Cowboy Undone

by Mary Leo

  All his siblings seemed intense and ready to pounce at any moment, and even his mom looked spitting mad. This whole thing with Chuck had them gripped in an anger so extreme Reese knew they were ready to trigger.

  “There’s no way Chuck could have known for sure,” Reese protested. “No way he could have gotten his hands on those independent reports. It had to be sheer speculation on his part. Nothing more.”

  “If you have the kind of money Chuck has, anything is possible,” Hunter added.

  “Hank Starnes, from the County Recorder’s Office, attended Avery’s party today,” Catherine said. “I guess it’s one of the perks of being on Chuck’s payroll. He told me, after a few too many beers, that Avery had picked up mineral reports on our land the day before we met at Chuck’s house for that first meeting. She had to have known something, Reese. It’s impossible that she didn’t.”

  Reese wasn’t buying it. No way could Chuck Starr get his hands on that report. Sure, Avery visited the Recorder’s Office . . . he’d bumped into her there, but that didn’t mean a damn thing. “But how can Chuck get a report on someone else’s land?”

  “Because Dad had started the paperwork to sell our ranch, so he had to reveal everything concerning our land, and that includes any ongoing mineral studies,” Chase countered. “Chuck must have pulled a few strings, called in favors or whatever else someone as powerful as Chuck does to get answers. Who the hell knows how deep his corruption runs in this state, but I guarantee you this . . . he had those results before that meeting with you and mom.”

  “He can buy off anyone he wants in this town or in this state. That’s not a big secret,” Hunter said.

  “Even you,” Chase spit out, directing his insult directly at Reese.

  Reese balled his fists, but still managed to keep cool. He wasn’t about to go down that path again with Chase. “Chuck Starr cannot now or ever buy me off.”

  “Is that so?” Chase growled, standing to face Reese, ready for bear. “Seems to me he’s already bought and paid for you. Or why else did he suddenly import his tempting little red-haired tart to lure you?”

  Reese lunged for his brother, but Draven and Hunter caught him in time, pinning him down where he stood so he couldn’t move, couldn’t knock some sense into his arrogant, know-it-all brother.

  “Stop it, both of you,” their mom said to Chase, putting herself between her two sons. She stood tall and strong, looking like the matriarch of the family that Reese had always admired. She wore jeans, boots, and a light blue Western shirt, an outfit Reese had seen on her a million times before, but somehow, she looked different. Maybe it was simply the determination on her face that made her look so in charge, so in control of a family that was rapidly splitting apart. Obviously, she wasn’t about to let that happen. “This kind of talk won’t get us anywhere. We were supposed to be discussing our next step, not slandering each other. When you calm down, Chase, maybe we can try this again.”

  “This is just beginning,” Chase said, completely ignoring his mother and, instead, focusing in on Reese. “If you sign those papers or give that prick one inch of our land, you can consider our relationship permanently over. Do you understand me?”

  Reese was so mad he didn’t give a fuck what happened to their relationship, and he certainly didn’t take to ultimatums from anyone, especially Chase. He had always been somewhat of an ass, even when they were kids. It was like he’d wanted to be named after their dad, and resented the fact that he hadn’t been. Well now, technically, he certainly could be, and Reese figured that was driving him crazy. He could finally get his wish, but Reese was still in his way and making decisions for the family when it was Chase who wanted to take over that role.

  Problem was, he’d be lousy at it. He no more knew anything about running a ranch than Draven did. If anyone could take over, it would have to be Hunter. He’d make a fine rancher if he ever decided to be serious about it. As it stood now, Hunter was too busy partying with the local women to care about full-time ranching.

  “Chase, son, you don’t mean that,” their mom said, her voice loud and clear. “You’re just angry. You both are. We’ve come together tonight as a family to discuss this new development, not to argue.”

  “I’ll continue to do what I think is best for our family, despite your threats,” Reese told his brother, ignoring what their mom had just said. He shook his brothers off of him and stared Chase down. At one point, before their dad had passed, Reese believed he and Chase had come to a good place in their relationship, had stopped all their bickering and one-upmanship, and could work everything out.

  Apparently, he’d been dead wrong. Chase seemed too bitter to want to work anything out.

  “As far as I’m concerned, you no longer belong in this family,” Chase said. “Your family is with Chuck Starr, your real father. So, if you care anything at all about my dad, you’ll change your name to reflect that.”

  Then he walked towards the door to leave—something he seemed to enjoy doing lately—grabbing their dad’s hat off the hook as he went. Once he had it, he abruptly turned and said to Reese, “As long as you’re living in this house, Dad’s hat doesn’t belong here next to yours.”

  Reese took a step to stop him, but their mom got in his way again just as Chase walked out . . . again . . . only this time, Reese knew that as long as Reese called this ranch home, Chase would never return.

  AVERY DIDN’T KNOW why Chuck was so angry, and why he’d asked her to leave, but she refused to go anywhere until she visited her mom at Bell House. Nothing else mattered.

  “Chuck, let’s talk about this,” Avery said once she rapped on his closed office door. She’d changed out of the BADASS tee and instead wore a loose-fitting long-sleeved gray shirt. She didn’t think BADASS was the appropriate shirt to wear while talking to someone who wanted her gone.

  “Nothing to discuss,” Chuck said from behind the door.

  “I didn’t betray you. I merely went to Bell House to see my mom. Please open the door.”

  She didn’t hear anything for a moment, and was about to rap on the door again, when it opened and a stone-faced Chuck stood on the other side, looking as if he could fight a grizzly bear with his bare hands.

  “You shouldn’t have gone to Bell House. There’s nothing for you there,” he told her while holding onto the doorknob, the door barely open.

  “My mother’s there. I think that’s a lot more than nothing,” Avery told him, not understanding his dismissive attitude.

  “Did they let you in?”

  “No, but you already know that. We need to talk. Please let me in.”

  His temperament suddenly went from bad to worse. Looking into his eyes felt like looking into the eyes of a stranger. Gone was the warmth, replaced with a bitterness she’d never seen in Chuck before.

  “You betrayed me,” he said almost in a whisper.

  “You betrayed me for twenty years.” She said it without thinking, almost as if her subconscious was speaking. As if she had no control of what came out of her mouth.

  “That’s not what happened. Your father and I were protecting you.”

  “From what?”

  “From your mother.”

  His words stung. As if she ever needed protecting from such a loving and kind woman as her mother. She didn’t know what had happened to her mom or what kind of disease or mental illness may have befallen her, but Avery knew for damn sure, protection from her mom had never been something she had needed or wanted.

  “Why?”

  He didn’t answer and, instead, merely stood in her way of entering the room.

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Yes, I most certainly do. Now let me in.”

  She moved in closer, trying to push her way inside. Chuck hesitated for a moment, then opened the door and stepped aside as she walked past him. At once she noticed the latest unsigned partnership agreement sitting on his desk. She’d left them on her desk in her room, yet here they were on Chuck’s
desk, the stark realization washing over her that the bedroom Chuck had provided was most definitely not private.

  She walked over to his desk and held up the paperwork. “Is this what you’re angry about? The fact that I didn’t get Reese to sign?”

  “Yes. You promised me that you would have him sign today. Now it doesn’t look as if that’s ever going to happen. Catherine phoned and said she won’t ever be signing anything I put in front of her. She was all for this merger in the beginning, but something changed her mind. Was it you?”

  “I have no idea. I’m sorry, but I’ve had some personal things to deal with. Nothing else matters now that I know my mom is alive. Do you even know how this is affecting me? Can you take a moment to imagine what I’m going through?”

  “Fine, and I sympathize, but your issues are your own and they have nothing to do with your promise to me . . . your failure to keep your promise to me.”

  She could barely believe his cold attitude. Was this really the Chuck she’d loved for all these years? That was the problem. She had believed a lie. For twenty years Chuck had lied to her, gone along with her father. And to think she’d so resolutely defended Chuck to Reese.

  What a fool she’d been. But those days were over.

  “So, in your mind, nothing else matters but Reese and Catherine signing that agreement. Why the hell do you care so much? And why the hurry? You’ve waited over thirty years for Reese to know you’re his father. Why the sudden rush to make him a partner? Are you sick? Are you dying?”

  She stopped and thought for a moment, really thought about what those documents said, what Chuck was offering, and what he wanted from Reese . . . the Cooper land. Everything else in the paperwork had been negotiable, but the land itself had never been negotiable. The latest agreement gave the Coopers a bit more leeway with their land, but Chuck would gain access to all the mineral rights. What did Chuck know that he wasn’t telling her?

  “It’s the land, the Cooper Ranch itself, that’s why you’re in such a hurry. But why? Why is that land so damn important to you that you’d risk our relationship over it?”

  Chuck’s face paled as he took a long pull from his glass of amber liquid. “That’s none of your damn business.”

  “Wait a minute. I hit a nerve, didn’t I? You’re angry not because I didn’t get a signature. Your anger goes deeper than that. There are several other ranches around here that you can buy--hell, you can start buying up Colorado and Wyoming if you simply wanted more land.”

  That was when it hit her like a glistening bolt of lightning . . . the Recorder’s Office. The times she ran errands for Chuck, not really knowing what she was carrying back and forth, not really caring about what was in those envelopes addressed to Chuck. She never even thought of why they simply weren’t mailed to him. And why the hell had Hank Starnes from the Recorder’s Office been there at her party? She didn’t personally know or care about any of those people . . . but Chuck did.

  “Hank Starnes is on your payroll, isn’t he? He works for you, as I’m thinking, do most of the guests who attended my birthday party. They’re all on the Circle Starr payroll, aren’t they? I thought I recognized a few of them, and now I know why. They have influence in the court system, in government and who the hell knows what else. Even I’m part of it simply by staying here. That’s why you’re so angry with me. I didn’t follow orders. Didn’t fall into line. Didn’t do your bidding like everyone else does . . . even my dad. That’s why your name is listed as my mother’s guardian. I couldn’t figure it out before, but you’re paying for her care. That’s why my dad treats you like he does. That’s why my dad can afford the high-end house he lives in, and the expensive cars. He’s not paying for my mom. You are, and now you think you can buy me as well.”

  The mountain of lies and corruption tumbled over her like being caught in a thunderstorm with no shelter in sight.

  “Everyone has a price,” Chuck admitted.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Reese doesn’t have a price, no one in his family does.”

  “He’ll come around. It might be more difficult now, but he’ll come around.”

  “It’s not the Cooper land you want, is it? It’s something under that land. What is it, Chuck? Oil? Gas? Gold? Is it worth your relationship with me . . . with your son?”

  Chuck didn’t flinch. He just sat there sipping his drink as if she wasn’t talking, as if everything she’d just said didn’t matter.

  “He’ll come around,” he repeated. “Everyone will come around. They always do. Money is the big equalizer.”

  “Maybe to most people, but not to me, and not to Reese. And besides, by your attitude, I have a feeling the Cooper family has learned what’s under their land by now, so your little scheme just split into a million little pieces. You’ve lost, Chuck, and even from the grave, Reese Cooper Sr. has won. The Cooper family has won.”

  He stood, putting his drink down, and casually walked over to her. “Not so fast, darlin’.” His voice was low and salty, his emerald eyes glaring, looking as if he’d become possessed by something wicked. He reached out and grabbed her forearm, not with painful force but with a firm touch that said he owned her, that she was his property. “They may have won the battle, but you, my naive little sweetheart, have lost the war. Not only do I hold the keys to any future you may think you have with your law firm, or any law firm for that matter, but without my signature, you will never see your mother. Now tell me, my sweet, what’s your next move? And you better think about your answer very carefully, because I can crush you if you even hint at not getting what I want.”

  Avery could barely hold back the utter contempt that now consumed her. Her stomach tightened and her entire body recoiled from his touch. She wriggled out of his grasp, took a step back from him but stood her ground, refusing to give him any indication she might in the least bit be threatened by his words . . . which she was not. Avery knew she was in a fight for her very soul, and she was not about to give in. She’d grown up around Chuck Starr. He’d taught her to be tough, to be brave. Perhaps he’d forgotten that she had been his pupil.

  “You may be able to intimidate a lot of people with your bravado and your money, but you will never get me to capitulate to your threats. I know the law, Chuck. I know what you can and can’t do. You won’t get away with this.”

  “Go ahead and try me. Just remember, I am your mother’s guardian. That means I have total control over her very life, and in turn, over your actions. Don’t push me on this, Avery, and don’t, whatever you do, underestimate me. I will get what I want. I always do.”

  Avery backed away even further, unable to stand in his presence any longer. The sheer hate on his face only made her resolve to bring him down stronger.

  As Avery exited the room and headed for her bedroom down the hall, she realized that it wasn’t the bungee jump that had changed her life, nor was it learning that her mom was imprisoned at Bell House. It was the realization that Chuck Starr was a monster, and she and her family had fallen into his hell.

  Problem was, for all her bravado, all her resolve, she didn’t know exactly how to find her way out of his fire. Chuck had forced her into a corner, and it seemed as if her only way out was to get Reese to sign on the dotted line . . . something she now knew she would never let happen.

  SEVENTEEN

  Avery never actually slept. Sleep only happened to children and people who could push everything bad out of their heads. Since Avery was no longer a child and the bad had more or less consumed her, now sleep completely eluded her. The good thing was she replaced sleep with shrewd research, precise planning, and an entirely new mindset.

  It amazed her how the universe handed over the exact information she needed as soon as she decided to step into her big girl shoes.

  Since she wasn’t going to join her dad and Chuck in their obvious cover-up and swindle, she needed to figure out how to beat them at their own game. Why she’d never done a basic search on her mother’s records still
mystified her. It was as if she’d been living in an acceptance fog for her entire adult life. Whatever lies her dad had dictated about her mom, she’d accepted as truth. Whatever stories Chuck had weaved, she’d mindlessly believed.

  She’d done some basic research during the night using her laptop and a powerful search program from her law office. Apparently, they’d already reinstated her employment status, so once again she had access to all the firm’s tools.

  Avery learned that once her mom had been admitted to Bell House, her dad went ahead and developed her mom’s substantial estate. Pamela had inherited the estate from her parents, Tess and Gary Harding, when they’d died in a boating accident the previous year. Avery’s dad soon began leasing parcels of that land to Chuck, which, as it turned out, her dad had no right to do without her mom’s consent. According to all the documents Avery could locate, that consent never happened, and couldn’t happen until Avery’s thirtieth birthday. Any sale or lease of the land could only take place if both Pamela and Avery agreed. Otherwise, the majority of the land, including the parcel that contained Chuck’s main ranch house, remained in a trust for Avery. There had been a clause in the original will that kept all of her mom’s inheritance solely under her mom’s name. No part of it could ever be granted to her husband without both Pamela’s written consent, and Avery’s, once she turned thirty years old.

  What had already transpired between her dad and Chuck Starr had been shady to downright illegal, and bright and early the next morning Avery received copies of the documentation to prove it, thanks to a mortgage broker she’d become friends with during one of her more complicated divorce cases.

  She’d studied the settlement papers her dad had wanted her to mindlessly sign, which would give him full ownership of her mom’s land. Somehow, he’d gotten her mom to sign the documents. Avery knew that any honorable judge would have ruled in Avery’s favor even if she had signed the documents and then contested them.