She’d been on the air for a little more than an hour when Irwin and Lola entered the booth.
Rose smiled as she went to commercial and swiveled her chair around to face them. “What are you doing here at this time of night?” she asked.
“Hi, girlfriend,” Lola reached down and gave her a big hug. Her silver spangled mini-dress matched her size twelve, five-inch heels and an impossibly tiny purse.
“You need help, and Lola can provide it,” Irwin said.
Tears burned at the back of Rose’s eyes, and she had to clear the lump from her throat before she could speak. “I don't think anyone can help with this, Irwin. It's pretty cut and dried. We had to make a profit at each of the businesses by July 15, and the Steakhouse still wasn’t profitable as of yesterday. It's over.”
“Do you have a copy of the will?” Lola asked. “I used to be a lawyer. Would you mind if I looked it over?” Her silver waterfall earrings flashed in the light of the booth. “Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”
“A lawyer? I thought you were a cop?”
“Well, I was both and damned good at each one, but they don’t seem to like the way I dress on my off hours. It was pretty hard to be effective at my jobs with petty, middle managers nipping at my heels, so I quit. I found a job custom made for me, and where I get to be me all the time. The money is good, too.” She sat on the edge of Rose’s desk. “So do you have the contract?”
Rose was speechless. Talk about multi-tasking, a cop, a lawyer and an actress. She wondered at Lola’s other hidden talents. Then she shook herself and said, “It's back at the house, and I have another three hours of show.”
“I'll sit in on the rest of your show,” Irwin said, taking her arm and gently lifting her out of the chair. A mist of disinfectant rose into the air, and Rose knew arguing was a lost cause. She followed Lola out the door.
Rose searched the kitchen and living room. She finally found the will and various other papers under Adam's bed buried beneath the blankets heaped on the floor. She glanced around the room and saw his bag was gone along with his clothes.
So he'd given up not only on the town but also on her. She’d been gone from the house two hours at the most. He must have watched her leave before he came and got his clothes. He didn’t even leave a goodbye note.
As she grabbed the blankets and heaped them on the bed, something hit the floor with a thunk. Adam’s belt with the shiny championship buckle lay gleamed in the dim light.
Handing the papers to Lola, Rose sank onto the bed, hugging the buckle to her chest. She wanted to curl into herself and grieve, but she had all the others to think about.
Lola wandered out to the kitchen and sat at the table, poring over the will.
Rose lay on the bed, her face pressed into the pillow, gathering in what was left of the scent that was uniquely Adam. Her chest was tight and her eyes burned, but if she gave in to tears now, she knew she’d never stop.
After four long years, she’d finally clawed her way up from desperation, and once again life was kicking the stuffing out of her. She’d finally found someone to love, but he'd left at the first sign of trouble, just like her dad. Rose studied the buckle for a moment then tucked it into the small chest next to the bed.
“Rose, love, I don't suppose you have any coffee, do you?” Lola called.
The request gave Rose something to do instead of sitting around wallowing in self-pity, so she hurried to the kitchen. By the time Lola had read another three pages, the coffee sputtered to a finish, and Rose had poured them each a steaming mug.
Three cups of coffee later, Lola straightened the stack of legal papers and laid them on the table. Taking a long sip of the steaming coffee, she turned to Rose. “I’m sorry, sweetie. This is iron clad. If each business wasn’t showing a profit by today at midnight, the Black Widow gets the works.”
-#-
At two o’clock sharp, Adam stepped into the offices of Bailey and Anson, Attorneys at Law. He had no friends to watch his back. Once again, he was alone, but for the first time he had a plan to keep other people from suffering from his failure.
As he followed Ms. Watts into the conference room, he tugged at the waistband of his Wranglers. He hadn’t been able to find his belt this morning. Just a small hitch in the major problem that was his life.
He stopped outside the door, grabbing a few precious seconds to clear his thoughts.
Lillian sat at the far side of the oversized, mahogany table, relaxed and confident. Apparently she didn’t see the need to have her own attorney. She'd already won.
“Shall we proceed?” Mr. Bailey looked from Adam to Lillian then settled his gaze on Adam. “We are here for the formal reading of the final will and testament of Simon Sylvester Howell. I've looked over the books and paperwork for all five businesses involved with this will. Four of the businesses are doing quite well and are yielding a tidy amount, but the Tullyville Steakhouse is just short of showing a profit this month. It also hasn’t shown a profit for any of the six months. Therefore, according to the stipulations in Mr. Howell's will, the entire contents will be transferred to Ms. Keeler.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Bailey.” Adam stood, partly because he was nervous, but mostly so he could look down on Lillian. “I concede that we didn’t fulfill the terms of the will.”
Lillian leaped to her feet, a smile spreading across her face, and she even went so far as to give a fist pump before she caught herself. “When do I get my money?”
Mr. Bailey consulted a paper then looked up. “Two weeks from today it will be deposited in your account.”
She turned to look at Adam, a smile covering her face. “You fool. We could have had all this together.”
Adam held up his hand. “Before you get too involved with your celebration, Ms. Keeler, I have one more thing to say.”
Lillian gave him one short nod and sat back in her chair, but she couldn’t quite wipe the grin off her face.
That was okay. Adam could.
Or at least he was going to give it his best shot. “As I stated, we failed to uphold my grandfather’s terms. But after having another attorney look at the document, we’ve come to the conclusion you coerced my grandfather into signing this, and I’m willing and even eager to take you to court. I may not win, but I can draw this out for years. It will be a long time before you get your hands on any money.”
Lillian sat back, a self-satisfied look on her face. “Both of you knew Mr. Howell for years. You know he couldn’t have been coerced into anything.”
“Maybe so,” Adam said. “That’s for the courts to decide.”
She looked to Mr. Bailey. “Can he do this?”
“Yes.”
Lillian blushed then flushed a darker shade. She stood slowly this time, bracing her shaking hands on the table in front of her. “I’ll hire Mr. Bailey to take you for everything you’ve got.” She looked at Bailey again for confirmation.
“I’m afraid Mr. Cameron retained me as his attorney an hour ago.”
“That’s not fair. I’ll sue you both. I’ll ruin you.” Her breath was coming in raspy gasps, and she stomped her foot as if that would change their minds.
“Life isn’t fair.” Adam tried to keep his expression solemn, but he couldn’t contain a short, humorless laugh. “But because I’m a nice guy, I’ll make a deal with you.”
“You are not a nice guy,” she said, her look raked over him with red-hot contempt. When he didn’t react to her most vicious look, she let out her breath with a whoosh. “What do you want?”
“Give all five businesses to their rightful owners—free and clear.” He looked at her without wavering, his hands steady, his expression resolute.
Lillian’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding. That’s all? What’s the catch?”
“No catch. Mr. Bailey has drawn up the papers. All you have to do is sign them.”
Mr. Bailey picked up a sheaf of papers bound in a rich navy cover embossed in gold and slid it across the table to
her. “I had these prepared. Let me assure you, everything is in order.”
“Yeah, like I’m going to believe you.” She snatched up the document, crossed the room to a leather armchair and sat with all the grace of Queen Victoria. Then she read and read then read some more.
An hour later, Lillian had gone over the contract line-by-line, word-by-word. She tossed the document on the table. “I can’t believe this is all you want. I just give these worthless businesses away, and you leave me alone. I keep the mansion and the money?”
Adam folded his arms across his chest. “That’s it.”
“I didn’t want the damn things anyway.” She grabbed a pen and with a flourish, she signed her name, picked up her Coach purse and walked away, her Ferragamo heels counting each step across the burnished oak floor.
-#-
It had been two weeks since Adam disappeared, two long weeks since they lost the fight, two long agonizing weeks since the white-hot pain of heartbreak shattered her life for the second time.
The first few days she lived in a state of denial. Each time the phone rang, her heartbeat raced like a thoroughbred. Tears sprang to her eyes each time she didn’t hear Adam’s voice on the other end.
She’d cried then slept then cried for days on end, holding his buckle close, hoping he’d come back for it and her. The twins and Sonja came to check on her, and she didn’t even have the energy to reassure them she was all right. Within fifteen minutes of their arrival, she excused herself, feigning illness.
When she awoke the morning of the fourth day she knew she had to make a change. The last time her world had fallen apart, she’d run away. This time she was older and maybe wiser. This time, she wasn’t running away. Now she was moving toward her future.
Treading water for the last four plus years, Rose had been unable to make a decision. Her dad had been fond of saying no decision is a decision. She’d been content in Tullyville before Adam had shown her how to live again. A shiver ran up her spine in anticipation. She'd been saving all these years with the idea of pursuing her Ph.D. in physics. Now was the perfect time to get back to an old dream.
The only ties she had to this area were her friends. Arizona State was within driving distance of Tullyville, and she could visit any time. Excitement melted the shiver into goose bumps on her arms and scalp. Decision made!
With so many amazing discoveries in physics just in the few years she'd been gone, she was ready to get back to what she loved. At least, to part of what she loved. Adam was beyond her reach but physics wasn't, and physics wasn’t a capricious lover like a certain man she knew. It had been there all along, waiting for her to come back.
In order to leave her position at KTLY, Rose needed to find a replacement, someone special to take her show and care about her callers.
Eddie had stepped up and was scheduling the daytime readers. He was doing an admirable job for someone who was once the King of Jerks.
Interviewing possible candidates for her job proved to be daunting. Most of them thought the alien callers were a joke. Rose was too possessive of her people now to give them to just anyone. The whole process was taking longer than she had anticipated. She wanted out of here.
Everything reminded her of Adam, and she needed to get on with her life.
She was just finishing up a show when Irwin walked into the broadcast room. “How are you, Rose?” He pulled a brand new bottle of antiseptic from a grocery bag, along with a roll of paper towels.
She started an advertisement then leaned back in her chair. “Not good Irwin. I just don't know what to do about anything anymore.”
Irwin put the bottle and towels on the corner of the desk then turned to her. “Lola would be great on your show.” He placed his hands on the cracked, plastic arms of her chair, twirled her around once then grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. “Go see the stars, Rose. They need you.” Then he smiled, settled his foam pad onto the chair and sat where she had just been. As the commercial ended, he introduced Randall Cunningham the Third. He hadn’t used an ounce of disinfectant.
No more hiding. Taking action didn’t diminish the ache in her heart, but formulating a plan gave her peace of mind.
Unfortunately, life wasn’t going along with her new plan.
The admittance office at Arizona State University informed her it was too late in the year to apply. Up until a few weeks ago, a situation like this would have thrown Rose into a panic.
Thanks in part to Adam, now forever known as the bastard who disappeared, she knew not to give up. Her original plan might not always succeed, but wonderful things had a way of appearing when she least expected them.
With her heart racing, Rose googled the physics department at ASU and studied the list of current faculty. Just as she’d hoped. Theodore Barrett, Associate Dean and Professor of Physics, was on staff. She’d followed his career from the time she was a sophomore in high school.
She’d found friends, she’d found confidence, but she’d lost love. Two out of three wasn’t enough, but it was all she had.
Chapter Twenty
Adam pounded a final nail into the two-by-four stud of a half-built wall. The neighborhood of Mc-Mansions his boss had contracted to build was on the outskirts of Wheatland, Wyoming. He checked his work then picked up a bottle of water and downed most of it in one long swig.
Laramie Peak stood tall on the horizon as the setting sun splashed gold, turquoise and hot pink rays into the sky. Even though the sun was going down, the temperature hovered close to ninety degrees. The red bandana he pulled from his back pocket was damp, but better than nothing to swab the sweat from his eyes.
After packing his tools, and joking with the other workers, he stopped and looked around. The flat landscape here in Wyoming stretched for miles in every direction. So different from the scrub brush and foothills of Tullyville.
His heart gave a quick double thud. Damn it, he couldn’t keep Tullyville and Rose off his mind for two minutes straight. The last weeks had crawled by one slow day after another.
He’d made up his mind to do the right thing, but doing the right thing was proving to be a lot harder than he’d expected. Once he’d forced Lillian to restore the businesses to their rightful owners, he’d packed his bag, rented a car and driven straight through to Wheatland, the only home he claimed for over ten years.
He missed Rose. The thought of her left a cold, hollow space where his heart used to be, but without the money, he had nothing to give her. He was a rodeo cowboy who worked construction to earn entry fees.
From the time he’d landed in Wyoming, he’d entered every rodeo possible and worked all the overtime he could fit into his schedule.
Gordon, Nebraska—Norwood, Frasier and Kremmling, Colorado and Rawlins, Wyoming were just some of the rodeos he’d made it to the last two weekends.
He hadn’t thought his heart could hurt this much. Hadn’t thought she would run through his mind every minute of the day and night. He hadn’t known he’d miss her with every breath.
His eyes closed then he took a deep breath, pulling the hot Wyoming air into his lungs. Time to put one foot in front of the other and keep going, like he had every day since he’d left Tullyville.
Adam climbed into his truck and headed home. Drove toward another long night with nothing to fill the hours until he had to be back to work.
A stop at the grocery yielded a six-pack of Corona then the drive through at Burger King produced the rest of his meal. Within five minutes he pulled into his driveway. The house he’d rented for four years sat on a few acres just outside the city limits.
When he’d first arrived back in Wyoming, loneliness compelled him to get a puppy. He’d named the blue heeler Tully, short for Tullyville, because, of course, he didn’t spend enough time thinking about the town and the special woman who lived there. The roly, poly ball of energy met him with the wild abandon that only small animals and children could produce.
One thing about dogs, they were always glad to
see you.
Kind of like Rose.
No, Rose wouldn’t be glad to see me now. Not after I ran off without a word. But it had been the only way he could force himself to leave.
He twisted the top off of a Corona and took a long swallow, the icy liquid slipping down his throat, washing away the dust of the day. Then he walked into the living room, grabbed the remote and clicked on the TV. With his burger and fries set high enough that Tully couldn’t reach, he settled in for another in a line of long boring evenings.
Halfway through a rerun of Rooster Cogburn, Tully woke from a sound sleep. He stared at the door then barked his high-pitched puppy bark, bouncing forward, protecting Adam from whatever monster lay outside the door. Adam laughed, and when the dog didn’t quit, reluctantly stood to answer.
He opened the door and exclaimed, “I’ll be damned!” You could have knocked him over with a piece of over-cooked spaghetti.
Irwin stood on the stoop, his hands folded in front of his stomach. The barest hint of a smile graced his face.
“What are you doing here?” Adam swung the door wide open and gestured for him to enter. “I’m sorry, come on in. You’re the last person I expected to see.”
“Sometimes surprises are good for one’s soul.”
“Can I get you a beer? Afraid it’s all I have except water.”
“Nothing, thank you,” Irwin said. He reached down to pet Tully, and the puppy rolled to his back, presenting his belly for a rub, his stubby grey legs wiggling in the air.
“Wait, nothing’s wrong with Rose, is there?” The nerves beneath Adam’s skin crawled like a thousand red ants at the thought of Rose hurt or sick.
“Rose is fine.”
Adam waited for Irwin to go on, but the little man sat staring at a spot above the fireplace, at a picture of Adam riding a bucking horse.
“That’s you?” Irwin asked pointing to the picture.
“Yeah, that’s what I do for fun,” Adam said.
Radio Rose (Change of Heart Cowboys Book 1) Page 27
