by Mary Leo
“Can’t get enough of me?” Reese asked as she climbed the stairs and approached the top row. “Or are you here to deliver another letter from Chuck Starr?”
She thought that perhaps his sarcasm would have lightened up after the kiss they shared, but apparently it had had no impact whatsoever.
“I’m here to check out the auction. Haven’t been to one since I was a kid.”
“You don’t have anything better to do with your day?”
Reese wore the demeanor of a hard-working cowboy well, despite his unfriendly greeting. His deep-gray T-shirt that stretched across an obviously cut chest looked especially dusty on his shoulders, and his jeans, while low cut and sexy, were frayed along the bottom hem, one of the knees and both pockets. Plus, they were about as sandy as the road she’d just driven up on.
“Can you give up the hostility for a few minutes and introduce me to your friend here?”
Reese settled his sweat-stained light-gray hat on his head, gazed down at the floor, then back up again. He blew off some steam, and stuck a thumb around the front of his belt loop, the large gold buckle dominant on his flat abdomen.
“You’ll have to excuse my brother. He never did have any manners when it came to pretty women.” The good-looking cowboy standing alongside Reese grinned and stuck out his hand. “I’m Hunter, Reese’s polite younger brother.”
“And what about the others? As rude as Reese?” Avery teased, not giving her comment much thought, but liking this younger, polite version of Reese. The resemblance lived more in attitude rather than actual appearance. Hunter had golden brown eyes, a strong chin, and higher cheekbones. Blond streaks ran through his light-brown hair, and he stood at least two inches shorter than Reese.
“You’re assuming there are others,” Reese said. “Maybe Hunter and I are the only siblings.”
“I spoke with your sister, Shiloh, on the phone last night, so I know you also have a sister.”
“You spoke to my sister? What about?” A scowl formed on Reese’s face, as if Avery had done something wrong.
“That meeting between you and Chuck Starr. We set it up for next Monday.”
Avery looked away to give Reese a moment to think. The barn was beginning to fill up with mostly cowboys, who wore baseball hats. Only a few men and women wore actual cowboy hats. Avery understood the change of headgear, but that didn’t mean she liked it. She missed looking out at a sea of cowboy hats at any given event. This new breed of cowboy didn’t even own a good traditional hat, and if they did, it was more for fun rather than for actual work.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with these two Cooper brothers, or with Chuck Starr. He seemed to own a different colored hat for every outfit he wore, though none of them had that stained ring of sweat that screamed working cowboy. Unfortunately, Chuck had turned into a businessman. His cowboying days were relegated to his distant past.
“Now that’s a meeting I’d like to attend,” Hunter said.
“Then you go in my place,” Reese told him. “I’m not the least bit interested.”
Even though Shiloh had promised to get Reese there, Avery thought that maybe he needed another pull.
“Your mom will be there.” Avery’s attorney instincts kicked up a notch as the fib came out of her mouth. Still, she had a strong feeling if she indeed invited Reese’s mom, she’d come, she was sure, and she would most certainly bring Reese.
“Why? She has nothing to do with this,” Reese bitterly countered. Avery recognized the hostility he seemed to be harboring for his mom, and she couldn’t blame him. This kind of blow, coming from his mom had to destroy all his trust. And this cowboy, she’d already sensed, was all about honesty and trust.
“Au contraire, big brother,” Hunter teased with a gleam in his eyes. “I think she has everything to do with it.”
“Is that supposed to be funny?” Reese accused, turning to Hunter, deadpan. “’Cause I’m not laughing.”
“Lighten up,” Hunter said. “So Chuck Starr wants to meet with you. Can you blame him?”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Seems to me, you don’t really have a choice,” Hunter said. “Sooner or later, you and Chuck need to sort this thing out. It doesn’t serve any of us if you keep up this family feud now that we all know the truth.”
“You know Hunter’s right,” Avery said. “I’ll be there as well.”
She hadn’t actually planned on attending. However, she not only wanted to be there, but her presence was a necessity. There was no telling what Reese might say or do if she wasn’t there arbitrating. She had several roles to play, and things were getting complicated, fast.
“As his lawyer?”
“As your friend,” she told him, genuinely meaning it. Reese needed not only his family right now, but he also needed a friend to stand with him if he wanted it. She hoped she could fill that role for him.
“And what did you say your name was?” Hunter asked. “And why haven’t I met you before? Are you new in town?”
“I’m staying over at the Circle Starr ranch for a few months until I . . . um, I’m just taking a little time off from the law firm where I work in Phoenix. Actually, Chuck and my family go way back. He’s like another dad to me.”
“Are you sure he’s not your actual dad? Seems like that’s going around right now.”
Avery stuck out a hip. “And that would make us siblings, now wouldn’t it? Might want to rethink that kiss you landed on me last night.”
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Whoa, this is getting interesting, but then you always were the charming one of the family.”
“It’s not like that,” Reese told him.
“Then how is it?” Hunter quipped.
“None of your business, that’s how,” Reese told him, then turned back to Avery. “Seems to me you didn’t push me away. So maybe you’re not my half-sister after all.”
“Not that I know of, no,” Avery said. “My parents didn’t meet Chuck until I was nine years old.”
“I’ve learned that you can never be too careful when it comes to Chuck Starr on any level.”
“I’ll keep that in mind when I attend the meeting with you and your mom next week.” Avery wanted to make it perfectly clear that she intended to be there, and intended to do everything in her power to make sure Reese attended as well.
“Good, because I wouldn’t want to go if I thought you could be taken in by Chuck’s sweet talkin’ deception.”
“Believe me, there isn’t a man alive that has that kind of power over me,” Avery said, looking him squarely in those emerald eyes of his.
Hunter gave a lingering whistle, then smirked.
Reese stiffened at the suggestion. “We’ll just have to see about that.”
“We most certainly will,” Avery said just as the first cow came running out of the open side gate that led into the viewing area, bumping its head on a side gate, then spinning back around looking for an exit, but finding none. He paced inside the arena as the bidding began, and Avery chalked up her first win with Reese Jr.
THE GOOD THING about the auction was that Cooper Ranch made almost ten thousand dollars from selling off some of their feeder calves. Normally, Reese would never consider selling off these calves before they finished, but the ranch needed money and he knew they would bring in top dollar.
Now that his dad was gone, he finally came to realize he would need to make most of the decisions on his own. His mom was too frail at the moment, and, besides, they weren’t really talking much. She’d tried, but he wasn’t ready . . . he still hadn’t really forgiven her for keeping the truth from him and the resentment that burned inside was too fresh. His sister was no help. Hell, she wasn’t even close to being a part of everyday ranch life and hadn’t been for a while. She had all but given up ranching for her budding jewelry business, which seemed to be growing by leaps and bounds lately, and, truthfully, there was a part of him that envied her personal drive—at least when it had to do with her art
.
And his brothers ranched more for sport than for a life’s calling. Not one of them took it as seriously as he always had. They worked the ranch when they had to, sure, but for the most part, anything that even remotely distracted them, well, they’d make their excuses and Reese would be left on his own. It wasn’t so bad when his dad had been alive, as the two of them had worked it together. But now that he was gone, Reese could see the future, and he suspected his brothers weren’t going to be part of it . . . at least not where the Cooper Ranch was concerned.
And that saddened him to no end.
Reese knew himself well enough that coming to terms with his new identity, the bastard child of his adopted father’s greatest enemy, would take some doing. For the most part, he didn’t have that much time to think about it, what with the ranch sinking as fast as it was. Everything cost more than he thought, and now that he had access to all the books, instead of just the books his dad wanted him to see, he knew exactly how much it cost to run the ranch, and how much they brought in.
Unfortunately, as it stood now, what they put out was far more than what they took in. Another year of this and they’d be dead broke. The land was worth more than the livestock or, for that matter, the people on it. So unless Reese could think up some shrewd way to increase their cash flow, Chuck Starr would soon be getting his wish. He would own Cooper Ranch, lock, stock and every barrel.
Though he might have to actually face selling the ranch to Chuck in order to create a different future for him, his mom and his siblings, he’d be damned if he would ever acknowledge Chuck as his father. He refused to give Chuck that much respect. Nope. He intended to dig in his heels on that part of his new reality. The rest of it . . . well, he’d have to see how that rolled out in the months to come. Selling out to Chuck still sickened him.
“Can I hitch a ride back with you?” Avery asked, breaking into Reese’s thoughts as she sashayed up as he headed out to his truck.
“What, did your fancy car break down?” He’d seen her red Mercedes parked out front of Chuck’s place last night. He knew for a fact that Chuck only drove a Ford and that included a bright yellow Cobra.
“I didn’t bring it. I drove over in one of the ranch trucks and I must have run over something because it has two flat tires. One of Chuck’s ranch hands offered to stay and wait for the tow truck, so I thought I’d hitch a ride with you, if that’s okay.”
Against Reese’s better judgment, he said, “Sure. I think I know the way.”
“Thanks,” she told him, falling into step alongside him. “So, you sold all your cattle. That’s good, right?”
Reese glanced over at her. “How’d you know I was selling and not buying?”
“I looked up today’s list of livestock online this morning and saw your brand.”
“My rig’s right over here,” he pointed and they headed to his beat-up pickup and got in. The cab wasn’t in any better condition than the exterior. The brown leather seats were well worn, the dash had long since been ripped up, and the floor needed sweeping in the worst way. He turned over the ignition, and headed out of the parking area. “Are you in the market for cattle? Going to start your own ranch? Or were you here to buy for Circle Starr?”
“As a matter of fact, I did buy for Circle Starr. I bought your livestock. I didn’t buy it personally, but I instructed one of Chuck’s employees to buy it. I’m not registered as a buyer.”
Reese glanced over at her, then at the empty country road ahead of them, then back at her for another moment. He truly didn’t want to know this, didn’t want to be a charity case for Chuck’s ego. “He bought my calves?”
“Yes, all of them. Paid you top dollar, too.”
She sounded happy about this. As if Chuck had done something great, and she’d been a part of it.
“Do you even know how much I hate this?”
“Why? You were selling and Chuck was buying. Seems to me it worked out perfectly.” He could hear the concern in her voice, as if she didn’t understand his frustration. As if Chuck had done nothing wrong.
He turned to her for a moment, not wanting to believe her Pollyanna attitude. She was an attorney, after all. Didn’t she deal in deception on a daily basis?
“Just how naïve are you?”
“I’m not naïve at all. You’re just stubborn. Chuck wants to help you, and you won’t let him. He knows your ranch is in trouble.”
Obviously, Reese would have to fill her in with some backstory. It sounded as if Chuck had conveniently left out some important details.
“Is that why only days before my father passed, Chuck stopped by our ranch to give us yet another offer on our land, an offer that was more money than it was worth?”
The memory of that day burned inside Reese, those two men holding onto a secret that kept them at each other’s throats for Reese’s entire life. His dad never pinned down why he hated Chuck Starr like he did. He always avoided the question, giving Reese generalities.
Now he knew why, and it was killing him.
“I don’t know anything about that, and besides, that happened before your father passed. Now all Chuck wants to do is help you keep the ranch. Won’t the money from the auction help?”
“Yes, but that’s beside the point.”
“What is the point, Reese? Because, so far, I see a lot of anger coming from you, anger that I think was steeped in a feud between your dad and Chuck. Believe me, Chuck has no animosity towards you or anyone else in your family. He just wants to see you succeed. If you feel anything for me, you’ll believe me when I say that all Chuck wants is for the two of you to be friends. Nothing more. And if he can help out when you need it, that would suit him just fine.”
She made Chuck out to be the martyred father, the guy who never got a break and now all he wanted was to make up for lost time with his only son.
Yeah, right!
“That’s it. He wants to be my friend, my buddy, my pal, and shoot me a few thousand whenever I need it. Lend me the family car on Friday night for a date. Is that what you’re saying?”
She nodded. “In a certain sense, yes. You don’t know him like I do. He’s a good-hearted man underneath all that bluster. I see it every day on the ranch. His employees love him and he, in turn, loves them. Maybe it’s time you set aside all your wasted hostility and accept the fact that Chuck Starr is your biological dad, and as such, he wants to help. Why not let him?”
Reese had to admit, Avery gave a compelling speech. “Do you win all your cases?”
“Most of them, yes.”
“What does that mean? You’ve lost five or six in your career?”
“Two, and both of those were due to the fact that my clients weren’t honest with me and some hateful things came out while they were on the stand that incriminated them.”
The wind from the open windows blew her hair around her face, but she didn’t bother to move it away. It was almost as if she liked the way it felt dancing across her smooth skin. He wondered if it tickled.
“And you think Chuck is being honest with you?” he asked, trying to focus on the conversation and not how beautiful she looked sitting next to him in his beat-up ranch truck.
A warm smile creased her fine lips. “I do.”
He thought about the few times he’d met up with Chuck alone. There weren’t very many, but each time, Chuck had always been generous and kind to him. Was Avery right? Was Chuck Starr a blowhard who hid a gentler personality under all his bluster?
He sincerely doubted it, but he was willing to entertain the idea for a few days, if for no other reason than to appease this beauty he desired more than he’d like to admit.
“Well, Ms. Avery Templeton, lawyer to the opposition, I don’t trust he’s being honest. But for the sake of our friendship or whatever this thing we have going on is, I’m going to concede to your beliefs . . . for now. Not because you’ve in the least changed my mind, but because I’d like to share another wicked cigarette with you and a shot of Jameson, e
ven though neither one of us smoke or drink, and I can’t for the life of me see how that will ever happen if we stay on opposite sides of the fence.” He made the turn onto the Circle Starr land, traveling under the metal archway that bore its brand. “Tell Chuck Starr I’ll attend his meeting, and my brothers and I will deliver his cattle tomorrow, if that’s all right with him.”
“And our wicked vices?”
“Whenever you’re ready, but this time, we’ll be finishing what we started on that front porch.”
He glanced over at her just as a sly little grin lit up her lovely face.
“Then you better be up for it, cowboy, because once we walk down that path, there ain’t no turning back.”
He pulled up in front of Chuck’s ranch house, and stopped. She opened her door and slid out of her seat onto the red earth.
“Is that a promise?”
She turned to face him, a tempting smile creasing her full lips. “Anything else would be a lie, and I don’t dish out lies.”
Reese raised his eyebrows and smirked just as she slammed her door shut and walked away, hips gently swaying in those tight jeans of hers.
Oh yeah, whatever this was between them, would one day burn them down. He was sure of it now.
FIVE
Reese hadn’t really addressed his new identity with all of his siblings yet, and dinner seemed to be the best time to do it. Their dad’s chair, the only chair with arms, remained empty, and their mom’s chair, the one with the red cushion, also sat empty at the round kitchen table. The family dogs, Clint and Duke, sat in their usual spots, Duke in front of Reese Sr.’s chair, and Clint next to Catherine’s. It seemed that neither of the dogs had accepted what was going on yet, and no one in the family was about to try to train them otherwise.
“This doesn’t change anything,” Reese began once everyone had filled his or her plates. Their mom usually cooked, but she’d been skipping family dinners and eating in her room most days, so Shiloh and Draven had taken over kitchen duty.
Everyone could tell they weren’t into it.