“No clue, and Violet said she didn’t leave her name.”
“Then it mustn’t have been important. Look, Alexander, I have an appointment I can’t miss. Give Antoinette my apologies. I won’t be able to make it to dinner tonight.”
“Tristan…we need to talk. That’s why I came out here.”
“About what?”
Chapter Ten
“Damn it, Tristan, you can’t do this!” Miguel heard a man yelling as he jumped out of his truck. After getting up this morning, Julio had made plans to visit Gabriel over at the Pleasure Cave while Victor went with River to her work site to help out. Though Miguel appreciated the job offer, he and his brothers were going to try to find something on their own. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to work with River, they just wanted to find something more suitable that didn’t clash with her business.
“I can and I did, Alex,” a man in a fine-tailored suit shouted back at the other man, also in an expensive suit.
“What is the town going to think? They have a charter in place to stop shit like this. You won’t win, Tristan. The town will sue you for every dime you have.”
“They can try, but they won’t win. The town doesn’t own the mineral rights. I did some digging, and found out that a former shareholder in the charter swindled everyone out of their share. One person owned the mineral rights, and he is dead. When he failed to sign over ownership, the mineral rights became public property, and now they belong to me.”
“This is bullshit.”
“No, it’s business. I own all the land between Treasure Cove and Celestial, and soon, I will own Celestial. I have a man coming in to ensure that. Those idiots over there won’t know what hit them before it’s too late.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I like it here. It’s quiet and serene.”
“You’ll be bored in a week and you know it. Nothing goes on here. It’s cattle country.”
“For now, but I have plans to boost the economy. Soon this place will be a mecca for the rich and famous.”
“Nobody cares about that shit here. These people are simple folks and just want to live their lives in peace. Tristan, please stop this before it gets out of hand.”
“I can’t, Alex. I made a promise and I plan to keep it.”
“You’ve never kept a damn promise in your life.”
“You’re right, but I do repay my debts.”
“I’m going to see Matthew Jenkins about this. You won’t win, Tristan, not this time,” the man Alex said angrily, walking away.
“You’ll understand everything soon. Just be patient,” Tristan shouted back as Miguel watched the other man flip him the bird. Miguel didn’t know what to do. The man he needed to see looked angry and not at all in the mood to talk to some former soldier looking for a job. But then again, dealing with stuck-up assholes was never a problem for him. All he had to do was picture the man in an officer’s uniform and just charge on ahead.
“Mr. Summerfield?”
“Yes?” The man in question turned to face him.
“I’m Miguel Sanchez. I heard you were hiring.”
“Depends on what you can offer?”
“I am a former Army soldier with fifteen years’ experience in demolition and explosives. I’m new to the area and wanted to know if my credentials would interest you.”
“A soldier, huh,” the man said, looking him up and down. “Ever done a protection detail.”
“Yes, sir, my brothers and I did that for two of our deployments.”
“Brothers? There are more of you?”
“Yes, sir. I have two brothers.”
“Good, I’ll hire all three of you.”
Miguel was stumped. He wasn’t sure what the man was talking about. Was he hired for demolitions or for something else? “Uh, for what, sir?”
“I’m in need of someone to look after my back. I’m moving into this territory and I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of people who would like to see me go.”
“Are you expecting trouble, sir?”
“I have no idea, but if there is, that is what you and your brothers are for, and stop calling me sir. You’re in the civilian world now, soldier. The name is Tristan.”
“Yes, sir,” Miguel automatically said, then grinned. “I guess old habits die hard.”
Mr. Summerfield smiled. “Apparently so.”
* * * *
A few hours later, Matthew Jenkins was sitting behind his desk, going over a case, when Alexander Ellis walked in. “By all means, do come in, Alex.”
“Sorry.” Alex smirked. “We need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Tristan Wallace Summerfield.”
“Ah, the elusive and very wealthy business owner who’s been buying up quite a bit of property around these parts.”
“Yep, that’s the one, and you forgot self-centered, egotistical, and generally a major pain in the ass!” Alex ranted, plopping into the leather chair in front of his desk. Leaning back in his chair, Matthew sighed. “What has the man done now?”
“It’s not what he has done, it’s what he’s about to do.”
“Enlighten me, then.”
“Apparently Tristan has gotten it into his head that the Treasure Cove charter doesn’t include the mineral rights, and therefore according to him, he has every right to start drilling. He’s already started construction on a massive building outside of Celestial and word around town is that he’s also contracted a hundred-house community for his employees.”
“The Treasure Cove charter is null and void. You know that. Everyone owns their own land. Besides, the mineral rights belong to the town. You know that as well as I do.”
“No, they don’t,” Alex replied seriously. “I did some digging before I came and saw you to confirm something. Tristan told me that years ago, one of the founding families swindled the other families out of the mineral rights after they found out that beneath our feet is a wealth of natural gas and minerals. When he died, he failed to bequeath those rights over to his children.”
“And when this person died, the mineral rights became free and clear to anyone who wanted to purchase them,” Matthew said, sitting up.
“Unless this mysterious person did, and we just don’t know about it.”
“Do we know who this person was?”
“I’m still looking into it, but if what Tristan says is true, he has every right to start drilling for minerals. There would be nothing we could do to stop him.”
“I know that there is a major mineral deposit between Treasure Cove and Celestial. I remember hearing my own dads talking about it. That was when the original mine was open back in the fifties. But it’s since been closed down. But according to my dad’s, the minerals harvested belonged to the town. Not just one person.”
“We need to find out if what Tristan says is true. Who were the original signers of the charter back when both towns were founded?”
“That’s easy, I have that information here,” Matthew said, getting up and walking over to a filing cabinet. Pulling out the file he needed, he returned to his seat and started flipping through documents until he found the right one and handing it to Alex.
“According to this, the original families were Charles and Robert Quinn, Collin and George Hicks, Liam and David Conner, Brian and Henry McDaniel and Adam, Bailey and Cord Kincaid. How are we going to find out if one of these men swindled the other families? And why just the mineral rights? Why not everything?”
Matthew sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t need this shit. He thought everything to do with the charter was done. “I don’t know, but I do know that the ranchers and both towns will not stand for Tristan waltzing in and starting drilling. It would disrupt the ecosystem in the area.”
“We need to hold a town meeting. We have to get to the bottom of this before the shit hits the fan,” Alex suggested.
“Agreed. I’ll start making calls, you find out what you can, and get
back to me as soon as possible.”
Chapter Eleven
Victor was helping River put her tools in her truck when a large red dully came screeching to a halt next to them. “What in the hell?”
Laughing, River just replied, “That’s my oldest sister, Delta.”
“Well, she needs to slow down,” Victor added as the ball of fury jumped down from her truck and marched over to them. Now, he had seen many generals that could instill the fear of god into any hardened soldier, but looking at the woman approaching, Victor actually stepped behind River for protection.
“Hey, Delta,” River said cheerfully. “You look positively giddy. Did you run over a small child or something?”
“Better. I found that fucker. Just as soon as I give Lake my receipts for the day, I am heading out to where he is and we’re gonna have a nice long talk.”
“You’re still not looking for Mr. Summerfield, are you?”
“No need to look. I found the son of a bitch.”
“Delta, please just drop it. We can find another distributor.”
“No, I want to meet the man who thinks he owns everything and everyone.”
“Why, so you can spend the night in jail again? Look, your probation officer said if you get arrested one more time, he wasn’t going to be able to keep you from doing jail time.”
“He ain’t gonna find out,” Delta said, then looked directly behind her sister. Victor smiled, and said, “Hi.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Victor Sanchez, it’s nice to meet you,” he said, offering her his hand.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Delta replied, eyeing him up and down. “Are you fucking my sister?”
“Delta!” River shouted.
“Well, are you?” Delta asked taking a step forward.
Miguel stepped out from behind River and squared his shoulders. “Yes, ma’am, I am, and so are my brothers. We’ve claimed River and she has accepted.”
“You’ve claimed her? What, like a lottery ticket?”
“No, ma’am. We love your sister and want to be with her.”
“Whatever,” Delta said, dismissing him as she asked her sister, “Do Mom and Dad know?”
“Not yet.”
Laughing, Delta headed toward the company trailer and yelled, “Let me know, I want to be there when you tell them!”
Victor said nothing as the outrageous and loud woman left. He took a long deep breathe and said, “Wow.”
“You have no idea. Let’s go home.”
“I love the sound of that,” Victor replied, opening the truck door so River could climb in. Taking the keys she offered him, he slid behind the driver’s seat and drove home, praying his brothers had a better day than he did.
Victor meant what he said when he loved the sound of River saying “let’s go home.” It was warming and endearing. For so long there was no home to go to, just a bunker or barracks rooms. A place that was cold and impersonal. Yeah, he had his mom and Vanessa when he went on leave, but those places weren’t home. In a way, he was homeless. Yes, the army provided a roof over his head, three hot meals a day, and the clothing on his back, but it never felt like home. In the short time he’d been in Treasure Cove, the town felt more like home than the army ever did. Then when he met River, he knew what home really meant. She was home for him and would always be.
It wasn’t easy being claimed by three domineering men, he knew that. He just hoped that River was truly happy with her new situation. All he and his brothers wanted to do was lavish love on her as often as they could. Oh, he wasn’t thinking about sex, well…not wholly, but River was a sweet, caring woman and needed someone to take care of her. Yes, he knew she was highly independent and was more than capable of fending for herself, but he didn’t want her to. He wanted to be the one she came to when she needed a rest. He wanted her to depend on him and his brothers, to lean on them and know that they could get the job done, no matter how trivial or important.
Victor pulled into River’s parking spot and turned off the engine. After helping her lock up her tools, they walked hand in hand into her apartment. He smiled when he smelled dinner already cooking and saw that Julio was setting the table. It looked as if his brothers had a good day.
“Go wash up, baby, dinner is going to be a few more minutes,” Julio said, walking over to her and giving her a quick kiss.
“Dinner smells delicious,” she replied. “I won’t be long.”
Victor and Julio watched as River walked into her bedroom and shut the door. As soon as they heard the water running, Julio said, “We’ve got a problem.”
“No,” Victor grumbled. “No, we don’t.”
“Yes, we do,” Julio replied. “Stupid over there went and got a job working for Tristan Summerfield.”
“Are you kidding me? That man is causing River grief out at her work site. I won’t even mention what her sister Delta thinks of the man. I thought he was going to try another construction site?”
“Well, apparently it belongs to this Mr. Summerfield fellow and it gets worse. Miguel isn’t working construction. He’s working as Mr. Summerfield’s bodyguard, and apparently we are, too.”
“How so?”
“Dipshit told the man he had two other brothers.”
“I’ll kill him.”
“Mr. Summerfield wants to meet with all of us tomorrow.”
“I can’t,” Victor replied. “I told River and Lake that I would help with the electrical work. Their electrician is out sick. Besides, I won’t work for a man who is causing our woman problems. Sorry, Julio, I’m not doing it. And you better not let River find out, because she isn’t going to be happy about any of us working for him. It’s not just her, either. This man is causing trouble all over town. River told me at lunch today that Mr. Summerfield bought our sister’s store. If it weren’t for Peter, Van wouldn’t own the place anymore. This Summerfield guy has already purchased the bank and several thousand acres from here to Celestial, and he’s being sneaky about it. How did it go over at the Pleasure Cave?”
“Fine. Gabriel gave me a job as the general manager of his restaurant. He said if I show him a profit within the next three months, he’ll promote me to manager of the whole facility.”
“Why is he giving up control of the place? I thought he liked doing it all.”
“Antoinette had a baby, and he wants more time with her and the kid. Besides, he isn’t giving up shit and you know it. He may have people in place to manage shit, but he has the final say. He just doesn’t want to deal with all the paperwork anymore.”
“Does it pay well?”
“Well enough, and he’s offered us a condo in his building. Something about a work perk.”
“I don’t think River is going to want to live in a BDSM club.”
“Me neither, so I’ve called Mom, and she is going to start looking for a house for us. She said there is one near the Hicks place that she think will be just perfect for us.”
“You mean so she can come visit as often as she wants.”
‘“Exactly.”
“What about stupid?” Victor asked, thumbing his finger toward the kitchen. “He can’t work for Mr. Summerfield.”
“I’ve thought about that. I’m going to ask Gabriel if I can bring in Miguel to help with security at the club. When I arrived, I noticed the security detail sorely lacking. They didn’t even check for I.D. when I walked in.”
“That would be good for Miguel. He likes shit like that, and he will get to order people around.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“What did you think?” River said, walking out of her room, dressed in a soft, yellow robe.
“That you are the most beautiful woman in the world,” Julio quickly replied, and grinned.
“Nice save.” She laughed.
Dinner went off without any fanfare and was delicious. That was one good thing about Victor and his brothers, thanks to their mom. She insisted that all of her children lea
rned simple basic household duties, and cooking was most important. Though Victor wasn’t as good as Julio, he could manage macaroni and cheese without burning it.
“Oh, before I forget,” Julio said, helping to clear the table. “Peter and Brice called me today. It seems that Carter has taken our sister to meet his parents. Something about giving her better mobility. She will be gone for a couple of days.”
“How wonderful,” River added. “Now maybe she will quit stalling and set a wedding date.”
“Sweetheart, you’d have better luck finding beach-front property in the Sahara Desert.” Miguel laughed. “Van isn’t going to do anything until she is damn good and ready.”
“Or she finds out she’s pregnant.” Victor snickered.
“What?” River whispered, turning to look at him.
Victor sobered and replied, “If she’s pregnant, she will have to marry them.”
“Oh, Goddess!” River gasped and ran from the room.
River frantically rummaged in her medicine cabinet, searching for her birth control pills. She’d been so busy lately, she had totally forgotten to take them. Hell, she couldn’t remember the last time she took them. It had to have been weeks ago. When she couldn’t find them, she dropped to her knees and started looking under the sink for her little pink case.
“Where are they!” she exclaimed.
“Baby, what is wrong?” Julio asked.
“I am so stupid!”
“Sweetheart, you’re not stupid. Tell us what you’re looking for and we will help you,” Miguel added.
“I can’t find them!” she shouted, pushing past the brothers, heading for her nightstand.
“Can’t find what, River?” Victor asked.
Rounding on all three of them, she shouted, “My birth control pills!” Now, if River wasn’t so frantic herself, she would have doubled over and laughed at their expressions, because they were priceless. However, the shock wore off quickly as Julio started barking orders, “Victor, tear apart that bathroom, Miguel, you’ve got the kitchen, River, stay where you are and look in your bedroom, I’ll take the living room. Don’t worry, babe, we’ll find them.”
Her Dirty Doms [The Men of Treasure Cove 13] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 11
