Hanging his head, gripping the receiver, Slade rasped, “I understand, Charley. Thank you for being fair-minded about this.”
“I wish I could overlook Griff’s bribe, but I can’t.”
“No, you shouldn’t.” Slade smarted because it was his good name that was being dragged through the mud. Sucking in a breath of air, Slade finally asked, “Are you barring me from further bid lists, Charley?”
“No, I’m not. And I’m basing that on your good name, Slade. But don’t ever let that brother of yours come in here again and try to bribe me. Okay?”
“Thanks, Charley. I’ll take care of him when he gets home.”
“Good. Again, I’m sorry I can’t award you this bid, Slade. You were the lowest.”
Mouth tightening, he rasped, “It’s just deserts under the circumstances, Charley. Thanks for not tarring and feathering me with the same brush as my younger brother.”
Jordana walked into the ranch house as Slade hung up the phone. He felt a wall of rage boiling inside of him. As he turned to look at her, she looked tired from the grueling fifty-mile test run on Thor. Choking it all down, he said, “Everything taken care of?”
For a moment, Jordana hesitated. Slade’s eyes were black with rage. Who had been on the phone with him? “Yes, I just brushed Thor down and he’s in his paddock rolling.” Tilting her head, she reached out and said, “Slade? What’s wrong? You look really upset.”
The touch of her cool fingers on his lower arm nearly unleashed his rage. Shaking his head, Slade pulled his arm away from her. “It’s nothing. Why don’t you get going? It’s been a long day for you.”
Just then, Griff entered the ranch home.
“Hey, you’re back,” he hailed, taking off his tan Stetson and hanging it on a wooden wall hook near the door.
Jordana felt rage explode around Slade as he snapped his head up and glared at Griff. She stood between them, feeling the blast of anger leaping from Slade toward his twin brother. What was going on?
“You,” Slade ground out, and he took three steps around Jordana, grabbed Griff by the collar of his shirt and shoved him hard against the wall. “Son of a bitch, you just cost me a bid!” he snarled into Griff’s shocked features.
Automatically, Griff threw up his arms and broke Slade’s hold on him. “What the hell has gotten into you?” he yelled, backing toward the door.
Jordana opened her mouth and then shut it. Slade looked like a volcano ready to spew out lava as he strode toward Griff. She felt as if she were in a corral with Diablo. But Slade was the enraged bull this time.
Griff dodged Slade’s outstretched hand and moved into the living room. He hunched over, waiting for another attack. “What the hell is the matter with you?” he shouted. Why was his brother looking as if he was going to kill him? Griff simply didn’t understand his sour brother at all. What had he done?
Moving swiftly to the living room, Slade roared, “You stupid bastard! You just cost me an eight-thousand-dollar bid contract with the U.S. Forest Service. That is what you’ve done!” He punched his index finger into Griff’s chest.
Peddling backward, Griff kept the pine coffee table between them. “What are you talking about?”
Slade stood there, breathing hard, his breath rasping. “You went to Charley at the Tetons headquarters and tried to bribe him. That’s what you did!” Slade rounded the coffee table, wanting to punch his twin in the face.
Moving quickly, Griff avoided Slade and kept the coffee table between them. “Bribe? You’re insane! I didn’t bribe Charley! I just went in to make a deal with him.”
Jordana entered the room. Both men were roaring at each other. She stood there, helpless to interfere. Griff’s expression was one of confusion and then surprise. Slade looked as if he wanted to kill Griff.
“A deal?” Slade roared. “Don’t you know anything about bids? Once they’re entered into the system, you don’t contact the party about it! You went sallying into Charley’s office today and offered him a bribe.”
Nostrils flaring, Griff yelled, “Like hell, I did! I was just sweetening the pot was all. One extra horse would seal the deal!”
Shaking his head, Slade snarled, “You might wheel and deal on Wall Street like that, but that kind of crap doesn’t fly out here in the West. You got me deleted from this bid.” Slade held up his hand. “I had the bid, dammit! Charley was going to call me tomorrow morning and tell me I had it.”
“That’s good,” Griff muttered. “So I don’t see why you’re so pissed off at me.”
“Because,” Slade thundered, “Charley saw your little visit as a bribe and I got removed from the list because of it.” Slade’s face reddened with rage. “Damn you, Griff, you just cost me eight thousand dollars I needed to pay on the ranch mortgage. You interfered and screwed me and my ranch.” He jammed his finger down at the pine floor. “You stupid jerk, you just put this ranch in a financial hole! What you did is a bribe! Do you get it?”
Breathing hard, Griff glared at his enraged brother, who was hunkered over him like a bull ready to gore him. “It was not a bribe! We do deals like this on Wall Street all the time! It’s not a bribe. It’s just part of what we do. No one calls it a bribe. Damn, you’re crazy, Slade!”
Jordana saw Slade start to move. She knew he was going to grab a hold of Griff and beat him. Racing forward, she gripped his left arm with both hands. “Slade! Calm down! You need to take a walk.” She tugged insistently on his arm. He didn’t budge, his focus on his white-faced brother across the coffee table. Using all her strength, digging in her heels, Jordana jerked Slade hard.
Snapping his head to the left, Slade saw Jordana’s grim face. Her full lips were tight, her eyes hard and insistent. Trembling with fury, he felt the strength of her small hands around his thick upper arm. The look in her eyes told him that she meant business. For a second, his rage cooled. He wasn’t angry at her. But he sure as hell wanted to beat Griff to a pulp.
“Come on,” Jordana insisted, tugging on his arm again. “Walk with me outside, Slade. Now!”
Hesitantly, Slade nodded. He glared over at Griff. “You son of a bitch, you get the hell off this ranch. Now. I don’t care where you go, but don’t ever step foot back here. You understand?”
Glaring back, Griff snarled, “This is my ranch, too! You can’t kick me out of here!”
“Watch me.” Slade made a move to go toward Griff.
Instantly, Griff leaped away, ran to the door, jerked it open and left.
Jordana sighed and released Slade. “You can’t hit him, Slade. Calm down, please.” She used her best soothing tone, the one she’d use with a traumatized patient at the hospital. She saw the anger leave and, in its place, anguish return. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll make us some coffee. Come on….” She tugged at his hand that was still folded in a fist.
His rage began to dissolve by degrees as Slade opened his hand and entwined it within Jordana’s fingers. She might be small, but she was gutsy coming between him and his brother. “Okay, coffee,” he whispered, defeated. He walked her to the kitchen.
“Here, sit down, Slade. Your leg has to be hurting you.”
It was, he realized. “Yeah, it’s throbbing a little.”
Nodding, Jordana went to the counter and made coffee. “You’ve been on it all day. It’s bound to be achy.” Her hands flew knowingly over the counter to get the coffee beans and the other items she’d need. “Can you tell me what happened?” she asked, turning and giving him a gentle look.
Slade sighed, rubbed his face with his hands and told her the whole conversation with Charley. He ended it by saying, “I can’t believe Griff doesn’t know what the hell a bribe consists of. Charley and I sure know what one is.”
Placing two heavy ceramic mugs on the table, Jordana said, “Maybe things are different on Wall Street, Slade. He looked confused when you charged him with bribery.”
Shaking his head, he pulled the empty mug over to him. “That’s a load of crap, Jordana. Bribe
ry is bribery. Why this nation is in shambles is because of the very mindset my brother has. He no longer knows right from wrong. To him, this was just another deal-making session. But in the West, a man’s word is his bond.” He looked over at the counter where Jordana was plugging in the coffeemaker. Just having her around was like a wet blanket to the fire he felt. His rage was rapidly receding in her quiet, calming presence. She had that kind of effect on him.
“Griff grew up in the East,” Jordana offered. She sat down at his elbow. “I can’t believe he’d purposely go to Charley to sandbag your bid. Do you?” She looked him squarely in the eyes.
Shrugging, Slade muttered, “I don’t know Griff. We rarely saw one another. He’s from a different planet, Jordana. His world is a world of no morals and values. He doesn’t care what effect his decisions have on others.” And then, he closed his eyes. “Damn, I was counting on winning that bid. I knew I was low enough to get it.”
Placing her hand on Slade’s arm, she whispered, “What does this mean?”
Opening his eyes, Slade looked blankly at the wall of the kitchen. His hands tightened around the mug. “Charley usually has four bids a year for services at the national park. I have been winning two of them every year for the last five years he’s been the supervisor. I provide packhorses and mules to him for his construction crews. I also provide good horses for the rangers to ride, too. It was enough money to help keep me out of foreclosure.” His mouth moved downward. “This bid was the one I was really counting on.”
Frowning, Jordana said, “Can the bank do that?”
Snorting, Slade growled, “A bank can do anything it damn well wants. The president doesn’t like me. I was informed that my bill is going up with the October payment.”
Nodding, Jordana knew that homes across America were in what was termed an upside down mortgage, thanks to the antics of Wall Street destroying the finances of millions of people. Because Slade’s ranch was right on the border of foreclosure, she had read that banks were now forcing such owners to either pay up or lose their home. In this case, Slade stood a very real chance of losing his family ranch; a ranch that was his lifeblood. Moving her fingers in a grazing motion across his forearm, she asked, “What can I do to help?”
He gave a harsh laugh and sat up. “Win the endurance race. But that’s not going to happen, Jordana. That ten-thousand-dollar award could mean all the difference right now.” The anger went out of him, and Slade rested his elbows on the table. Head falling forward, he muttered, “I’m screwed. Griff just put this ranch into foreclosure. The bastard…”
Tears gathered in Jordana’s eyes. She whispered, “I know you don’t think I can win this race, Slade, but I can. I just rode Thor for fifty miles. I know the trail better. If I ride it one more time before the actual race, I know I can win! There’s never going to be another horse like Thor. He’s one of a kind, Slade.” Gripping his hand, she forced him to look into her eyes and whispered fiercely, “Slade, I can do this! I know you don’t think I can, but you don’t really know me!”
Jordana released his arm. “I’m made out of titanium steel inside, Slade.” She poked at her chest. “But you don’t know that yet. How do you think I made it through medical school and seven years as an intern? Trust me,” she said, lowering her husky voice, “that really separates the men from the boys. I made it to become a doctor because I wanted it. I have terrific focus and drive. You’ll see it come out in that race. I will win that money for you.”
Shaking his head, Slade said in a dull tone, “Jordana, I appreciate everything about you, but you won’t win. Curt Downing is going to take it. He knows this trail inside out, like the back of his hand. You don’t.”
“Well,” Jordana said, allowing some anger into her voice, “your horse sure does! Thor will make up the difference. I’ll let him guide me.”
“I want to believe you,” Slade told her gently. Reaching over, he gripped her hand. Slade saw the feisty quality in her blue eyes and the way her mouth was set. “You’re already a champion to me, Jordana. I know you mean well and want this for me, but the truth is, you’re going up against Downing. You’re not used to his dirty tricks and he’ll sandbag you. I know he will.”
Sitting up, Jordana gripped his hand. “Now, you listen to me, Slade McPherson! I’m not going down without a fight! I’m not a quitter and neither are you! Stop looking like you’ve already lost, because you haven’t!” She released his hand, got up and brought over the coffee. Pouring the steaming liquid into each of their mugs, Jordana added, “You have never seen me in action, Slade. And because of that, you don’t know my capabilities in the saddle. I’ve won plenty of second-level endurance races and I win them consistently. Put a little faith in me?”
Jordana placed the coffee on the counter. Turning, she held his sad gray eyes. How badly she wanted to wrap her arms around Slade, hold him and tell him to have hope. Sitting down, she added cream and sugar to her coffee and stirred it.
The silence was thick and strained. Slade sipped his coffee. It burned his tongue. Frowning, he set it down and wrapped his large hands around it. Jordana looked fierce right now; something he’d never seen in her before. Admiring her spirit, he found nothing else to say. The kitchen hung with pregnant silence.
“I’ll do it, Slade. I promise,” she said grimly, holding his stare.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CURT DOWNING SMILED as he watched his groom, Brodie Myers, brush his black Arabian stallion, Shah, until he gleamed. He watched the quick, sure motions of the fifty-year-old man who had always taken care of his horses. Shah snorted in the ties, defiantly lifting his head as he impatiently pawed the concrete. The horse had large dark brown eyes, small, refined ears and a dished face, typical of the Arabian breed.
Hearing a car pull up, he saw it was Frank Halbert, the president of the bank. “Finish him up, Brodie,” he ordered the groom, “and then wrap his legs.”
“Yes, sir,” Brodie sang out, brushing the stallion’s long, flowing black tail.
Moving down the breezeway, Curt wondered why the banker was coming here. Usually, he saw Halbert in town. The man looked happy as he emerged from his black Mercedes-Benz. Walking down the slope, his curiosity piqued, Curt saw Halbert smile when he caught sight of him.
“I have good news,” Halbert said without preamble as they met down on the flat.
“Oh?” Curt said, lifting his hands and placing them on his hips.
Grinning, Halbert said, “I just heard something today you need to know about.”
“Go on,” Curt said. He saw a number of his wranglers herding a group of horses into one of the many pipe-rail corrals.
“I was out at the Tetons headquarters working with Charley, the U.S. Forest Service supervisor. He’d left the room and I saw all the bids on his latest packhorse contract.” He could hardly keep the joy out of his tone as he continued in a whisper, “You’re getting the bid, Curt!”
Brows raising, Curt said, “Really?” He knew that Slade McPherson usually won two out of the four yearly contracts. His bid wasn’t the lowest, and therefore, he hadn’t expected to get it.
“Yes.” Frank looked around to ensure no one was listening. “I saw a hand-scribbled note on McPherson’s bid.” He grinned a little. “Griff McPherson, his twin brother, had called and tried to bribe Charley.”
“What?” Curt frowned. “A bribe? Are you kidding me?”
“No, no, I’m not kidding!” Frank raised his hands and smiled fully. “Charley had a note on the bid saying it was declined due to Griff’s interference. How about that? Slade’s brother is an ace in the hole for you.”
Shaking his head, Curt muttered in disbelief, “A bribe? Charley wouldn’t put up with that. What’s this twin doing that for?”
“He was a Wall Street banker who lost his job when his company went broke,” Halbert explained.
“I’d heard rumors of McPherson having a twin in town, but I hadn’t ever seen him myself.”
“Yes, he’s arou
nd, and you do realize what all this means?”
The gleam in Halbert’s eyes reminded him of a coyote getting ready to pounce on his victim. “It means,” Curt drawled, “that I’m not an idiot. He’s lost out on money he could have sunk into that ranch of his. It puts him closer to foreclosure.”
“Exactly!” Frank said excitedly.
“And McPherson knows his monthly mortgage has gone up?”
“Oh, yes,” Frank said, satisfied. “I raised it another five hundred dollars.”
“Damn, so the only thing between him and foreclosure is this endurance ride,” Curt murmured.
“Exactly,” Frank said with enthusiasm. “And then, when it goes into foreclosure, you can snap it up. I’ll make damn sure no one gets a bid in on it before you. I know you want the land so you can expand your operations.”
Nodding, Curt said, “I’m desperate for more land,” he agreed. And it wouldn’t hurt that this new land gotten by the foreclosure would butt up against the biggest ranch in the valley, the Elkhorn Ranch. “I’ve got to expand my breeding facility. I got more people wanting to breed to my stud than I have room to accommodate them. I’m losing a helluva lot of money because of this situation. I’ve been looking at the Bar H south of town. They’re about ready to go belly-up. That’s a hundred acres where I could move my entire breeding facility down there and keep this place for student training.”
“I understand,” Frank murmured. “But you know Gus Hunter, who’s a pistol in her own right, isn’t going to sell the Bar H family ranch to anyone.”
Nodding, Curt muttered, “Old Gus is a firecracker. She’s eighty-four. A tough old buzzard. I’m going to wage a war against her soon. She’s alone and she’s in poor health and can’t continue to handle that ranch by herself.”
The Last Cowboy Page 20
