Cowboy Undone

by Mary Leo

  “Something like that, yes,” Avery said after she’d taken a sip of her own richly flavored tea. It was hot and strong, exactly the way Avery liked it.

  For some inexplicable reason, Avery hoped that Catherine still had some feelings for Chuck, and if she did, Avery thought she might be able to play on those emotions and get her to talk to Reese about the offer. All Avery wanted was for Reese to read the documents. If he would take that first step, he might take another . . . and another . . . and eventually the two men would come to terms.

  “I haven’t been able to get the men in this house to do anything they don’t want to do since my husband carried me over the threshold,” Catherine said, as she added a dish of assorted cookies to the table that looked homemade. Then, she finally sat down again. “I can get them to do personal things for me, but when it comes to anything else, especially if they think it might somehow hurt the ranch, they don’t want any part of it.”

  It was the first time Avery had a chance to really study Catherine, a slender woman, with a round face and very few lines. She wore a small amount of makeup, mascara, some blush on her cheeks and a pale pink lipstick. Her salt and pepper hair was cut in an easily manageable bob that dusted her shoulders. Avery suspected that the waves in her hair were natural. She didn’t seem like the type of woman who would take the time to use a curling iron or extra hair products of any sort.

  The one thing that stood out about her was her strong chin, as if once she made up her mind, she wasn’t about to change it, no matter what came her way.

  That thought scared Avery. She knew she’d have to choose her words wisely from here on out or Catherine might turn into an enemy instead of an ally, which Avery was praying for.

  “Then maybe we need to make this about you, instead of about Reese,” Avery told her while trying to sound sincere . . . which she was.

  She sipped her luscious tea, and enjoyed the flavor on her tongue as she waited for Catherine to respond.

  “But this is all about Reese and Chuck,” Catherine finally said. “It has very little to do with me.”

  “I think it has everything to do with you.” Avery carefully placed her cup back down on the saucer, then looked over at Catherine. “For one thing, the partnership will benefit the entire Cooper family. Reese will have the most to gain, that’s certain, but as soon as the Cooper ranch is folded into the Circle Starr Enterprises, all your debts will be paid in full, which will free you and your family from your current financial responsibilities. Plus, with your generous shares of stock in Chuck’s company, you could upgrade your kitchen, which, if you’re anything like me, you’ve been thinking about for quite some time. I love a beautifully appointed kitchen, with a great stove and double ovens and all the right appliances to make my life easier. When I’m at home in Phoenix, I like to entertain on occasion, and being able to work in a great kitchen is the best thing ever.”

  Avery may have embellished that last statement, she rarely entertained, but she needed to get Catherine on her side.

  At once Catherine’s forehead furrowed, and her jaw clenched as if what Avery had just said offended her in some way. Avery hadn’t meant to offend her. She’d only wanted to sweeten the pot, look at this thing from a different angle.

  “This kitchen has served me well for . . . ” She paused as she topped off both their cups of tea. Then she poured a little more milk into her cup and took several sips. “Truth?” she finally said. “I’d kill for a new kitchen.”

  Avery felt the grin surge up from her toes. “Then you’ve got to urge Reese to read over these documents.”

  “I think what’s holding him back is the fact that Chuck wants the last of the Cooper ranch. Reese will do anything in order to keep this ranch under our family name. I think he’d sell his soul to the devil in order to keep it out of Chuck’s hands.”

  “Okay, then I’ll have to get Chuck to renegotiate that aspect of the partnership. I think Chuck was just trying to take the burden of the bills off of Reese’s back. There has to be something they can work out.”

  Catherine sipped her tea, holding the saucer in one hand and the cup in the other. “You don’t know what’s been going on around here, do you?”

  “I know Chuck’s version. Why don’t you tell me yours?”

  She carefully placed the cup and saucer down on the table, folded her arms on the table and leaned into them.

  “Where did he start?” Catherine asked.

  “When the two of you were dating.”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “He told me that everything he did, all the money he’d ever made was all for you and Reese Jr. He wants nothing more than for you and Reese to share in his good fortune. He also confessed that he still loves you, and you told him at the time that you’d seen him in a dream. That he was your soul mate. Did you use those words? Was he your soul mate?”

  Avery didn’t know if Reese Jr. and Catherine ever discussed their dreams, but from the look of shock now in Catherine’s eyes, Avery decided the topic probably never came up.

  Catherine’s face paled. “That was simply some ramblings of a silly young woman who didn’t know the first thing about soul mates or any kind of mate, for that matter.” Tears flooded Catherine’s eyes. “My husband was a kind and decent man who was good to me and to my parents. He treated me with nothing but respect and love. I miss him so much I ache.” She stood, just as a bell went off, making it seem as if their entire visit had been timed. “I think you should leave now.”

  Avery felt a rush of adrenaline pulse through her body. It was as though that bell had triggered something negative inside Catherine.

  She pushed out her chair and stood. Suddenly everything changed. The tension in the room went up several notches and Avery knew she’d somehow stepped right into it. She hoped she could salvage the moment. “I’m sorry if I said anything to offend you. I certainly didn’t mean to.”

  Catherine opened the oven and a rush of heat escaped. She grabbed a kitchen towel and pulled out two loaves of bread cradled inside metal pans. She slammed each one down on the counter, then slid three more loves inside the oven and slammed the door shut. She turned back to Avery, grabbed the folder off the table and held it out to her.

  “Take this back to Chuck and tell him he can go to the devil. He will never have the Cooper ranch. Not as long as I’m still breathing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. I’m sure you know your way out.”

  Then she walked out of the kitchen, and out of sight.

  Avery shoved the folder into her purse then slung it over her shoulder, and headed for the back door thinking that despite what Catherine had just told her about her husband, she had never once said that she loved Reese Sr.

  As she ambled out the front door, Avery realized that after all this time and after everything that had happened, Catherine Cooper may very well still love Chuck Starr just as much as he loved her.

  That thought gave Avery another idea, and she immediately turned back around, pulled the folder out of her purse, and left it right there on the kitchen table, next to the pretty blue tea set and the arrangement of sympathy flowers.

  REESE COULD HARDLY believe his eyes when he caught Avery coming out of his front door. He couldn’t imagine why she hadn’t called him to let him know she was stopping by. When he called out to her, she kept walking towards her car, as if she hadn’t heard him, then she got in, turned over the engine and drove away.

  He started to call her on his phone, but then stopped when he realized that his mom had probably been inside the house, alone. This was her day for baking bread for the week, something she’d been doing ever since Reese could remember. She’d start early in the morning, and didn’t quit until dinnertime.

  He and everyone else in the family were grateful that she was home again, mainly because even though they were all well past living under one roof and should know how to feed themselves, none of them could seem to manage anything domestic without her. She was their
rock, and now that their dad was gone, they depended on her . . . probably too much.

  Chase had already hinted about his desire to move into town, and Shiloh had decided to completely move into the outbuilding where she did all her art. That outbuilding had once been the original Cooper home, where Reese had been born, so all the place needed was a hefty upgrade. Shiloh had already begun by having all new appliances installed. She was on her way to a nice little place of her own . . . at least for as long as Reese could hang onto the ranch.

  Draven, Hunter and Reese weren’t quite ready to be kicked out of the nest. Besides, that nest wasn’t ready for them to leave. Reese knew that if something didn’t change soon, their days were numbered, but the thought of folding the Cooper ranch into Circle Starr Enterprises sickened him.

  Curious as to what had gone on between Avery and his mom, Reese pulled off his work gloves, shoved them into his back pocket, and headed up to the house. He’d been cleaning stalls all morning and his growling empty stomach reflected his sour mood.

  Avery had been on his mind all night and all day. He hadn’t been able to shake her no matter how hard he tried, and seeing her again only brought back memories of their day together in her room.

  Just the thought of her kiss, or her arms wrapped around him or her body under his, sent chills down his spine. The woman had a spell on him like no other, and he could no more walk away from her than he could walk away from his own life. She’d gotten hold of him and now he felt helplessly drawn to her. He hadn’t been able to think of anything else and twice had to stop and tell himself to focus on the task at hand or he would surely hurt himself or one of the horses from sheer carelessness.

  Still, he tried to convince himself that it could never work between them. She was solidly in Chuck Starr’s camp, and no matter what Reese said, he couldn’t seem to lure her out of it.

  He couldn’t give up the Cooper ranch, even if it meant he had to give up Avery, the woman he was falling in love with. He and Chuck were on an endless collision course and short of one of them dying, there wasn’t much he could do to change it.

  That was how his dad had raised him.

  All or nothing.

  Play to win or go home.

  Reese certainly wasn’t about to change his beliefs simply because he’d made love to the girl from his dreams . . . the exact girl from his dreams . . . who was even more beautiful and smart and downright audacious than he could have ever imagined.

  If only his dad had taken better care of himself, none of this would be happening.

  But his dad had been a stubborn man, and Reese knew that trait had been indelibly imprinted on him and it would take one hell of a lot to change his character now.

  Although, if anyone could . . .

  As he swung open the back door, the house radiated the scent of baking bread and brought back a vivid memory of him and his dad snitching a warm loaf along with a stick of butter. They’d snuck off to the back porch and gobbled it down during a summer rain that pounded on the roof and made everything smell clean and fresh. He couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old and regularly got under his dad’s feet, but not that day. He and his dad must have sat there for a good thirty minutes, sharing that loaf and laughing about their heist. It was one of Reese’s clearest memories of his dad, and especially how happy he’d been for that brief moment when the burden of the ranch wasn’t weighing him down. Before permanent worry lines had marred his dad’s forehead or years of heavy ranch work had stooped his shoulders, and while Reese still believed the man on the porch would never lie to him.

  “The first batch of bread will be ready to eat in about ten minutes if you want to snitch a slice before lunch,” his mom said, a gentle smile crinkling her lips.

  “No thanks,” Reese told her in a gruff voice. He still couldn’t get past the deception.

  She looked crestfallen at his reply, and he knew he had to get past all of this if they were ever going to have a good relationship again. He didn’t want to argue anymore. What was done was done. No going back to change it now.

  “Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. I just have to heat it up. I made beef stew. I don’t know what you, Shiloh, and your brothers have been living on. The fridge was nearly empty. I spent almost two hours yesterday at the grocery store trying to restock the house.”

  “We essentially lived on burgers and chips or starved. We need you here, Mom. I need you here.” Then he gave her a tight hug and she slipped her hand up to the back of his neck like she always did whenever they hugged. “Let’s talk, Mom, before everyone else comes inside. We need to come to terms.”

  She nodded as they stepped apart. “I’m glad you’re finally willing to talk, son. I know it’s been hard for you, Reese, harder than I thought it would be.”

  Reese couldn’t seem to help himself. Resentment immediately flared despite his best efforts. “What, losing Dad or learning the truth? ’Cause they were both a kick in the gut.”

  He tried to get control over his emotions, but lately despite his strongest efforts, it seemed that everything set him off. He removed his hat, hung it on the hook near the back door, washed his hands in the sink, dried them on paper towels, then took his regular seat at the table, the seat next to his dad’s now empty chair. His mom busied herself setting the table with the usual mismatched dinnerware and silverware. It was the first time he actually noticed what was all around him. Maybe because Avery had just left, he now looked at his surroundings through her eyes or because he was comparing everything to Chuck’s elaborate estate.

  Whatever the reason, he knew absolutely that love lived in this house, but maybe it was time he combined that love with a little financial security.

  “We should have told you the truth years ago, but I guess we were selfish, and never really wanted you to know. Whenever we considered telling you about Chuck, we’d decide the timing wasn’t right and we’d put it off again. Finally, sometime around your early teens, we’d put it off so often that the subject never came up again and I’m sorry about that, son. I suppose we didn’t want to take the chance of losing you to Chuck Starr and the lure of his money. I think your dad became so frightened that he made Chuck out to be a worse man than he really is. I even bought into the notion that Chuck’s money would pull you away from us, so I made Chuck into a horrible man as well.

  “Truth is, Chuck isn’t a monster. He’s just a man. I’m sure he’s both good and bad, but your dad and I made him into the devil himself. Yesterday, during that meeting, and then afterwards when you left, I saw the man I had fallen in love with all those years ago. He was generous with his offer to you, to me, and to our family. Mostly he’d been nervous about every word that he spoke to you.

  “Avery was right to come see me today. Even though initially I didn’t react well to what she had to say. Still, after she left, she caused me to really think about everything and finally accept the truth. Maybe it’s time we all changed our attitude about Chuck Starr.” Her face took on a calm look to it. As if she’d given what she was about to say some real thought. “I’d like you to really consider his offer, son. You two might have to negotiate some things, but that’s all part of business. Take your time and read over everything he’s offering. I think you need to start thinking of him not as your father’s enemy, but as the man who had to stand on the sidelines while another man raised his only son.”

  Then she handed Reese the blue folder that contained the partnership agreement and this time, without any hesitation, Reese took it.

  TWELVE

  It had been three long days since Avery last spoke to Catherine and almost four days since she’d seen or spoken to Reese. Four days of silence on his part, and four days of her wanting to call him or drive over to his ranch to see him. She even rode over there on her favorite horse a couple of times, but he’d never been around.

  In the meantime she, Chuck, and his lawyer had come up with a compromise of sorts with the Cooper land that gave Reese more say with
his ranch, and kept the Cooper brand. It probably still wasn’t exactly what Reese wanted, but she hoped he would accept it anyway. Chuck’s legal team had delivered the new agreement that afternoon, and Avery was just going in to get it from Chuck’s desk in his office. She wanted to double-check the changes before she officially contacted Reese.

  She hoped he would be more amenable, and maybe there could be an actual dialogue between Reese and Chuck this time. But that was probably wishful thinking on her part.

  It was still relatively early, about six-thirty in the evening, and a storm was brewing outside. The entire day had been cold and damp and Avery, wearing white cotton pajamas under a white bulky robe that she’d found hanging in her bedroom closet, stepped into Chuck’s office and turned on a light.

  Her hair had been clipped up, her face was completely divested of all makeup, and floppy big pink slippers were on her feet. She planned on picking up the docs, then swinging by the kitchen to make a cup of hot herbal tea, and grab a light dinner out of the fridge, spend the rest of the night in her room, and hopefully fall asleep before the impending storm rattled the heavens.

  She hoped to run into Chuck, thinking because of the rain he might have come home early and could be in his office sipping on a brandy, something she’d seen him do on rainy days. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there.

  She went around the desk, picked up the new agreement, and turned to leave when she spotted something on the floor poking out from under the small rug next to file drawers along the wall. Her initial instinct was to let it be, but then she thought that maybe it was something important and Chuck may have been looking for whatever was hidden under the rug.

  As soon as she plucked it from the floor and turned it over, she realized it was a black and white headshot of a very distraught looking woman. Avery went to place the disturbing photo on Chuck’s desk, but something made her take a second look.