“Ah, come on. I ain’t gonna hurt you. I just wanna talk.” The man leaned over the counter. “Put that knife away before you hurt yourself. You left the door unlocked, so I let myself in. No harm intended. You country folk sure do have a trusting nature, but you ain’t a country folk, are ya?”
“Who. Are. You.” Angela’s grip tightened on the knife. “Put it down.”
“Tell me who you are first.”
He huffed and straightened the huge brim of his hat, which
matched the color of this suit perfectly. “Name’s Tanner. I come to talk. Just talk. So put the knife down and you’ll get me outta here real quick.”
She set the knife onto the counter behind her, but stayed close to it.
“I hear you got rights to a nice piece of property after your Daddy died.” Tanner stood and stepped around the peninsula. “But it was never supposed to go to you, was it? I suggest you leave now and let the arena go where your Daddy intended.”
“You’re with the Montana Drilling Coalition.”
Tanner’s laugh bounced off the walls and shook his large belly. He slapped a hand onto the counter. “Well, well. She’s as smart as her fancy degree says she is. And since you’re so smart, honey, I know you’ll do what’s right.”
“What’s ‘right’ is that you leave my house. Now. That arena is rightfully mine.”
“I beg to differ. You best be careful talkin’ ‘bout stuff you know nothin’ about. You see, your Daddy promised that arena to the coalition when you was just a little girl scrapin’ your knees at the playground. He come close to runnin’ it to the ground. If not for my investment, it woulda closed down before you were outta your training bra. Now, he and I had an agreement, but he didn’t pay up like he promised, so we worked out another deal when he got sick. He dies, we get his share.”
“My father wasn’t known for keeping his promises.”
“Let’s hope his daughter’s more honorable.” Tanner took two steps closer.
Angela reach behind her back and closed her fingers around the knife handle.
“When we found out he double crossed us – again – we was sure it’d only be a matter of time before you left and the land would be ours. You weren’t supposed to stay this long, Miz Donnelly.”
“Do you have this agreement between my father and the coalition in writing?” Angela asked. “If you do, I suggest you fight this in court. Otherwise, you have no recourse.”
Tanner laughed again and reached behind her to grab the knife from her hand. He held it down at his side. “I don’t think so, Miz Donnelly. We got plenty of recourse, and plenty of resources. Now we ain’t suggesting you just up and give it to us. We’re not unreasonable. You’ll be paid for it.”
“Even if sold you my half, you’d never get the other half.”
“Oh, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. There’s enough oil beneath these soils to run this state for three decades. Drilling’ll bring jobs to this town. It’s the right thing to do and there’s a whole of lot of people wanting things to go in that direction. Mr. Jordan’s a smart man, just like yourself. I think you’ll both see the light. Eventually.”
Tanner straightened and flexed his fingers on the knife handle. He blocked her retreat.
“You don’t scare me.” Angela lifted her chin, her pulse scrambling as she eyed the knife.
A knock at the door had Tanner snapping his head in that direction. Angela pushed him out of the way and bolted past him. She made it to the door with him on her heels, opening it as he caught up.
Jeffrey stood on her porch. Tanner stopped cold behind her. Shaky with relief, she opened the door wide.
“What’s going on here?” Jeffrey stepped into the house. “Who the hell are you?”
Tanner set the knife on the coffee table. “Just having a chat with this fine young lady, but I’ll be on my way now.” He tipped his hat and walked out the door. “Good day, Miz Donnelly. I trust you’ll make the right decision.”
Jeffrey shut the door behind Angela’s unwanted guest. “You alright?”
“No.” She raked trembling fingers through her hair. “Why are you here? I thought you left days ago.”
“You’re welcome.” He picked up the knife and returned it to the kitchen.
She counted his steps, her heart still beating fast against her ribs. His steps closed in on her as he returned from the kitchen. She sighed and turned into his arms, comforted by the feel of his body, the warmth of his scent; the way her face fit into the curve of his neck.
He held her until the trembling ceased and her limbs went weak.
“Come home,” he whispered, brushing his fingers through her hair, his eyes intent on hers. “Come with me tonight. Get away from these rednecks. We’ll go to that bistro in uptown again. I’ll take you to Vermont. Paris. Wherever you’dlike.”
“How can I leave now?” She moved out of his arms. “That man is from the Montana Drilling Coalition.”
Jeffrey stared at her blankly.
“They want my father’s arena,” she explained. “Apparently he promised to deed it to them upon his death. But he only owned half, and he gave that half to me instead. They funded him years ago to keep the arena running and they want the return on their investment. And it was dearest Daddy’s way of sticking it to Cole, too. All the way from the grave.” She grunted and kicked the ottoman.
“Montana has plenty of land. Surely, they don’t need a pithy acre or two and a worn down arena.”
“The arena sits on more than a thousand acres. The coalition has been moving in on this town since I was a little girl. They’ve owned the land surrounding the arena for as long as I can remember. It’s been a black cloud hanging over this town. My father’s land is the last chunk of the puzzle. They need all the land to get the zoning changed.” Because her knees were weak, she sat down.
“How on earth did your Dad ever afford a thousand acres? You said your family struggled financially growing up.”
“He won it in a card game a few years before oil was found in the area.”
Jeffrey sat on the coffee table in front of her. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was.”
“So let them get the land and come home. Your job is waiting for you in New York.” He took her hand.
Angela moved away from him. “If they start drilling for oil here, it will pollute this town.”
“Why should that matter to you? Because this town has been so good to you?” he scoffed.
Angela snapped her gaze to his and glared at him through the censure of his tone.
Jeffrey shook his head and took her hand again, undeterred when she pulled it away once more. “Let me fix this. You know I can.”
“How can you possibly fix this?”
“Money fixes a multitude of things, Angela.”
“You don’t have the amount of money it would take. They’re too strong. They stand to lose billions because of me and Cole. If they can’t get the arena from us they’ll go to the state, or the federal government. I can only imagine the number of politicians they have in their back pocket.”
She slumped in her seat, her head in her hands, and exhaled sharply. “They will never stop. Ever.”
Jeffrey laid his hands on her knee. “I can guarantee that they will.”
“How can you be so sure? Do you have a few billion dollars you never told me about?”
“Let’s just say I have some influential people in my back pocket, as well. I’ll call in some favors.”
“You would do that?” She lifted her head.
“Of course.” Jeffrey pulled at his cuffs and stood. “But I don’t intend to do it out of the goodness of my heart.”
Angela glared at him. Her pulse raced. “What do you want?”
“You. Back at the firm. I’ll even give you a promotion. How does Senior Analyst sound with a twenty thousand dollar signing bonus? In addition to the thirty percent raise I already promised, of course.” He straightened his tie. “Corner
office. First class travel. All the perks. Seems like a win-win, doesn’t it? You get to be the hero and save this little podunk town, all the while avoiding the unemployment lines. And it’ll save me from having to go through the trouble of sullying your reputation.”
“That’s it?” Angela asked, standing. “I come back to work for you and you make the coalition go away? What about you and I? On a personal level, I mean.”
Jeffrey walked to the door. “I’m not a monster. I have no intention of coercing you back into my life on a personal level. I prefer that to happen of your own free will, and not because I bribed you. But,” he added, opening the door and turning back to her, “I have confidence things will work out in a mutually satisfying fashion.”
“Make the coalition go away,” Angela said, holding the door open as Jeffrey stepped onto the porch. “And say nothing about this to Cole, or to anyone else. After the arena is mine and signed over to the new partner, I’ll come back to the firm.”
Jeffrey took her chin in both hands, joy shimmering in his eyes. “You made the right choice. We’re good together, you and me. Always will be.”
“If I hear one peep from the coalition. Or if I hear they’ve stepped even a hundred feet near Cole, the deal’s off.”
“Don’t worry,” Jeffrey laughed, “I’ll keep my promise.”
He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her face away.
“I will earn your love again.”
Angela crossed her arms over her chest and peered into the night sky.
“I’ll see you in a few weeks.” He placed a hand on each of her cheeks and held her there from a moment.” Let me know your flight arrangements when you make them and I’ll send a car to pick you up at the airport.”
He stepped off the porch as Cole’s truck turned into the main driveway. The door to the truck slammed shut, the only sound in the cool air. Angela stood in her doorway, watching Cole over the distance of several dozen meters. Jeffrey started the rental car’s engine and pulled onto the highway.
Cole stood by his truck, watching Jeffrey’s taillights disappear down the backside of the hill, then he looked at Angela.
He had come to her rescue earlier that week. Even through the distance and haze of a moonlight evening she could see in his eyes that he would come to her rescue again, if only she’d ask. In spite of whatever may have happened between them – whatever could have been – Angela knew it no longer mattered.
She was going back to New York, back home.
Angela shook her head and walked back inside the house. She locked all the doors and windows and took her collection of kitchen knives into the bedroom. She tucked the biggest knife beneath her pillow. Just in case.
****
The summer heat had taken a hiatus and the chilly air hinted of autumn. Cole sat on the fence skirting the main pasture. It was the time of day when the grass seemed a little brighter, the sky a deeper blue; before the dulling glare of the noon sun and after the hazy fog of early morning.
His newest filly, Dakota, pranced in the center of all these colors, like a painting come to life. She’d grown good and strong and soon the time would come when he could train her. That part was always bittersweet. He enjoyed seeing his horses mature, much like he imagined he’d have enjoyed seeing his own children grow, but he hated having to say goodbye.
This land, and everything on it, belonged to him. Given as an inheritance, he had not worked particularly hard to get it, but he worked hard to keep it. The pride welled and bubbled; slow, easy and comfortable. It was about much more than possessions, more than status. It was his heart, his roots. And even as he sat there now, and the urge to leave tugged insistently at his cowboy heart, he recognized the value of being firmly planted, and of always having a home to return to.
He wanted the rodeo and he bowed his head, wishing again for quick healing. And he wondered if it really was the rodeo he wanted, or if he just wanted to run. There was no mistaking the grip Angie had on his heart. Even Jenna hadn’t had as much hold. He supposed it was bound to happen eventually.
The man he had been was closer now, and he felt himself making a conscious effort to back away from that slippery slope. It would cost them both. He wasn’t about to put her in the position of making the choice to stay in Grace for him. He’d been down that road once already.
Two weeks ago he had seen Jeffrey leave her house. Angie hadn’t said a word about it. When he had asked her about it point blank, she had avoided the answer like a skilled corporate executive. He had almost forgotten about the hoity toity suitwearing businesswoman she’d been when she had shown up on his doorstep at the beginning of the summer.
Apparently, Angie hadn’t forgotten.
Her car pulled up next to the guest house. She got out, opened the trunk and dragged a large box out of it. It was bigger than she was. She tried to lift it off the ground, only to let it fall back to the dirt. Cole hopped off the fence.
Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. She wore black slacks and a light gray sweater, her eyes smudged with dark makeup.
She straightened and lifted her eyes to his as he approached. The look she gave him held no significance, as though she had no idea she had the power to command him to follow at the slightest crook of her finger.
Images flashed through his mind of quiet Saturday evenings in front of the fire, curled up with Angie on the sofa. Then the thought of Jeffrey took over the fantasy and all Cole could see was Angie’s ex-lover standing on her porch, her face in his hands.
“I got this at the hardware store.” Angie, oblivious to his thoughts, tried to lift up the package again. “It’s really heavy. Joe helped me get it in the car.”
Cole looked at the picture on the box. “A punching bag?”
She shrugged. “Impulse buy.”
“Did you sell more of your suits to afford this thing?”
She lowered her eyelids, dark lashes sweeping her pale skin, and lifted a shoulder. “My finances are none of your business. I’m getting along fine.”
“Fine,” he sighed, “none of my business.”
He helped her carry the box to the back porch of the guest house, and then opened it to remove the heavy leather bag.
“You have a different cast on,” Angela said.
Cole set the bag against the wall and turned to her, looking down at the splint brace on his arm. “Yeah. Couldn’t talk the old doc into freeing me completely, but this’ll do.”
“Can you compete with that?”
“I probably could, but that doesn’t mean I will. Not until the doctor releases me from physical therapy. And he has a mindset on torturing me with that for a bit longer. Did this thing come with a stand? Or does it need to be hung from the ceiling?”
“There’s a stand. Cole…”
He stopped rooting through the packaging and looked up at her from his squatted position beside the box.
“How much longer? When are going back to the rodeo?”
“Are you asking me when I’ll be leaving?”
She shrugged. “I have a need to know. We’re partners.”
“That we are.” He took the pieces of the stand out of the box. “I’ll be leaving no sooner than you. But we’re both here now, so let’s save that discussion for later. Let’s get this thing set up for you.”
“We will have to discuss it.”
“Not now, sweetheart.” He smiled to soften the harsh tone of his voice, looking up at her briefly before resuming his task.
A half-hour later, they had managed to assemble the stand and fill it with sand for an anchor. Cole hung the bag and gave it a jab with his good arm. “She’ll hold.”
“Thanks.” Angela slapped her palms on either side to stop it from swinging. “Now those expensive kick boxing classes won’t go to waste.”
“Ah, what a pity that would be.”
“Yes, it would.” She rammed her fist hard against the weathered leather.
He steadied the bag to stop it from swinging.
“So what has you wanting to beat this thing?”
“Maybe I just need to hit something.” Angela furrowed her brow.
“Does this have anything to do with Jeffrey’s visit?”
She clamped her mouth shut, the skin around her lips going white. Then she exhaled sharply, her eyes misting. “Yes.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No, of course not.” She shook her head. “I know I should explain, but I just can’t. You’re just going to have to trust me on this.”
“I’m not asking for an explanation,” Cole said. “But I’ll tell you I didn’t like seeing him here.”
A smiled tugged at her lips. She forced it down. “You aren’t jealous, are you?”
He cupped his hand at the back of her neck and leaned in, his fingers tangled in her hair.
“Oh,” she breathed out, “you are jealous.”
“That shouldn’t surprise you.”
She rested her fingers at his waist and whispered, “no, it doesn’t.”
“Your time’s almost up here.”
She lifted her brow. “So is yours.”
“Yeah, but I’m coming back. I always come home after competing.”
“I said I’d give you three months, Cole. Back in June it seemed like an eternity.” She laughed nervously “You know what they say…time flies when you’re having fun.”
He looked into her eyes and saw the pain of her renewed memories settled in them. The past had broken through the guards she had put up; there was nothing left to protect her from the torture of remembering what her father had done. Even so, she tried like hell to lift her chin and make light of it.
“Look, it’s our day off,” he said. “We’ve been working our tails off getting ready for the pro rodeo. How about you forego bloodying your knuckles on this beast and keep me company on a ride?”
He knew she wanted to say yes. Her mouth parted slightly, but no sound came out. Her eyes fluttered from his mouth to his eyes, and then back to his mouth. She moved closer. Cole felt the need uncoil slowly inside him. His heart raced.
“That would be a bad idea,” she said, raising her mouth to his. “I don’t want to be alone with you.”
Heart of Grace (Return to Grace Trilogy Book 1) Page 19
