A Cowboy's Pride

by Karen Rock

  Cole rubbed his jaw. “Their secret place. We need to reread the journal for geographic clues and triangulate a location.”

  “She mentioned moss. Columbine. Scotch pines. A spring-fed brook. A mulberry bush.”

  “We’ll talk to Pa and look at the property maps again.”

  Katlynn nodded. “And what about Clyde and his financial issues? Was he after Maggie for her money?”

  “Might have been.”

  “Enough to kill for it?” She crossed her arms over her chest, a bone-deep chill settling inside.

  “He had her followed once, at least. But how do we prove he had motive?”

  “We need Crystal River Railroad’s financial and government grant records.”

  Cole’s brow creased. “What’ll that give us?”

  “A start. The one Maggie and Everett never got.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  “MS. BRENNON?”

  Cole and Katie-Lynn stopped in the county clerk office’s main hall, turned and spied J.D., the Historical Documents clerk. Every muscle in Cole’s body clenched. Did J.D. have information on the missing water rights’ easement?

  His hand settled on the small of Katie-Lynn’s back protectively—as her rabid superfan neared. J.D.’s hands shook, and his eyes bulged. Katie-Lynn had confessed how much she needed to be seen and J.D. saw her, all right. She’d always belong to the world, to her fans and herself, and him not one bit. She’d confessed she still cared for him, though. Enough to change her life so they could be together? Or should he be asking himself the same question? He was beginning to suspect he should. But he needed his privacy. Loving her would make his life public. He’d live under a microscope, in a phony world full of fake people.

  When it came to him and Katie-Lynn, there were no easy answers.

  “Hey, J.D.” At Katie-Lynn’s megawatt smile, the clerk stumbled to a halt. “We stopped by Historical Records like we’d arranged, but it was empty.”

  J.D. held up a crumpled paper bag with a large grease stain engulfing the bottom half.

  “Were you having lunch?” Katie-Lynn prompted gently. “We finished up at the financial office earlier than planned.”

  Based on Maggie’s journal, they’d requested Crystal River Railroad’s grant documents as well as government audits.

  J.D. nodded, opened his mouth, closed it, then blurted, “Olive loaf.”

  “Well, now, that’s my favorite luncheon meat.”

  “Liar,” Cole muttered under his breath, biting back a grin.

  Katie-Lynn shot him a quick, withering look, closed the distance between herself and J.D. and looped an arm in his. “Were you able to find out anything about the easement?”

  The question broke J.D. from his trance. “Yes,” he gasped. “Follow me.”

  Cole reached the door first. He wrenched it open, heart in mouth, and ushered them inside. “What’d you find?”

  “A court case.” J.D. heaved a ledger from behind his desk and dropped it to the table with a thud.

  Cole fumbled to open the book at its marked spot.

  “Let me.” Katlynn’s calm voice eased his rampaging pulse. Sliding a fingernail behind the tab, she flipped open the tome.

  Cole bent down and scanned the faded page. “Cade, plaintiff versus Loveland, defendant, June 1, 1908.” His gaze snapped to Katie-Lynn. “The Cades sued my family.”

  “Almost a year to the day after Maggie’s death.”

  “And Everett’s.”

  “‘Complaint,’” Katlynn read. “‘Plaintiff, Josiah Cade, by his undersigned attorneys, Weston and Weston, brings this extinguishment of easement suit asking the court to terminate the granted property easement in accordance with Article 631 of the Civil Code. The easement granting Archibald Loveland livestock access to the Crystal River through Josiah Cade’s property unduly burdens the servient owner through egregious misuse of aforementioned easement.’”

  “We had an easement.” Cole heard his words from a distance, as though someone else spoke them, his tongue, his mouth, his body, numb. Seeing it on a map was one thing, but reading it in print struck him physically. Viscerally. If the original easement was still in place, his family’s financial troubles wouldn’t exist. “What’s a servient?”

  “The person whose property has the easement.” J.D. shook a couple of mints in his hand, popped them into his mouth and extended the container to Katlynn.

  She scanned the front page of the document and accepted the mints, murmuring her thanks. “This is the summary of ‘misuses.’”

  Cole frowned down at the numbered list. “‘Diluting of cattle blood lines and adversely impacting auction sales revenue.’”

  “Are they claiming your Brahmans bred with the Cades’ Longhorns when crossing their property?” Katie-Lynn asked.

  “Yes.” Cole’s back teeth ground. “Which’d never happen. Experienced ranch hands and cattle dogs keep herds apart. No one benefits from interbreeding.”

  “Second complaint is destruction of property including fences, grounds and outbuildings.”

  “Herds running roughshod over a neighbor’s property? First, it’s not neighborly. Second, that’d injure our cattle, too. We’d never allow that.” Cole scowled. “The Cade lawyers must have been as greasy as fried lard to come up with this list of lies.”

  Katie-Lynn nodded. “Third complaint is an increase in traffic using the easement to the detriment of servient herds’ water access.” She paused and tapped her fingernail against the page. “Wasn’t there an increase in your ranch’s livestock and finances immediately following Maggie’s death?”

  J.D. leaned close. “My grandma always said it was proof the Lovelands sold Cora’s Tear.”

  Cole shot him a hard look.

  “C-c-course my grandma was slipping a tad. One time she wore her brassiere over her dress to Sunday services...”

  Cole turned back to Katie-Lynn. “What’s that have to do with this case?”

  “My guess is the increased number of Loveland livestock tramping through Cade property reminded them of what they’d lost—a precious family heirloom and a beloved daughter.”

  Cole rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. “They filed this lawsuit to punish my family.”

  “Seems so.”

  “They’d already killed Everett. What more did they want?”

  “Maybe to force the Lovelands to come clean about the jewel? They’d drop the lawsuit in exchange for its whereabouts?”

  Cole stared at clouds chasing each other across the deep blue sky. Where was Cora’s Tear? Out there somewhere... The key to solving this mystery, clearing his family’s name and mending the feud once and for all. “Only we had no knowledge of it.”

  “But the Cades thought you did. Maggie kept her plans to hide it and run away a secret.”

  Cole watched as a lone red truck barreled down the distant highway heading out of Carbondale. “She confided in Clyde Farthington.”

  “Who had a motive to keep them apart.” Katie-Lynn’s voice rose. “If he’d been skimming funds from the grant, and faced an audit, he’d need a quick influx of cash to return the monies.”

  Cole tore his gaze from the truck and exchanged a long look with Katie-Lynn. Would the requested grant and audit paperwork reveal incriminating evidence?

  “The ruling’s here.” J.D. flipped to another page.

  The quiet hum of a copier and the pungent smell of forgotten brewed coffee filled the air.

  Katie-Lynn cleared her throat. “The court rules the servient estate is unduly burdened by an unreasonable use of the easement by the dominant owner.”

  “The dominant owner is...”

  “The users of the easement, the Lovelands,” Katie-Lynn clarified for Cole. “As such, it extinguishes the easement. Any attempt by the former dominant owner to use the easement hen
ceforth shall be viewed as trespassing.”

  “That’s a travesty,” Cole bit out. “Excuses to take away my family’s rights.”

  “I quite agree.” They turned to see a stooped, gray-haired man wearing a seersucker suit and a pair of black-and-white wingtips. His cane thumped on the floor as he slowly advanced to join them.

  “Hey, Uncle Peter.” J.D. held out a chair for his relative, who lowered himself carefully, smoothed his suit and crossed his hands atop his cane. “These are the folks I told you about. Katlynn Brennon’s from Scandalous History. Remember?”

  Katlynn extended a hand. “How do you do?”

  “Peter Stockton, Esquire. And may I say, my dear, that you are even lovelier in person. It’s an honor to meet you.”

  Katie-Lynn smoothed strands of hair back to her messy ponytail, her lightly freckled cheeks glowing pink. Mr. Stockton was right. She was a hundred times prettier now that she’d begun looking like herself again.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, as well.” Katie-Lynn’s rosy lips lifted in a winsome smile. “Are you from around here? I detect an east coast accent.”

  “Astute of you, my dear. I’m a retired property attorney from New York. Moved to be with family after my wife passed.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Katie-Lynn pulled up a chair, her expression a perfect blend of sympathy and kindness. Knowing exactly what to say, how to behave, wasn’t an act. Beneath the polished facade beat the heart of a real woman.

  A woman he was falling in love with. Again.

  “My condolences,” Cole muttered, doing his best to be part of the conversation. He’d socialized more alongside Katie-Lynn this week than he had in the years they’d been apart. For a guy who didn’t like talking, he’d done a lot these days, and not minding it...much. His hermit life no longer held its appeal, and it’d be harder to let her go this time. Now he knew what life—if you’d call what he’d been doing living—was like without Katie-Lynn in it.

  “My nephew mentioned your investigation.” Strands of white hair lifted from Mr. Stockton’s mostly bald head when he doffed his straw hat and laid it on the table. “It intrigued me enough to consider the matter myself. Last night I read these briefs and came here to offer my services. Free of charge.”

  Cole’s head jerked back. “Services?”

  Mr. Stockton smiled slightly at Cole, his thin lips disappearing to reveal a row of pale yellow teeth. “We’ll appeal the termination ruling in a higher court.”

  “To reinstate the easement?” Katie-Lynn’s eyes shone with the same hope rip-roaring through Cole. He wanted to shoot out the lights and shout hallelujah to the county. He dropped a hand to her soft shoulder to anchor himself lest he float clear to the ceiling.

  Mr. Stockton donned a pair of glasses, peered at the ruling and pointed to the judge’s signature. “Jedediah Cade. A relative.”

  Cole’s mouth dropped open. This lawsuit wasn’t justice. It was fixed.

  “We have access to the Cade family bible.” Katie-Lynn pulled out her cell phone. “It may confirm the relationship.”

  Mr. Stockton waved a wrinkled hand. “J.D. already established the connection through historical records. He was Josiah’s brother. He’d followed his sibling west and practiced law before the county appointed him justice.”

  “Why’d he hear the case?” Cole sat in the chair Mr. Stockton indicated. “It’s a conflict of interest.”

  “He should have recused himself.” Mr. Stockton pulled butterscotch candies from his suit’s breast pocket and passed them around. Seemed a sweet tooth ran in J.D.’s family. “However, judges were few and far between back in those days. The Lovelands could have appealed the decision to a higher court. The evidence was flimsy at best, the arguments flawed.”

  “Why didn’t they?” Buttery flavor filled Cole’s mouth.

  Mr. Stockton pointed to the case’s cover page. “The Lovelands represented themselves whereas the Cades hired a legal team. The Cades could afford a lengthy court battle, and the Lovelands, presumably, could not. Perhaps they’d overextended themselves by increasing their livestock, cattle they no longer could keep watered.”

  “So, we gave up?”

  “Like my nephew, I’m a bit of a history buff and have followed your family’s feud.” Mr. Stockton’s deep-set eyes gleamed behind his lenses. “As I recall, the Lovelands dammed up the Crystal River farther upstream to flood your property and stop its flow to the Cades?”

  Cole nodded, recalling the family lore.

  “And your family was also charged with trespassing when caught driving cattle across the former easement.”

  “Doesn’t sound like they gave up.” Katie-Lynn’s eyebrows met above her nose. “They fought back the only way they could.”

  “And over time, the easement was forgotten.” Cole rubbed the back of his tight neck, marveling. “What do we do now? I won’t accept charity, though your offer’s appreciated.”

  Mr. Stockton carefully removed his glasses, polished them with a pocket square, then stowed them away. “I suspected as much given your family’s reputation as being—”

  “Stubborn?” Katie-Lynn grinned, lightly kicking Cole’s boot under the table.

  “Proud,” Mr. Stockton supplied, giving Cole a warm, assessing glance. “In lieu of a retainer, I’ll accept a percentage of the settlement.”

  “Settlement?” Cole echoed, pinching the bridge of his nose where a headache formed.

  “Once the easement is reinstated, we’ll sue the Cades for damages, the financial hardship caused by the denial of your usage of the easement. I’ll take an agreed-upon percentage. If we lose, we both get nothing.”

  Cole’s mind raced as he considered the ramifications of such an action. The timing was terrible. His father loved Joy and was about to marry her. If they took legal action, Joy might side with her children and Pa could lose his chance at love. The thought of causing his father pain sliced his heart. Yet they stood to lose the ranch, his family’s legacy, a condition caused by the Cades. Deep down he knew he had to do the right thing.

  Cole’s jaw clenched. Justice was long overdue, though he’d wait until after the wedding to bring the suit, something he and his siblings had the legal right to do since they were shareholders in the ranch. In the meantime, what Pa didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Joy surely couldn’t blame him. With any luck, she might persuade her hotheaded children to settle out of court.

  He grasped Mr. Stockton’s hand and pumped it. “Sir. You have a deal.”

  * * *

  KATLYNN PEERED DOWN at the Loveland Hills’s survey map spread out on the kitchen table the following morning. “These dots with squiggle tails are natural springs?”

  “Yes.” Cole flipped bacon sizzling on the stove. “There’re a couple near the ravines we’ll ride out to and check today.”

  “If they have Scotch pines and mulberry bushes around them, we may discover Everett and Maggie’s secret meeting spot.”

  Cole cracked a couple of eggs over another frying pan. “And Cora’s Tear.”

  Excitement bubbled inside Katlynn. This story was juicier than she’d imagined. When she’d briefed the show’s team last night, they’d cheered for a certain season renewal and congratulated her on a sure-to-come Emmy. Her eyes drifted to Cole’s broad back as he added slices of cheese over the frying eggs. In her chest, her heart swelled with an almost pleasurable ache. She’d always loved her eggs that way, and he remembered.

  The Emmy glimmered in her mind’s eye, the symbol confirming she mattered. Yet the statue seemed diminished somehow. Less important... Since coming home, spending time with Cole and her family, her perspective had shifted along with her feelings. His quiet confidence, devotion to his family and protective nature were as magnetic as ever. She was falling for him again. Yet loving him meant retreating from the world to live privately, where no one wou
ld see her.

  Cole said he saw her.

  Her family cared.

  Was it enough? She wanted it to be. She was successful now. Shouldn’t her need to be noticed be filled?

  The toaster oven dinged, and Katlynn hurried to grab the warm slices. After dividing them onto a couple of plates, she buttered them then returned them to the toaster.

  “You remembered,” Cole said in her ear as he reached around her to grab the salt and pepper.

  She shivered at the warm brush of his lips against her sensitive flesh. “Extra butter, extra melted.”

  His deep blue eyes searched hers. “My favorite.”

  “Mine, too.”

  The air between them heated, their faces drew closer, they were lost in each other’s gazes...

  “Not to interrupt you two lovebirds, but can a fella squeeze in here for a cup of joe?”

  At Boyd’s amused voice, Katlynn grabbed the toast from the toaster again, tossed them on the plates and fled back to the table, her cheeks red.

  From behind her raised coffee mug, she murmured, “Morning, Boyd.”

  “Appears to be quite a good morning,” Boyd said, his eyes on his son as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “What are you two doing up this early?”

  Cole slid the eggs onto the toast, forked bacon slices beside them, then sauntered back to the table. “We’ve pinpointed a few places where we think Cora’s Tear might be.”

  Katlynn stared down at her megacalorie plate, imagined Mary’s disappointment when she couldn’t zip the rose dress for the next taping, and cut through the soft, cheese-covered egg, anyway. Her eyes closed in appreciation at the rich, buttery flavor exploding on her tongue.

  “How’d you figure that?” she heard Boyd ask.

  “Just some documents we’ve been going through,” Cole said evasively. They’d decided to withhold the information about Cora’s Tear and Maggie and Everett’s fates until they had all the facts. Ever a man of his word, Cole kept mum except for filling in his siblings about the lawsuit. All agreed to serve the Cades after the wedding.