Rocky Mountain Cowboy

by S A Monk

  “Probably not, but it’s gotta be reported. And it’s not necessary that you go. You’ll have a long round trip to Denver.”

  “I’ll be there. Leave me the address.”

  “Yeah.”

  It was an abrupt dismissal. Jenny felt miserable all the way back to the ranch house. The need to take it slow because they had to ride double didn’t help, nor did the fact that Hawk didn’t say another word to her. To top it off, she also had to sit close behind him and wrap her arms tightly around his waist. Talk about being punished for a bad decision!

  The last she saw of him that evening was when he let her off at the gate to the front yard. When she got to the porch, she turned to watch him ride into the barn. By the time she left with Peter, neither Hawk nor his truck were around, making her wonder if he’d gone to the movies alone.

  CHAPTER 9

  There was little doubt that the Caldwell family had money, lots of it, from the look of their immense two story house and sprawling, highly manicured ranch yard. Situated on a bluff over-looking the valley, the house could more aptly be termed a mansion. Though it was lit up by outdoor underlighting, it was hard to see clearly in the diminishing twilight of evening.

  The barns, which were also underlit, resembled wealthy Kentucky stables on horse farms, rather than the usual pole barns of the West. The other outbuildings around the yard were just as fancy and expensively built, illuminated a little more clearly by halogen pole lights. The entire property was more of an estate than a common cattle ranch.

  Peter, who had insisted on driving, pulled the Corvette into the circular driveway and under the well-lit covered archway before the front doors. Jenny had already noticed how familiar Peter was with the Caldwell ranch. It had been over three weeks since they had arrived, and she knew her assistant had spent most of that time over here. She had a feeling she was going to find out tonight just what he had been up to with his new-found friends.

  Since she had let Peter pack for her, she couldn’t really complain about what he’d chosen for her. But there had been nothing practical in the lot. Tonight was the first time since the funeral she’d had occasion to wear one of her expensive designer outfits. At his insistence, she had chosen one of her own designs. He wanted her to give Brad Caldwell an example of her work, he’d told her, so that he could be persuaded to make some kind of financial investment in their new business.

  Jenny had balked at the Peter’s proposal. She’d made it clear that she wasn’t ready to commit herself full-time to their new venture, but, as usual, Peter hadn’t agreed. He probably wasn’t going to heed her request to keep the dinner date strictly social, either. When Peter Mason made his mind up, he rolled full steam ahead. Jenny was truly dreading the evening, and wished heartily that she’d never agreed to come. Hawk’s proposal of a dinner and a movie had sounded infinitely more appealing, though she doubted it would be something he’d ask again.

  Damn! She felt self-conscious, uncomfortable, and guilty standing at the man’s fancy carved double oak doors, waiting for a response to the doorbell she’d just pressed. Shifting from foot to foot in her strappy purple stiletto heels, she vowed to make the evening as short as politely possible.

  Now, more than ever, she was wondering about the future of her relationship with Peter Mason. She hated to admit it, since they had been co-workers and friends for so long, but she didn’t see much of a future together. She was actually glad he was returning to L.A. tomorrow. He had orders to fill and ship, and she didn’t want him interfering with whatever decisions she might make concerning a possible partnership with Hawk.

  A sudden cold breeze blew through the portico. Shivering, Jenny pulled the lapels of her jacket together. Her back was sore. It was a relief that her scrapes and bruises weren’t visible under her clothes. She did want them to become a topic of conversation.

  This afternoon Eli had seen them, and he hadn’t been too happy. The old cowboy would surely give the younger one hell, even though she’d told Eli it had been entirely her fault. Unfortunately, Peter had overheard her explanations to Eli, and become irate. Immediately, he blamed Hawk, although fortunately Hawk had not been around to hear Peter’s tirade. Jenny fervently hoped Peter wouldn’t bring any of that up tonight, in front of the Caldwells.

  Poor Hawk, she thought. Nothing seemed to be going right for him lately. All those problems at the ranch and her dad’s tragic death were a lot to cope with. Without a doubt, it had been as awful a period for him as it had been for her. The only thing good to have come of it so far had been their unexpected bond. Hawk had been a rock for her, although she wasn’t sure what she had done for him. Whatever happened, she was determined that this engagement with the Caldwells wasn’t going to undermine her opinion of him.

  Two hours later that determination was giving Jenny a terrible migraine. The dinner, prepared by the Caldwell’s cook and housekeeper, had been very good, but Jenny hadn’t had much of an appetite. And even though Brad Caldwell made conversation at dinner pleasant, his sister had been extremely cold and barely civil. The woman obviously disliked Jenny a great deal, and her desire to express that had barely been held in check by her brother’s warning looks. The only bright spot had been that Brad had refused to let Peter discuss any business during the meal. In the living room, over after dinner drinks, though, that changed.

  Peter was in an armchair on her right, Brad in one on her left, and Cindy across from her. Jenny felt surrounded. She just wanted to go home. Because she’d already had trouble getting Peter to call it an early night, she finished her after-dinner drink and let Brad pour her another. It was an excellent cognac, at least. She thought she might drink the whole bottle as she listened to Peter begin his proposal to Brad.

  All during Peter’s presentation, she saw Brad watching her closely, trying to gauge her feelings, she supposed.

  “So what do you think, Jennifer? Is this business of yours a good investment?” he asked her at the conclusion of Peter’s presentation.

  “If we get it off the ground,” she replied, knowing Peter was soon going to be furious with her. “Unfortunately, I don’t know yet if I’m going to stay with it.” She shot Peter a look that said I warned you. “I have some decisions to make about my future since Dad’s death, and I haven’t made up my mind about anything yet.”

  “You seem to have made a couple,” Peter said, glaring at her. “You and Larson look like you’re getting along pretty damn well, and you’re staying.”

  Jenny was ready to murder him. “Mr. Larson and I have suffered a mutual loss. Tom was my father, and Hawk’s close friend, as well as his partner.”

  Jenny was half-way through her second drink, when Cindy got up to pour herself a fourth. “Just how well are you and Hawk getting along?”

  “Well enough.” It was all she was going to say on the matter.

  “Well enough to stay a while, apparently.” Cindy lifted a manicured blonde eyebrow at her, unable to hide the scowl on her perfectly made up face. “How long?”

  Jenny held her arrogant, hostile stare without blinking. “I haven’t decided yet. As I said, probably at least until I settle Dad’s estate.”

  “Haven’t you been here three weeks already?” Standing in front of the sliding glass doors that opened outside to the patio, an enormous swimming pool, and a magnificent view of the valley, the blonde gave Jenny a long measuring look over her slender shoulder. In the waning light, she looked beautiful and menacing.

  “Not quite three.”

  Cindy came back to sit down on the arm of Peter’s chair. She was dressed in a short skirt and snug sweater that once again displayed all her assets to exacting detail. Jenny saw Peter’s eyes sweep the long shapely legs Cindy crossed, the long stretch of thigh she exposed, then the swell of those well enhanced breasts she revealed when she leaned forward. Jenny wondered exactly what Peter had been doing over here for three weeks. Brad had mentioned he worked at his office in town almost every day. That left Cindy to entertain Peter. May
be she wasn’t as attached to Hawk as Jenny thought.

  “Well, your job in Hollywood— It must be way too exciting for you to want to remain in our neck of the woods for long,” she stated with a smile and a toss of her sleek platinum hair. “Lots of gorgeous movie stars, models, and designers, huh?”

  Since the woman’s attention clearly shifted to Peter as if Jenny no longer existed, she figured she could ignore answering her intoxicated hostess. She’d like to get half-drunk herself, though she figured it wouldn’t be wise to let her guard down that much around these people.

  Brad was an observer, Jenny had concluded. He listened and watched, and, she imagined, analyzed. He probably never said anything he didn’t intend to say. Calculating was a good description of him. Shrewd and dangerous probably fit very well, too.

  “I assume Tom asked you to carry on his partnership with Hawk?” Brad voiced it as a question, but Jenny had learned over dinner that Peter had kept the Caldwells fairly well informed of her actions. Again, she was stung by her friend’s lack of loyalty.

  “Yes, he asked me to consider it.”

  “I think there are a few things you might want to consider first.”

  Here it comes, Jenny thought grimly.

  “You need to hear this, babe,” Peter chimed in, earning himself a glare. She hated it when he called her babe. “Larson is up to his ass in trouble.”

  Brad frowned at the tactless way Peter put it, but he obviously agreed. “Being the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the bank that holds the mortgage on your dad’s spread, I’m privy to some information you might find valuable as you weigh what to do with the ranch,” he elaborated. “At his age, Tom left a lot of the oversight of the ranch’s operations to Hawk. These past six months, the business has suffered one loss after another. Tom told me it cut heavily into their profits, so much so that he and Hawk had to take out additional loans to pay for some of the loss and damage. This month, after Tom died, Hawk was only able to make partial payments on those loans.”

  The only thing that was news to Jenny was the partial payment information. “Well, I’m sure when the cattle are sold, things will be caught up.”

  “If Hawk makes enough off the sale, and if he doesn’t have any more problems over there,” Brad supplied. “Big ifs for a man who may not be capable of handling the ranch by himself, without Tom.”

  “My dad trusted Hawk. They’d been partners for six years. I never heard Dad complain. Just the opposite, in fact.” Her father’s praise of Hawk as a partner had always been enthusiastic.

  “Tom took more of an active role before. You know Hawk didn’t invest much of his own money in that partnership deal with Tom,” Brad informed her. “Just some rodeo winnings.”

  “Just some rodeo winnings?” Cindy interrupted, suddenly outraged. “He made some big money on the Pro Rodeo Circuit. He was runner up in the All-Round category two years in a row, and Champion Team Calf Roper with Scott Richards the last three years he was on the circuit.”

  Brad shrugged as if none of that was of any consequence. “I saw Tom’s paperwork on the partnership. Hawk got half of everything, for nowhere near half the investment. He got a sweet deal. You know what they say: Easy come, easy go.”

  “He didn’t get the house,” Peter volunteered. “Jenny got that free and clear in Tom’s will.”

  Jenny couldn’t hide her sharp displeasure. Peter had no right to reveal that information. She barely managed to hold her angry rebuttal in check.

  “I don’t like the idea of you staying on here, under Larson’s influence, especially after what Brad has told me about the guy,” her production assistant replied. “But if you’re going to settle Tom’s estate, get an attorney to represent your interests, at least.” Ignoring her irritation with him, he went on, “Larson needs to buy out the interest your dad left you in the ranch. You need to insist on it.”

  “He can’t do that.”

  Both Brad and Cindy said exactly the same thing at the same time, although Cindy said it in Hawk’s defense, while Brad said it contemptuously.

  “Fine,” Peter persisted. “Sue him for it. You have a right to receive the inheritance your dad left you.”

  “You can also sue him for misconduct and for adversely affecting the business. If you proved that his incompetence threatened the business, Hawk would be expelled as a partner, probably leaving you with sole ownership.” After throwing that statement out, Brad watched her closely for her reaction.

  Jenny made sure she didn’t show any, but inside she was shocked by his obviously well thought-out proposal. Suing Hawk would destroy him and hurt Hank and Eli. It was unthinkable. Her dad would turn over in his grave. The fact that Brad made the suggestion showed that he was trying to manipulate the situation and influence her. He probably thought he could deal with her better than he could with Hawk.

  “You might be able to buy him out and become sole owner,” Peter once again advised. “Then you could sell the place.”

  “With your income and business assets, I don’t think you’d have any problem getting a loan, Jennifer.”

  Brad’s suggestion meant Peter had been informing him of her financial worth. She was too furious to think of a reply.

  “You don’t really want to live here, do you?” Peter asked as if she was considering living on the moon.

  Oh, Peter, Jenny thought, you don’t really know me at all. For years, that had been her most secret, fervent desire. She may have made a life for herself elsewhere, but her heart had always recognized these mountains as home. Did she really want to live here? Time had changed her goals, but maybe not her true ambitions. Could she live here without her father? Maybe. Lately, it had begun to seem plausible.

  “I lived here the first twelve years of my life, Peter,” she reminded him. He knew about her separation from her beloved father and how deeply it had affected her.

  “You can also do nothing,” Brad added. “In ninety days, the state will dissolve the partnership Tom had with Hawk, and call for a liquidation of all assets. You might not get as much then for the ranch as you would if you sold it now, before foreclosure or liquidation.”

  Foreclosure? That didn’t sound good. “What do you mean foreclosure?” she had to ask.

  Brad shrugged nonchalantly. “If Hawk doesn’t come good on his loan payments pretty quick, the ranch will go into the foreclosure process.”

  “How much does he owe?”

  Brad leaned forward to refill his brandy glass, effectively hiding the expression in his eyes. “I don’t know the exact amount. A substantial sum, I’m told.”

  Jenny thought he would know exactly how much, but she didn’t want to press him further. She could find that information out on her own without encouraging Brad to tell Peter. She really wanted to leave. She’d had enough of the visit, the advice, the glaring looks from the sister. She felt like a fly in a spider web. Her head was pounding, and she was furious with her longtime friend and business associate.

  “I’m sure Hawk won’t let it won’t come to that,” she assured Brad.

  “If you’re considering forming a partnership with him, at least investigate what I’ve told you tonight,” Brad responded. “The first thing you’ll have to do in either a full or limited partnership is to put in some of your own money in order to get the loans caught up. Peter tells me you’re an astute businesswoman, so I’m sure you know that pouring money down a losing venture is never a good investment. And you might think about the fact that the longer you delay in settling this with Hawk, the greater his losses are likely to be.”

  The stroke to her ego was a well-practiced maneuver. She was sure Peter had fallen for it, but she wasn’t like Peter. Her ego didn’t need stroking, and she knew what loyalty meant. If anything, this evening had only clarified loyalty for her; who had failed to give it to her, and who needed it from her. She’d trust her father’s judgment of character any day over these people’s judgment. Tom would never have jeopardized their home by allowing Hawk
to remain his partner if he’d thought he was mismanaging the ranch. There was misconduct here, all right, but she did not believe John Red Hawk Larson was guilty of it.

  At least, the evening had illuminated some things for her. Forming some kind of partnership with Hawk might be more a necessity than a luxury. The man could probably use her help, and she had learned a little more about what and who he was up against. Unfortunately, she hadn’t learned anything concrete that might connect Brad with the problems at the ranch. It was obvious Caldwell knew a great deal about the ranch’s losses and had a damn good motive for causing them. For her, it made him a prime suspect, just as Hawk had said. But how could it ever be proved? The man was far too shrewd to reveal any evidence of his own misconduct.

  Jenny was still deliberating on that when she and Peter left the Caldwells soon afterwards. All the way home, Peter tried to convince her of the merit of Brad Caldwell’s advice. He told her that Brad was seriously considering investing in their fledgling design business as soon as Peter sent him some financial and product data. The fact that Jenny was almost completely against the idea seemed to mean nothing to Peter. She knew that he would forge ahead anyhow. She also knew that nothing would be done without her final agreement and signature. She could afford to let Peter dabble with the idea a while, while she dealt with matters here. Keeping Caldwell interested might also give her access to more information about his involvement with the ranch’s problems. Keeping your enemy close seemed a good strategy for the moment. Maybe she could discover what Hawk had been unable to these past six months.

  By the time they pulled up to the ranch house, Jenny was nursing a horrendous headache, though. The wrap-around, covered porch was lit softly from the recessed overhead lights. It gave a warm welcoming glow to the outside of the two-story, gabled house. She thought of the coldly modern mansion she had just come from and sighed with relief. This was so much more a home!