He came out of the side of his barn nearest me, and I smiled brightly. “What’s up?”
“Did you tell Holbrook that you would sell?”
“Yep, but I have—”
I didn’t waste one more second on him or what he had to say. I flipped him off then stalked back to my stables and got back to work. The horses sensed my stress, and they started moving around their stalls and kicking at the walls.
With each stab of my pitchfork to rotate hay, I envisioned Reid smiling as if he thought that he’d gotten the upper hand. Upper hand on what, I had no idea, but the upper hand nonetheless. When I grabbed the wheelbarrow full of manure, I totally intended to take it to the compost pile, I did . . . really, but something came over me.
Rolling the cart out of the backside of the stables and toward Reid’s house, I pushed it along the fence until I was parallel with his sunroom. Then I grabbed a handful of manure and pressed it into a ball. I packed it good and tight, pulled my arm back like I was the starting pitcher for the New York Yankees, and let it fly.
It hit the side of his house with a very satisfying smack.
“Home run!” I shouted as I ran around the wheelbarrow, my arms in the air. Coming back to what I had deemed home plate, I packed another shit-ball. In my best announcer voice, “Holland Kelly is warmed up, the fans are on their feet, the bases loaded, and she lets it fly.” I tossed it, and it smacked against the house. “And that, my friends, is what we call a grand slam-slam-slam . . .” I added the echo that always seemed to appear in epic baseball movies.
“Holland Kelly, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” I looked to my left and saw Reid walking toward me with his hands on his hips.
What was I doing? Well, I was making another ball. When I was done, I held it up. “Don’t take another step.” I waved it in the air.
“What the hell? Have you lost your mind?”
My anger was raging inside me, I couldn’t control it, I let the manure fly. “All your words about helping, making a plan, were what? Nothing! You are nothing but a liar, and I hate you, Dick Brooks!”
Chapter Seven
Reid
I wasn’t sure exactly what had gotten into her, but I knew that it was only a matter of seconds before I would be covered in horse shit if I didn’t do something. When she threw the ball at me, I cut right, and she missed.
“Dick Brooks!” she yelled as she bent over and scooped up another handful.
“Stop, damn it, will you just stop?” I shouted as I vaulted over the fence separating us and made my way to her.
“No, I will not. You made me think that you just might be a good guy. You aren’t.” She threw another handful, and I ducked. When she bent to scoop more, I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away from the wheelbarrow.
“Calm down, Tiger, and tell me what’s wrong.”
“You know damn well what’s wrong. Let go of me.” She squirmed, but I wasn’t letting go.
“Keep it up, and I’ll sit you in the wheelbarrow. Now tell me what’s going on.”
“You agreed to sell to that snake and have ruined everything. All I’ve ever wanted was to have the stables and teach riding. I dreamed of someday blocking off another two acres and teach barrel racing and now that is never going to happen and I’m going to lose everything!”
“You know how to do that? Barrel racing?”
“Yes. Don’t sound so shocked. I’m actually good with horses.”
“I know you’re good.” She stopped squirming. “It’s more fun to give you a hard time.”
“Is that why you did it, to give me a hard time, to make my life miserable?”
There was a vulnerability in her tone that I’d never heard before. “Why I did what? I have no clue what you’re talking about.” I set her down but still kept my arms around her.
She slid her gloves off and threw them to the ground. “Why you agreed to sell—”
“Wait. That is what this is about? If you had let me finish before you would have known that he asked me if I would sell less acres for more money. I said I would consider the offer, and he told me that he would be right over for me to sign the paperwork. I told him I wouldn’t sign anything until my attorney got back to me with the information that I’d requested. He wanted to know what information that was, and I told him to be patient.”
Holland looked over her shoulder, allowing me to see the tears in her amber-colored eyes. “So, you didn’t sign?”
“No, and I’m a bit upset that you would believe anything that man would say. You have to know that I wouldn’t do that to you. We are in this together, remember? I’m not going to let some developer come in and destroy your stables and build a highway on top of our properties. If they did that, it would tank our property values.”
She let out a burst of laughter. “See, I knew there was an ulterior motive.”
“Well, I was thinking of the horses, too. All the noises would keep the horses so spooked that I doubt any of them would train.” I released my hold on her, and she slowly turned around. “I wouldn’t do that to you. I don’t break my word . . . ever.”
“I’m so afraid that I’m going to lose everything. Those stables are all I have left of my dad. He built them for me. Sure, they belong to the three of us, but it was for me.” A tear ran down her cheek.
She was so beautiful and so open and honest in that moment, that I couldn’t seem to stop myself from stepping forward and sliding my hand to the back of her neck. My lips were crashing down on hers, and she was pressing closer to me.
The smallest of moans slipped from her, and that was it. There was no stopping whatever it was that had come over me—dementia, madness, hysteria, I wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, I had no intention of stopping.
My tongue tangled with hers, which earned me more of those tiny moans that made me want to rip her clothes off. My hand found its way into the back of her hair, and I held her closer.
When she wrapped her arms around my waist, I’d forgotten that we were standing in the open so anyone could see us or that just a few minutes ago she’d been angry and throwing manure at my house. No, I had one thing on my mind, and that was how I was going to get Holland into my house and up to my room the fastest.
I wasn’t sure if I had somehow pulled away during my thoughts of her in my room or if she had felt my hard cock pressed against her and freaked out, but in the next moment, there were three feet between us and we were both breathing heavily.
“What did you do that for, Reid?”
“Probably for the same reason you were doing it to me.”
Holland blanched and swiped her fingertips across her swollen lips before glaring and flipping me off. “Don’t ever do that again. Next time, you should ask a lady before you assume that she wants to be kissed.” I let out a loud chuckle. “Don’t laugh at me.” Her anger only made me laugh harder. “Stop it. Damn you.” Holland bent and scooped her gloves up.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” I grabbed her. “You do it again, and I’m carrying you up to my house and showing you what kissing is really like. Now, calm down. You still need to clean the side of my house.”
“Screw you, Reid Brooks.”
“Is that an offer, Holland?”
She scoffed and then turned without bothering to take her wheelbarrow with her. I stood there, watching the angry sway of her hips as she pushed and imagining what she would look like bent over the foot of my bed. The daydream was so vivid that I almost missed it when she stopped and flipped me off again.
Almost.
God, I had no clue what Holland Kelly was doing to me but I sure as hell wanted to find out.
I imagined long blonde hair bouncing with the rhythm of the horse’s gait. Eyes the color of whiskey, and the burn from the first swallow matching the temper of the woman. Fuck, ever since kissing her, she was all that I could think about.
My phone rang, so I set aside my sketchpad and charcoal and answered it, “Hello?”
“Hey,
Reid, it’s Marcus.”
“What’s up?”
“Just wanted to give you a heads-up.” I groaned, worried that he was calling to bitch me out about Holland but hoping that it was something else . . . anything else.
“Yeah?”
“You know that land guy who’s been bugging the hell out of everyone?”
“Yes?” I take it back. I’d rather this be about Holland.
“Well, he’s up here with Mr. Brown, Mr. Kirby, and a few others. He has a tab going and putting their drinks on it.”
“Son of a bitch. He’s trying to buy his way into their favor. I’ll be up in a few, but can you keep an ear on them for me?”
“Sure will.”
“Thanks, man.”
Ten minutes later, I was walking into the Elbow Room and heading toward the bar
“Hey, Marcus, a Yuengl—” My request was cut off by an ice-cold beer being set in front of me, he’d already read my mind. “Thanks. Where is he?”
“No problem.” He darted his eyes to the side, making sure that I saw the group in the back corner of the bar. “From what I’ve heard, he’s been keeping the conversation light, probably trying to make them think he’s a good ol’ boy or some shit.”
“Makes sense. He wants them to drop their guards and think he’s a friend.” I leaned back on my stool, turning the bottle around as if I couldn’t keep my hands still. “I’m going to go remind them that he is not a friend to any of us.”
“Good luck.”
I nodded and brought my drink with me when I made my way over to the group.
“Is this a private meeting or is anyone invited?”
“Private,” Holbrook said, and I smirked as I pulled out a seat.
“Since he’s selling, I think he should be here,” Mr. Brown said, which was something Holbrook clearly didn’t appreciate.
“I’m what? Where did you hear a rumor like that?” The ranchers all turned their glances to Holbrook. I would have thought the asshole would slink down into his chair a bit, but he didn’t. He actually sat straighter and puffed out his chest. He looked ridiculous.
“Mr. Brooks and I have already gone over all of this. This is your time to ask me questions. So, Mr. Brooks, if you’ll excuse us.”
“Okay,” I said, and just as Holbrook looked relieved that I was leaving so easily, I turned to Mr. Brown and added, “Just one thing before I go. If he’s telling you that I’m selling, then he’s already lying to you. I flat out told him that I would consider his offer and was waiting to hear back from my attorney before I made any decisions, isn’t that right, Mr. Holbrook?” I paused, putting him on the spot.
“You told us that he signed two days ago,” Mr. Kirby announced.
“Well . . . I may have been misinformed, so I’ll check on this and get back to you.” Holbrook pushed back his chair.
“Oh, good. Since you’re all done here, you wouldn’t mind having a word with me in private, would you?” I asked before Holbrook got out of his seat.
Instead, the ranchers all pushed back from the table and stood.
“That lying snake,” one man said as he walked off.
“Should’ve known better,” someone, I think Mr. Brown, seethed while he headed for the door.
“I’ve had it with all this behind the back shit.” I’m almost positive that was Mr. Kirby but I wasn’t taking my eyes off Holbrook for one second to see who was actually speaking to be sure.
“Listen, I have to go; I have another appointment.”
“No worries, this won’t take long.” I took a seat across from him and set my bottle in front of me, holding the base with both hands to keep from reaching forward and throat punching the asshole. “I don’t care that you’re a liar. Hell, I don’t care that you lie about me. You couldn’t actually hurt my business or me if you tried. What I do care about is you harassing my neighbors. Leave Holland Kelly alone.”
“Or what? Her strip of property is the most important.”
“And why is that?”
His silence in and of itself was telling since it let me know there was a reason. It just didn’t tell me what the reason was.
“Fine. Play your games, but if you approach or attempt to coerce her into signing anything under duress, I will sue you for every single thing my lawyer can come up with.”
“Don’t threaten me, Reid, you won’t like the consequences.”
“Oh, that isn’t a threat.” I laughed. “That is a promise. Leave her alone or I’ll have my attorney bury you in so many injunctions that you’ll never see the sun again. Last I checked, neither the county nor the state did business deals with criminals.”
The man had no clue the money I could get my hands on—hell, my grandparents on both sides had left me quite an inheritance that I had never touched. It had been sitting in mutual funds for years, just collecting compound interest. If I had to use it to protect what was mine, I would. That made me smile. Sometime in the last week, I’d claimed Holland Kelly as mine, and I really liked the thought.
I stood, glanced at Johnson Holbrook, and then decided that he wasn’t worth anymore of my time. I headed back up to the bar where Marcus was working. “Another Yuengling, please.”
“Please tell me that you have something to stop him?” Marcus asked as he set the new bottle in front of me.
“Yeah, I believe so. Hey, isn’t your mom’s property part of this?”
“Yes and I’m worried about her. I got the letter and haven’t said anything, I’m her power of attorney anyway. But my mom is older, we don’t know how much longer she has, and ever since Dad died, well . . . I think she is just about ready. This is all she knows, I’ll do whatever you all need, I just don’t want to see her lose her house.”
“I seriously don’t think that will happen, but I’ll let you know as soon as we get some concrete information.”
“We?”
“Yeah, Holland and I have been looking into it.”
“Ah, and how is Holland? I don’t suppose she’s taking this mess that well.”
“She threw horse manure at my house this morning when she thought I had sold my land to Holbrook.”
Marcus burst into laughter and slapped his open palm against that bar. “Why does that not surprise me? That girl could never hold her temper.”
“Tell me about it. She didn’t even offer to hose it off after I told her that Holbrook had lied to her.”
“You aren’t going to do something like sell just to spite her, are you?”
What? “No, why would you ask that?”
“I only caught part of your conversation, but I heard her name. It’s no secret the two of you aren’t exactly friends, so you can understand that I had to ask. I like you, Reid, I do. But if it comes down to it, I’ll side with the Kellys, and so will the town.”
He probably meant that to be a warning, but it wasn’t. I wouldn’t do what he was suggesting and that was that. In spite of the feud Holland and I had, those girls had always garnered my respect. “She and I may argue, but I like arguing with her. I consider Holland a friend, and we are working together and trying to come up with a plan to stop this man. She just likes to grumble and bitch about stuff before she inevitably gives in. What you heard was me telling Holbrook to leave her alone or I’d have my attorney file a few hundred injunctions. He said that her property is the most important, and I think that he views her as weak because she’s a woman.”
“Holland? Weak?” Marcus smiled, and I grinned back. It really was a ludicrous thought.
“Exactly, the man is an idiot.”
Chapter Eight
Holland
Holland
That was an ultimate low.
Not the kiss—that was great, too great. No, the flinging shit onto Reid’s house was the ultimate low. After I had taken a shower, I sat in my apartment, staring out my dormer window and berating myself about the mess on the side of his house. I wanted to go over and clean it off, but my pride wouldn’t let me. Knowing hi
m, he would stand there and watch me clean every speck of it off and tell me how ashamed I should be for acting that way.
Yeah, I may be remorseful for doing it, but I wasn’t that remorseful.
That was why, as soon as he pulled out of his driveway, I rushed over, jumped the fence, and headed for the hose coiled against the side of his house.
Of course, it didn’t have a stupid nozzle on it, so I had to use my thumb to get the water pressure I needed.
“Ahhh, god, that’s fucking freezing!” I shouted as icy cold water splayed in random directions, half of it hitting the wall I wanted it to hit and the other half hitting me and drenching my clothing.
I deserve this for letting my temper get the better of me.
I admonished myself but also acknowledged the fact that it wouldn’t resonate with me. Nope, as soon as he pissed me off again, I would do something just as stupid. When his house was back to being white, I turned off the water and rolled the hose back up before heading back over the fence. I went to my stables and gathered the wheelbarrow and my gloves to finish my chores, dumping the contents into the compost pile.
I’d just stepped out of my second shower of the day when I noticed a blinking light on my phone. I’d missed a call from Marcus, which was weird since he never called me. I dialed him back.
“Hey, Holland.”
“Sorry I missed your call. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to let you know that Holbrook was up here with some of the ranchers and he was buying them drinks. I got ahold of Reid, and he came down to ruin the party.”
I was glad to hear that Holbrook’s plans were thwarted but pissed that Reid didn’t come and get me.
“Anyway, there is something else I want to talk to you about, too.”
“Okay, what?”
“Reid spoke to the guy alone.”
Steadfast (Iron Horse Book 3) Page 5