, with interest. They won’t take as long. I didn’t game often, or get very much when I did. Not until this last time. This last time I got…I got everything.”
He looked at her, nodded to let her know he understood.
“It’s too valuable to me not to pay for it honestly. You know?”
“I know.” His heart was filling with her.
“You think I could get approved? For a mortgage?”
“If they turn you down, you can just try again with a co-signer. I know a cowboy with a good credit score who’d be willing to help.”
She stared into his eyes and said, “What’s gonna happen to us, when this is over? If…if we win, I mean.”
He stared right back. “I—”
“No, wait. Don’t tell me. There’s something more pressing I need to say to you.”
He leaned back and said, “Okay.”
“Okay,” she repeated. “Okay, so, I get that what happened between us was…just what it was. Nothing more. And I get that it doesn’t necessarily mean anything. But…but this is gonna end, one way or another, within the next forty eight hours or so.” She closed her eyes and rushed on. “And I’d like to spend at least the next few of those hours all wrapped up in you.”
A rush of something warm flooded his chest. He saw the uncertainty in her eyes, the honesty—yes, honesty, there. And he said, “Okay.”
* * *
Seven a.m.
The window was open, curtains billowing softly in the sweet summer breeze. Birds were singing like they’d all lost their minds to bliss. And she understood that feeling, because she woke up beside Rob McIntyre, the most amazing human male on the planet. She was spooning in front of him, his arm around her, every inch of them in blissful, naked contact. Kiley tried to imagine this was her real life, that she could wake up every morning just like this. She closed her eyes and made believe she was his, and he was hers. That they slept together every single night, lived together every day. That they might even have kids, someday.
Maybe it could actually happen that way.
Unless she failed. If this game went south and her father carried out his threat to expose her for her crimes, it would be over. And even if Rob forgave her, the town never would. His family never would. Especially not if Jack and Kendra skipped town with so much of their money.
Her eyes popped open and she stared at the wall. Was she making the right call? Should she just turn her family in and let them deal with the consequences of their actions? Was there really any way she could win?
Rob was breathing deep and even. Her cell phone vibrated. She’d turned off the sound, but she could hear it jiggling against the night stand. She slid out from under his arm in slow motion, wriggled her way to the edge of the bed and groped.
There was a text from Betty Lou Jennings: Your father just called, offered 350k for Rob’s half. It’s on. 9 am, Cal’s office. Pass it on.
She typed OK, hit send, and watched the message fly, then put the phone down and returned to her happy place, in Rob McIntyre’s arms.
He kissed the top of her head. “Who texted?”
“Betty Lou,” she told him. “Dad took the bait.” She rolled onto her back. “We need to meet in Caleb’s office in two hours.”
He grinned, then frowned at her. “And yet, you’re not dancing for joy or running around to get ready,” he said.
“No. Because this might be the last time I get to lie in bed with you. And I’m not ready to end it just yet.”
“I’m not either,” he said. And then with his eyes all dark and smokey, he kissed her. And then he kept on kissing her and rolled her beneath him in the softness of the bed.
* * *
As she looked up from the passenger seat of Rob’s truck, Kiley saw her father’s car across Main Street at the bank. “He’s doing it,” she whispered. “He’s withdrawing all the money he stole from the town.”
“Now all we have to do is get him to hand it over,” Rob said.
“If he sees me with you, he’ll know something’s up. This is the crucial part, Rob. Dad’s sharp. If anything is the least bit off….”
“I’ve got this,” he told her. “Trust me.”
“I’m trying. You’re just too damn honest.”
“I’m a better liar than you are.” He drove around the corner, parked out of sight from the bank, and the two of them got out and went into Caleb’s law office, despite the Closed sign on the door. They walked through the reception area and directly into a conference room with a long wooden table surrounded by comfortable looking chairs. Caleb got up when Kiley walked in.
Betty Lou Jennings just beamed at her. “It’s an amazing thing you’re doing for this town, Kiley,” she said. Then she quickly schooled her features when the bell over the door chimed.
Caleb nodded toward a door at the back of the room, and Kiley slipped through it. It led directly to his office, and when she looked around, she realized his computer was showing a live feed of everything happening in the room next door. She could watch, and maybe even listen in. Taking a seat in the oversized leather chair behind the desk, Kiley spotted a headset and put it on, staring at the large monitor.
Rob and Caleb were still standing when her father and Kendra walked in.
Kendra looked nervous, was checking around, examining corners, looking out windows.
Dammit, she knew something was up.
“Welcome, Mr. Kellogg, Miss Kellogg. I’m Caleb Caine Montgomery, and I’m here to make sure everything is legal and above board. I’m working for Betty Lou Jennings, so that makes me a neutral third party between the buyer and the seller. Is that acceptable to both of you?”
Jack pursed his lips and said, “I’ll let you know.”
“Also, full disclosure, we’re all being recorded.” Caleb nodded toward the camera mounted in an upper corner. “That’s standard. I like to have video to refer back to. There are coffee and scones from Sunny’s Bakery,” he added with a nod toward the table against the far wall. “Help yourselves and we’ll get on with things.”
Rob went to the table, grabbed a cup of coffee and a scone, but didn’t take a bite or a sip. Jack was watching him like a hawk.
“Well now,” Betty
Lou said, from the conference table. She already had a luscious looking scone on a plate in front of her, or rather half of one. Kiley wished she’d have had time to grab one herself. “This should be a pretty simple transaction. I have the agreement right here.” She pulled a thick document out of a folder that had been lying on the table in front of her. “This is the purchase agreement. I’ll mark it paid in full as soon as your check has cleared.”
She pushed the documents across the table to Kiley’s father, who put on his bifocals and leaned back in his seat to peruse them.
Kiley knew that opening page by heart. Her father was purchasing said tract of land, tax map number 14.1.6.5.1-99, for the price of three-hundred-fifty thousand dollars on this date and at this time.
“You’ll also need to sign this.” She slid another document toward him, sending a shy smile with it.
“And what is this?” Jack asked. His brows had risen a notch. He was sensing something.
Just sign it, Kiley willed in silence. Just sign it and get out of my life.
Caleb said, “It states that you are giving sole decision-making authority as to the uses, disposal of, and exploitation of rights of the property, to your daughter, Kiley Kellogg.”
“I don’t believe that was part of my offer,” Jack said, shooting a look at Rob.
Rob got up. “I know, and I apologize, but it’s part of my counter offer, and it’s a deal breaker,” he said. “I’m betraying her by selling to you. The least I can do is make sure you’re never more than a silent partner.” He shrugged. “Besides, do you really care?”
“I only care that I receive my share of the profits…should there be any.” He smiled vaguely, then lowered his head and kept reading. He read and read. He flipped a page, then flipped back, then flipped it again.
“Did you bring payment?” Caleb asked.
“I did.” Jack pulled a cashier’s check from his pocket and laid it on the table.
In the next room, Kiley held her breath. And then Jack said, “Who has a pen?”
Rob, Caleb, and Betty Lou all whipped out pens at once.
Oklahoma Moonshine (The McIntyre Men #1) Page 18