Her Renegade Rancher EPB

by Jennifer Ryan

  “There you have it,” Colt said. “Now get out.”

  “We aren’t done here.” Bea turned to Dex and addressed him directly. “Can we force her to sell?”

  Dex shook his head. “No. That is her decision alone, though it goes against everything Wayne wanted.”

  “The man is dead, who cares what he wanted.” Bea’s cold tone made even Simon and Josh wince. A trace of desperation flitted through Bea’s eyes. Why?

  “You’re talking about their father.” Luna waved her hand toward the two men who reminded her so much of Wayne in looks, but not in personality. She caught glimpses of Wayne in Simon sometimes, but those moments were few and far between, lost under the illusion he created that he wanted to be at the ranch. He still hadn’t convinced her. She wasn’t sure he ever could, but she held out hope that he would prove her, and Wayne, wrong.

  “Yes, their father. Not yours. The ranch is their home. It’s their birthright. Not yours. You don’t deserve any of it,” Bea retorted.

  “And you do?” Luna shot back.

  “Wayne wouldn’t have the ranch if it hadn’t been for me letting him use my half of our inheritance from our parents to buy the land.”

  “He left you quite a bit of money. More money than I’m sure you’ve ever seen.”

  “It’s not enough,” Bea shouted, the desperation coming back into her eyes. Just greed? It seemed like something more, something deeper?

  Luna spread her arms wide. “Here is your chance. Tell me why you need more. Make me understand why the half a million you and your husband received and the money that went to your girls isn’t enough.”

  “You don’t deserve it.”

  “Believe me, sometimes I feel the same way, but that is no reason for me to give it to you when Wayne wanted me to have it. So give me a valid reason. One that tells me you deserve it.”

  “You’re not going to give us anything.” The barely restrained rage in Bea’s voice told Luna the woman’s anger clouded her judgment and made it impossible for her to reason. She didn’t see the opportunity in front of her.

  Luna glanced at Dex, who remained passive beside her. He knew Luna had the power to pay out more money, though no one else in the room did.

  “One reason,” Luna prompted, giving Bea another chance to make her case.

  “Because it’s the right thing to do,” Josh spoke up when his aunt remained silent. “You don’t want the ranch. Not really. So sell it and pay us.”

  “Just because you want it doesn’t make it the right thing to do.”

  “So you refuse?” Bea asked.

  “I won’t sell. I’ve told you why. Wayne told you why the survival of the ranch meant so much to him. This is the last time I discuss this subject with any of you. Keep coming after me, I will hold you accountable by every means at my disposal, including having you arrested. It ends now. Stay away from me and the ranch.”

  Colt glared at each and every one of them, backing up her words with the threat of having to deal with him if they did anything to her again.

  Bea snatched her designer bag off the table, the strap swinging out and hitting her husband across the arm. She didn’t even apologize by word or a look to the poor man.

  Simon and Josh followed their aunt and uncle out.

  “Well that was fun,” Colt said, pulling Luna into a hug.

  She held him tight, taking in his strength and comfort. She didn’t like that this meeting had been necessary, but she hoped the Traverses understood now that she wasn’t going to put up with their shit anymore.

  Colt released her and stepped away to introduce himself to Dex. The men exchanged handshakes behind her. She stared out the window as the Traverses stood in the parking lot, talking among themselves. She hoped they weren’t plotting more mischief, or worse.

  “So, let me guess, those missing pages say Luna can pay out more money to the family if she wants. That’s why she asked them to give her a good reason, right?” Colt asked.

  Luna caught Dex’s reflection in the window as he gave a noncommittal shrug.

  Luna turned to face the two gentlemen, not surprised Colt understood her motives for pushing the Traverses. If they’d only see she didn’t intend to keep everything.

  Colt turned to her. “So, are you going to give them more money?”

  “No.” She turned to Dex. “What did you think of all that?”

  “I hope they got the message that any more threats or mischief will come with serious consequences. They’ve gotten away with it so far, but the cops come up with actionable evidence and they’ll have to answer. They’re desperate to get you to sell, but you made your point that they’ve gotten quite a bit of money, so why do they need more?”

  “It’s not about needing more, they just want it,” Colt summed up what the whole mess boiled down to. “So tell me, Dex, is it really possible for Luna to lose the ranch?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Not to me, but it mattered to Wayne. He entrusted the ranch to her. She’s the perfect person to oversee it.”

  “Why?” Dex asked, taking as much of an interest in Colt’s take on things as she did.

  “Because she cares about the ranch, and even those self-centered, greedy Traverses. If they’d given her one good reason for more money, she’d have given it to them. They’re so obsessed with getting everything they can, they don’t see that she’s willing to work with them, not against them. Wayne would have been just as generous and understanding, but like her, he didn’t want to feed their greed.”

  “Wayne entrusted Luna to make sound decisions.”

  “She oversees the ranch. You oversee her, is that it?”

  “It’s my job to remain objective and ensure she upholds the terms of the will.”

  “Especially the terms she’s not allowed to talk about. The family finds out about those, they’ll cause more trouble, maybe even make her forfeit the ranch, is that it?”

  “I’ve said all I can on the matter.” Dex walked to Luna and laid his hand on her shoulder. “You handled that very well.”

  “Thank you for doing this on such short notice.”

  “I’ll see you next week.” Dex left, leaving her standing in the middle of the conference room with Colt.

  “Why are you seeing him next week?”

  “Huh? Oh, we have an appointment every Wednesday.”

  “To discuss ranch business?” Colt eyed her, not acting like himself at all.

  She held up her hands. “What else would we discuss?”

  “Dinner plans?”

  “Why would you say that? He’s my lawyer.”

  “He’d like to be more, judging by the way he looked at you and touched your arm.”

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “Am I?”

  Luna closed the distance between them physically, hoping to do so emotionally as well. “Yes.” She went up on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him softly. “I have a thing for a certain sexy cowboy.”

  “Good, because I’ve got a thing for you. Want to go out to dinner? You still owe me that beer,” he teased, because they’d never actually gone and done that, though they’d shared dozens of meals together.

  “Actually, I need you to do something for me that can’t wait. Will you check on Rocco? Ed says we don’t need to call the vet, but I think that horse is getting worse.”

  “Ed knows what he’s doing.”

  “He takes care of the horses very well. You’ve given him advice for doing things better and turned Ed on to some new innovations for their care and feeding. All I’m saying is that maybe you have a different opinion than him on Rocco. I trust your judgment and want to be sure we’re doing everything we can to keep Rocco healthy. I don’t like that he’s the fourth horse to come up sick since I took over.”

  “Do you think Simon has something to do with it?”

  “I’m not sure. Ed assures me that it’s not unusual for something to spread through a stable. Maybe I’m bei
ng overprotective of them, but with everything else that’s happened, my suspicions are piqued.”

  “You’re doing what you should do. Questioning why the herd is taking ill before it becomes a bigger problem is smart. I’ll check things out. Did you make any changes to the food supply? Go with a different kind of grain or grass? Get it from a different supplier?”

  “We grow a lot of it on the ranch, as you know. Other than that, nothing has changed. Why? Do you think they need something different?”

  “Not necessarily. We do things a bit differently at our place. Nothing you do at Rambling Range would make the horses sick.”

  “If you have suggestions that will improve the overall health of the horses, please, speak up.”

  “I don’t want to step on Ed or Toby’s toes. They run your place. Not me.”

  “I run the ranch. I’m asking for your help and your expertise. The men go about their business and do it well, but they’re stuck in routine and doing what they’ve always done. Things change, and so should the running of the ranch and how we care for the animals and land. I’ve already talked to Artie about trying out some new organic fertilizers and looking into some new irrigation systems.”

  “You did?”

  “I think I’m turning into a farm girl. At least, I understand that business a lot better. It’s easier than the horses and cattle.”

  Colt chuckled. “You probably make more on the farming side of things than the cattle.”

  “That’s a fact. What do you think about bringing Tanner to the ranch and putting him to work with the horses?”

  “I’d start him with the orphaned calves. He’d probably like to baby them.”

  Luna smiled, thinking of her brother with the fuzzy little cows. “You’re right. He’d like that.”

  “You need to get him a dog.”

  “It’s on my list, but first I need to see if he can live and thrive at Rambling Range.”

  “Where are you going to put him?”

  “The little cabin across the way from the stables. Ed said he used to live in it before he and his wife got their own place years ago. I need to clean it out and get it ready to be lived in again, but I think it could work. Why?”

  “No reason. The cabin is perfect if he can live on his own.”

  “You don’t want him in the house with us?” The edge to her voice made one side of Colt’s mouth dip in a half frown.

  “I don’t want you to take on more than you’ve already got on your plate with the ranch. You haven’t even begun to put together the equine therapy program.”

  “I’m sorry. I know you picked out all those horses for us to go look at, and we never got the chance.”

  “Several of them are still available.”

  “You checked?”

  “Yes, because I want to see you have what you want, too.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close. “That’s really sweet. I actually contacted several families today. So far, I’ve got confirmation from four families that will send their kids once I have the program up and running.”

  “That’s fantastic. And honey, I don’t care if your brother moves into the house. That’s not the issue. You’re so overwhelmed with the Traverses breathing down your neck, the ranch, and us.”

  “Us?” She leaned back in his arms. “Nothing about us overwhelms me. Us is what I hold on to when things get crazy.”

  Colt leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. “Good answer.”

  Chapter 23

  Luna arrived back at the ranch ahead of Colt. He had to stop off in town at the feed store to pick up some supplies for his ranch. She needed to finish her work from this morning, so she headed for the stables and the office there, where she’d spent the morning going over accounts and supplies with Ed. She’d take her laptop back to the house and finish while Colt checked on Rocco, then they could have dinner together and maybe watch a movie and cuddle on the couch.

  She spotted Simon’s car parked under a tree to the left of the stables. So he’d come back to work after their meeting at Dex’s office. She hoped that meant he planned to see things through to the end. At least one of the Traverses meant to earn his place here. She hoped that thought wasn’t all wishful thinking.

  The stables were quiet and empty. She stopped by Rocco’s stall before heading to the back office to retrieve her laptop.

  “Hey, baby. Colt’s on his way to check on you.” Rocco stood in the middle of the stall, legs spread wide, looking miserable. “He’ll take good care of you, baby.” The way he takes such good care of me.

  A strange rustling came from the office down the way. She turned and headed down the aisle, calling out, “Ed? Are you in there?”

  Simon burst through the doorway and stared at her. “You’re back.”

  “I just got here.” She narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing?”

  “Ed asked me to grab Bailey’s bridle. He said he left it in the office.”

  Luna eyed Simon and closed the distance between them. She snagged the bridle off the table outside the office door and held it out. “Here it is.”

  “Hey, look at that.” Simon played it off, but she didn’t quite believe he’d only been in the office looking for a bridle.

  Luna glanced at the desk and noted her laptop had been shifted slightly so the screen pointed to the back wall and not toward the chair. He might have bumped it by accident, or turned it so whatever he’d been doing couldn’t be seen by anyone passing the doorway.

  She’d spent the morning going over the bills and accounts. Who knew a ranch generated so many spreadsheets? Crop reports, breeding information for the cows and horses, and supplies. It went on and on.

  What was he up to? What could he possibly want to see on her laptop? Most of the information was innocuous. If anything interested Simon at all, it would be the money side of things. But how could knowing how much money the ranch generated help him in any way? If anything, it only proved that his working the next eighteen months and getting half was more lucrative in the long run than taking a payout.

  She looked Simon right in the eye. He didn’t flinch or look guilty about anything. While Josh let his feelings show on his face, in his eyes, and the words he spewed, Simon played things close to the vest. She wouldn’t want to play poker with him.

  “Looks like you got what you wanted.” She wished she knew exactly what that was besides the bridle he used to cover his reason for being here.

  His gaze hardened on her, but he quickly dismissed whatever thought darkened his gaze. With one eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips, he said, “I always do in the end.” He headed for the door, his arrogance on full display in his confident stride.

  “Not this time,” she muttered to herself.

  “What’s that, honey?” Colt asked from behind her.

  She stopped glaring at the door Simon left through and turned to Colt. “Nothing. Thanks for coming over.”

  “Sure thing. Want to check out Rocco with me?”

  “No. I’ll leave him to you. I’ve got something else I need to check out.” She went into the office and grabbed the laptop off the desk, scolding herself for leaving it out here in the first place and not shutting it down. She’d left herself wide open, and Simon took advantage. What he wanted to exploit, she didn’t know, but she aimed to find out.

  “Come up to the house after you check on my babies.” She kissed Colt, then walked down the aisle with him to Rocco’s stall door. “I’m worried about him.”

  “I’m worried about you. Everything okay? You look upset.”

  “I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “You handled yourself really well today. I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself and this place.”

  It meant so much to her to hear him say that. She appreciated him coming over and helping her with the horses and checking on her crews. She hoped they worked together for a long time to come. She hoped they forged a true partnership in every
way. She wished she knew how to make that happen and work for the rest of their lives.

  Colt stared over the stall gate at the poor, listless sorrel quarter horse standing with his front and back legs stretched out, indicating pain in his abdomen. Poor Rocco. At least he wasn’t laid out on the floor in the straw, but still, all his symptoms indicated he wasn’t feeling that great. His dull coat and labored breathing bothered Colt. Rocco’s ears perked up when he spotted Colt, though his eyes weren’t alert and clear, and he kept his head down. The poor guy appeared tired, though he’d been kept in his stall all day.

  “You don’t look so good, my friend.”

  Colt unlatched the gate and stepped inside. He ran his hand over Rocco’s sweaty shoulder. “Got a fever, huh, big guy.” Colt placed his hand over Rocco’s thumping heart and counted out the beats. He didn’t need to count the full minute to determine Rocco’s racing heart indicated the animal was sick and in distress.

  “Okay, Rocco, what’s the deal. You’ve got my girl worried.”

  Daisy, two stalls down, banged on her gate and whinnied.

  “Your girl is worried about you, too. She hasn’t seen you in the pasture in a while, and that’s just not like you to stay away from your mares.”

  Rocco’s ears didn’t even twitch.

  “How’s it going, Colt?” Ed asked from the open gate.

  “Not good, judging by the way this guy is acting.”

  “He seemed better this morning, but after he ate . . .” Ed shook his head.

  “What did you feed him?”

  “Same as always, though he only ate about a quarter of his usual amount. He drank some water. He’s just not right.”

  “Does he eat the same feed as the other sick horses?”

  “Yeah. Some of the horses get a different mix, depending on their needs and likes. More or less grain and the same with the grasses, depending.”

  Colt walked over to the bin of grain. Out in the open, anyone could get to it. Great for convenience when feeding the horses, but it also meant anyone could tamper with the food. Colt pulled the lid off the bucket and stared in, not noticing anything out of the ordinary in the appearance of the food. No visible mold.