by Jeannie Watt
Except that was impossible.
Finally she picked up her phone and called Mel, who, despite her invitation to Shae to call anytime, did not answer. Study time. Mel was going to make a great lawyer because she had laserlike focus. Well, so did Shae, but somehow organizing marketing events, rodeo-queen competitions and weddings—all of which took an incredible amount of planning and effort—just didn’t generate the same respect as pursuing a law degree did. Shae smirked at herself, lifted her wineglass and took a healthy swallow. Nope. No respect for the wedding planner.
Not even from the groom, who’d said he’d felt secondary to the process more than once. And she had not listened. That had been a mistake.
The phone rang and Shae scooped it up, thinking Mel had taken a break.
“Shae.” Not Mel.
“Miranda?” Shae took a fortifying swig of chardonnay.
“Yes. Would it be possible for us to meet informally? Tonight or tomorrow morning?”
Shae almost choked on the wine. She was being fired. “Tonight?” It was close to ten o’clock.
“I’ve driven in from the ranch to attend to some business, so I’m in town right now.”
“Then why not tonight?” Shae said. Because she wasn’t going to sleep until she knew what the deal was...although she probably wasn’t going to sleep afterward, either. “Would you like to come here?” Home territory. That way she wouldn’t have to drive home while upset. She’d done enough of that recently.
“That would be fine.”
Shae gave Miranda the address, hung up and then collapsed on her sofa, letting her head fall back against the cushions. The phone rang in her hand and Shae raised it to see the caller. Mel.
“How was your first day on the job?” Mel asked cheerfully.
“Not what I expected,” Shae said flatly. “Jordan Bryan showed up.”
“Jordan!”
“Funny thing. Miranda had the same reaction.”
“The last I heard from the grapevine—” meaning her sister, Dani, who kept close tabs on everyone they went to high school with “—he was recovering from his accident in some kind of special care facility.”
“He’s out. He’s back. And he thinks he owns the property I’m working on.” Shae took a couple agitated paces toward the darkened window. “Why didn’t you tell me how seriously he’d been hurt?” She vaguely recalled hearing that Jordan Bryan had been injured in a military accident. Injured. That had been the description, which in her mind had meant broken bones or injuries one healed from. No one had said, “seriously injured” or “heinously injured.” In fact, no one had ever brought the matter up again, that she could recall.
“Honestly, Shae, I thought I had. But you were pretty immersed in other things when it happened, so maybe I didn’t.”
Other things. The wedding, of course.
“How bad is it?” Mel asked softly. “I know that Cole flew back east to see him, but the visit didn’t go well.”
“It’s bad.” She described what she’d seen—his hand, his face. “I don’t know what the rest of him looks like and I don’t know that he’s all there, Mel. Mentally, I mean. He looked pretty out of it.” Which concerned her if she was returning to the property.
“So what happens now?”
“It’s complicated. Miranda’s on her way over to explain it to me now.” And probably to fire me. But if she did, Shae was going to do her best to finagle another shot at her old job.
“Miranda’s coming to your place at this time of night?”
“Yeah. I know. Doesn’t sound good, does it?”
She heard Mel blow out a breath. Answer enough. “Let me know what happens,” Mel said.
“Will you pick up?”
“Yeah. I’ll pick up.”
A soft knock on the door made Shae jump. “Miranda’s here. I’ll talk to you later.” She set the phone on the glass coffee table and crossed the room, heart pounding.
She pasted a smile on her face as she swung the door open. “Miranda. Hi.”
“Shae. Thanks for allowing me to come over.”
Oh, yeah. As if she wouldn’t.
Miranda walked inside, glanced around and gave an approving nod before moving over to the table where Shae had spread the aerial photos.
“Will I need those?” Shae asked, deciding they might as well get to the crux of the matter.
Miranda traced her finger over the photo with the ranch buildings before looking up. “I certainly hope so,” she said and Shae felt a swell of optimism. “But there are issues. That’s why I need to make certain you know exactly what’s going on, so that you can tell me whether or not you want to continue.”
“I signed a contract.”
“And I’ll release you. If you want, that is.”
“Does Jordan own the property?” Shae asked.
“He does.” Miranda met her gaze square on, a touch of challenge in her pale green eyes. “Hank held the land in common tenancy with Jordan, who inherited Hank’s part of the tenancy, meaning the actual land, upon his death. However—” Shae found herself holding her breath, sensing this was a big however “—I inherited Hank’s lease on the property, which allows me to conduct business operations. The guest ranch is a business operation and I plan to proceed with the proposal.”
“Does Jordan know this?”
“He does now.”
“And he’s okay with it?” Which she was going to have one hell of a time believing.
“He doesn’t have much choice.”
Shae exhaled, focusing on the photos. Nothing was ever easy. “Is he leaving, then?”
Miranda slowly shook her head. “Probably not until he understands that I’m serious about developing this property.”
“He can live there.”
“Yes.”
Shae set down the photo, wanting more than anything to reach for her wine and empty the glass.
“Would you like some wine?” she asked, realizing she hadn’t been at the top of her hostess game.
“Please,” Miranda replied, sounding as though she needed it as much as Shae. “Then let’s sit and talk about this...situation.”
“Yes,” Shae said on a drier note than she’d intended as she walked the few feet to the kitchen to pull the chardonnay from the fridge. “Let’s.”
Miranda leveled a candid look at Shae when she returned to the living room. “I know at first glance this situation doesn’t cast me in a positive light, what with Jordan having suffered his accident and all, but trust me—there’s more to this than meets the eye. He would have done this regardless. It isn’t like he’s here to recuperate.”
“I see,” Shae said as she handed off the glass of wine.
Miranda took a quick sip. “I know what I’m about to say will not go farther than this room.”
“Of course not.”
“If Jordan stays it’s for one reason only—to cause me trouble. It’s always been like that between us.” Miranda gestured with the glass. “There was a reason Hank wanted me to have the rights of operation on all of his property. Even he saw that Jordan’s hatred of me was way out of proportion. We thought he’d outgrow it, but he never did.
“The years while he was home were hell on Hank.” Miranda bit her lip, studying her glass. “More painful than you can imagine. Finally they had it out and Jordan made it very clear when he left this ranch that he was never coming back. Now he’s returned and it’s not because he wants to live at the High Camp. This is the only way he has now to get back at me for what he perceives as the many wrongs I did him.” Miranda let out a small huff of air. “He thinks I stole his father from him. If I walk away now, who knows what his next step will be? He won’t leave me alone. I promise you that. He never has.”
Shae didn’t know what to
say. What did one say when her boss poured out family secrets? Nothing.
Miranda gave her head a disgusted shake. “I wish I hadn’t backed down so many times in the past. Let him have his way in the name of peace. Because it was never enough. It only encouraged him to push harder. Maybe this time, when he sees that I’m not backing down, he’ll move on.”
“So...he’s going to be there and we’re going to work around him.” It sounded as if she definitely had a job—if she was willing to become embroiled in a family drama.
“Essentially, yes.”
Shae felt compelled to say, “I don’t think he’s going to cooperate.”
“Then there will be consequences.”
This wasn’t what Shae had signed on for. Not even close.
“Shae.” She looked up to see Miranda studying her intently. “If you see this through, I’ll make it worth your while.”
“How?”
“First of all, let’s address what I want. I want a satisfactory proposal for a unique guest property that I can have up and running by early summer next year. The emphasis is on unique. Something my other two ranches don’t offer. I want to use the existing structures—the cabins, the bunkhouse, the bathhouse.”
A reiteration of what they’d agreed upon less than a week ago, so Shae simply nodded.
“It’s more important than ever that this proposal be viable.” There was a steely note in Miranda’s voice, very much like the one in Jordan’s earlier that day when he’d asked if Miranda was at the ranch.
“I understand,” Shae said. Miranda’s initial I’ll-see-what-you-can-do-before-I-commit attitude had changed radically now that Jordan had become involved.
“Jordan must know that I’m not backing down. I will use the High Camp as I see fit. Hank wanted me to have the rights and I’ll exercise them.”
Shae’s stomach was starting to knot at Miranda’s adamancy, but if anyone could go face-to-face with Jordan, it was her. She’d already done it once and survived.
“If he can live with the changes, he can stay. I don’t care,” Miranda said matter-of-factly.
But it was pretty obvious she did care, and after hearing what she had to say, and seeing Jordan’s reaction to her, Shae understood. Jordan’s hatred had been palpable and it had to be unnerving for Miranda to have him nearby.
“Do I need to be concerned about being at the High Camp alone with him?” Shae asked.
“Not after I get done. I plan on meeting with my stepson. Straightening out a few legal issues. After that, you’ll be fine. Now...let’s talk compensation.”
“Yes,” Shae said, meeting Miranda’s gaze full-on, figuring if she didn’t go for the brass ring now, she might never get another chance. “If I see this through successfully and Jordan...comes to accept the situation...I’d like my old job back.”
“That can be done.”
“And I’d like to have a contract of employment instead of working at will.”
Miranda tilted her head, a small smile forming on her thin lips as she studied Shae. “That’s a possibility, as long as everything at the High Camp works out in a satisfactory manner.”
“You want Jordan gone,” Shae said, finally addressing the elephant in the room.
Miranda smiled, setting down her still half-full glass and standing. “If you can do that, you can have a job for life. However, I will not put that burden on you. All I want is a viable proposal in which Jordan’s occupancy of the ranch does not interfere.”
“You’ll get that.”
At the door, Miranda hesitated before reaching for the knob, then turned back to Shae. “I’m going to set up a meeting with my attorney and Jordan, just to make certain he understands the parameters of the agreement. I’d like you to be present.”
“Of course. Just let me know when.”
“I’ll call you as soon I know.”
The call came less than a half hour after Miranda had left. There was no cell service at the High Camp, so the only sure way to contact Jordan was to physically meet with him, which was exactly what Miranda proposed. Tomorrow Shae was to meet Miranda and her attorney at the windfall and they would walk in from there. Not exactly the customary way to do business, but if it got Shae on the property and working, she was good with the strategy.
She went to bed immediately after the call, but couldn’t sleep. Oddly, it wasn’t thoughts of Jordan that kept her awake—it was wondering what was going to happen if she couldn’t work around him. How was she going to get another job in her field? After her fruitless job search, she was certain that Miranda had already let it be known among her colleagues that Shae had failed her. What would happen if she failed twice?
Not an option.
So it was with an air of grim determination that Shae drove the Audi up the rough road early the next morning and parked behind a shiny new Ford truck with a Cedar Creek Ranch emblem on the front doors that was, in turn, parked behind the Subaru nosed up against the tree. Miranda and her attorney got out of the truck as Shae turned off the ignition.
“I’ll have someone from the ranch take care of this,” Miranda said, gesturing at the tree. “In the meantime, let me fill you in on a few things as we walk. If all goes well, you’ll start work today.”
Shae slung her backpack onto one shoulder and gave Miranda a confident smile. “I’m ready.” Jordan Bryan was not going to stop her from getting her job back.
Miranda gave a soft sniff. “So am I.”
* * *
THE FACT THAT there was no cellular service at the ranch had never been more satisfying than when Jordan saw Miranda and Shae hiking up the road with some guy he didn’t know. If only she could have called and saved herself the trip...
Jordan had walked out of the house when Clyde alerted him to the visitors. Running his hand over his jaw, Jordan debated strategy before descending the steps to meet them. He knew he looked scruffy and unkempt. The electricity had yet to be turned on and he’d been unable to shower. Later in the day he planned to take a dip in the ponds a quarter mile or so from the house, clean up. He’d never dreamed he’d have visitors of such import before then.
“Jordan,” Miranda said, stopping several feet away from him as if afraid that he might suddenly lunge for her throat.
There’d been times that had seemed like a viable course of action—like yesterday. But not now. Not even if Mr. Beaver Hat hadn’t been there by her side, looking stern and official and as if he was about to take Jordan into a hammerlock if he made a wrong move. And Shae...Shae stood a few feet away from Miranda, looking poised and confident, ready to march in and do whatever Miranda ordered. She met his gaze, lifted her chin slightly as if challenging him...or waiting for him to challenge her.
“Miranda,” he said, swinging his attention back to his equally poised ex-stepmother.
“Jordan. This is Noel McCord. My attorney.”
Jordan crossed his arms, watched the guy’s expression shift as he caught sight of Jordan’s left hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said without offering his hand. “Out for a hike?”
Miranda smirked at him. “We’re here to make certain you understand the legalities of the situation here at High Camp before Shae starts work.”
“You made them clear yesterday. I don’t interfere with your operations and you don’t interfere with my occupancy.” He sneered right back at her, even though it cost him. He’d slept last night, despite not having the pills, but he was still exhausted. Freaking stress.
“So you understand,” Beaver Hat said in a deep voice, “Miranda has full rights to all structures—”
“Except the house.”
“Except the house. Equipment and tool sheds...” Jordan swallowed his impatience and let the lawyer drone on. When the guy had finally finished reciting the contract he must have memorized, Jordan pushed b
ack his hat.
“Understood,” he said.
Miranda blinked at him and then he shifted his attention to Shae, who was frowning slightly. No one, apparently, had expected him to be agreeable. He didn’t want to be, but it had occurred to him early this morning that he needed to pick his battles. He couldn’t come up with a way to keep Shae off the property, but he was hoping against hope that, given time, Emery might be able to find him some kind of loophole that would limit Miranda’s activities to farming. The problem was that stupid recreational clause Hank had put in so that his buddies could continue to hunt from the property, regardless of who owned it.
“Questions? Comments?” the lawyer asked.
Jordan shook his head.
“It would be much easier if we come to a working agreement now,” the lawyer said. “So if anything at all occurs to you—”
“Shae and I will work things out if I come up with questions.” He nodded at Shae, who narrowed her eyes at him.
“You’ll work it out with me,” Miranda said.
Jordan hooked his thumb in his belt loop, said nothing.
The lawyer inclined his head slightly. “If you want to travel the hard road—”
Jordan turned the scarred part of his face toward the man. “I’m no stranger to the hard road. Now, if you two are done, I have some unpacking to do.”
“You will cooperate, then, with Shae?” Miranda asked, as if determined to get in the last word.
Jordan walked away without replying, heading for the house, where Clyde’s little nose was pressed against the inside of one of the windows. The poodle greeted him joyously as he walked into the house and shut the door behind him, so damned pissed he could barely see straight.
He pushed the ragged muslin curtain aside and watched as Miranda, Shae and the lawyer had a brief meeting. They glanced at the house a couple times. The lawyer waved his hands, Miranda scowled and Shae looked impatient.
Jordan turned away from the window, rubbing his hands over his face.
It was killing him that he didn’t know how to play this. Emery had to come up with something. There was no way he was going to get better if he had to deal with Miranda, but what choice did he have? He couldn’t afford to walk away and there was no way he was going to sell the one thing he had left from his father.