Texas Fire

by Gerry Bartlett

  “Yes, yes, it is.” Megan held out her hands to the two men. “I want to work with her. Please tell her that.” They shook hands. It was awkward, but a start.

  “I tried to tell her, too, that she might not like the kind of publicity she’ll get.” Art exchanged looks with his brother. “Sharon usually avoids the press. If you can do something about the noise and the smell around her place, I’m pretty sure she’ll back off fast. She really doesn’t like to talk to reporters.”

  “Then pulling stunts like blocking a road or staging protests isn’t a good approach.” Rowdy finally entered the conversation.

  “Well, at least it did get the attention of Calhoun’s head office.” Amos smiled. “Now, I’m confident Megan will get this all straightened out and we can head on back home or finish our travels.” He glanced back at his RV. “The wife has a real urge to go on to the Grand Canyon.”

  “Keep in mind that Megan wants to help Dr. Wallace. But within reason, gentlemen.” Rowdy cleared his throat. “Ms. Calhoun is a representative of a company that has a board of directors and stockholders to whom she must answer. She’s not authorized to give away the farm, if you know what I mean.”

  “No, of course not.” Amos nodded. “And clearly she’s got other things on her mind, as well.” He nudged his brother. “Raylene, we’ve interrupted these two lovebirds. Can’t you see that?”

  Megan looked down at her robe. She obviously had nothing on under it and was barefoot. As a representative of Calhoun Petroleum, she was a joke. She pulled the lapels together and tightened the cloth belt to make sure she was decently covered. The robe was a thick terry, thanks to the spa shop at the hotel in San Antonio, but she still felt at a distinct disadvantage. Crap. She jerked off her plastic shower cap.

  “Gentlemen, Rowdy’s right. I’ll act in good faith, but there is only so much I can do. Your cousin has ownership for the surface of her land only. There are limits when you don’t own the mineral rights underneath. While our company has certain responsibilities when we use the land, so does the landowner. The state of Texas is very clear on that. I will be asking Mr. Baker to go over her property to examine her compliance with state laws. If you don’t know what her obligations are when wells are drilled on her land, I suggest you look them up.”

  “We certainly will.” Art whipped out his smartphone.

  “Good.” Megan really wanted to go back inside and get dressed, but she needed to make one more point. “It’s unfortunate that Dr. Wallace was apparently sold acreage she knew so little about. What’s the saying? ‘Buy in haste, repent at leisure’?” She didn’t bother to smile; the men were clearly thinking hard and weren’t happy.

  “I think that’s ‘marry in haste’, hon, but it applies here to this situation, as well. The girl was swindled when she bought the land and that’s a fact.” Raylene turned to the twins. “You folks need to talk to her about that. She should turn some of that anger she’s got festering inside toward the right person. Whoever sold her the land in the first place is at fault. I’m sure there was no disclosure about what she could and couldn’t control since the mineral rights didn’t come with it.”

  “We need to look at her initial contract. When she bought the property,” Amos said to Artie, who nodded.

  “You do that.” Raylene looked around them, at the rows of RVs and the land beyond. “Hell, I had an offer for the land I’m standing on here not more than eighteen months ago. I turned it down flat.” She nodded. “Lot of money on the table, too, just for the mineral rights. But I paid attention. Read the fine print. Didn’t like the terms and didn’t need the money.” She shook her head. “But some things are supposed to be explained to the buyer anyway. Don’t you think?”

  “Good point, Raylene. We’ll get right on that. You don’t know it, but we’re both lawyers. Not licensed in Texas, but we can find someone who can act for us here.” Amos nudged his brother, and they both walked away, Art still working his cell phone.

  “Thanks, Raylene. I was afraid you’d be mad at me for not telling you my name right away.” Megan shivered. Clothes. She needed shoes, at the very least.

  “Why would I be mad? I don’t poke my nose into other folks’ business. I rent to people who come through here all the time. They might pay in cash, and sometimes I don’t even get a first name. I don’t care as long as they treat my place with respect.” She smiled down at the dogs, who were asleep next to each other.

  “In this part of Texas, we’re a little funny about people getting into our personal business. That’s probably why Sharon is here. In my experience, people who move out here by themselves are looking for some privacy. When Calhoun Petroleum moved in practically on her doorstep, she lost a good bit of it. I’d say if you can promise she’ll get it back, you might get more cooperation from her.” She reached down to rouse Butch from his nap. “Come on, pup. I’m still going to chew out some drivers who think my road is a raceway.”

  “Privacy. You know, Raylene, you might be on to something. Thanks for watching Lucky. We’ll bring him by again in the morning.” Megan gently woke the dog and picked him up before she stepped back into the trailer. Warmth. It felt good. She put Lucky on the floor, then collected their dropped towels and hung them up to dry.

  “Sorry we got interrupted.” Rowdy slid his arms around her waist. “You are continually surprising me.”

  “How?” She snuggled against him. When Lucky tried to squeeze between them, a command to “sit” took care of that. He really was a smart dog. She stepped back, opened her robe, and enjoyed Rowdy’s growl before he pulled her close again.

  “Quit trying to distract me. I’m making a point here.” He smoothed the cloth over her back. “Seriously, Megan, you handle people really well. Me, for sure.”

  Megan laughed. “Oh yeah? I thought you were handling me.” She pulled his fingers off her breast.

  “Okay, I’ll stop that.” He moved his hands to her shoulders. “I mean it. First Clint Stephens, then those protesters. Even Raylene. I haven’t caught you making any missteps yet.” He smiled and touched her chin. “Is this something you’ve always been good at?”

  “I’ve always been a good talker, anyway. Who knew it could be useful?” Megan leaned against him. “Maybe I’m finally figuring out my place in the scheme of things. All my life I’ve jumped from one interest to another, never giving any one thing a chance to stick. But now . . .” She looked up at him. “I’m doing something worthwhile by trying to save my family’s company. It doesn’t hurt that you’re backing me. It feels good to know you’re with me.”

  “Every step of the way.” He leaned down to kiss her, then put her away from him. “Now, get dressed. There are men drinking beer on our rigs, and I want to get back and see what’s happening. I let my need to be with you cloud my judgment today. I should have gone straight there after lunch.”

  “Sorry. That’s the old Megan. The Bad Influence Megan. I’ll do my best to be good from now on. I’d hate for you to get in trouble with the company.” She grinned and threw off her robe. “Where are my baggy jeans and sweatshirt?”

  “God.” He gave her a good, long look, then shielded his eyes and groped for Lucky’s leash. “Come on, pup. Bad Megan is in the house, and if we don’t leave now, I’ll never make it back to work.” He dragged the reluctant dog out of the trailer.

  Megan sank down on the foot of their bed.

  She was falling in love with him. For some reason, the thought didn’t scare her. Instead she couldn’t stop smiling as she got up and found one of his huge sweatshirts and pulled it over her naked body. It smelled like him. She sighed and picked out a pair of the thong panties he loved. He could do a treasure hunt for them later.

  Next went on those baggy jeans and heavy socks, then the ugly work boots she hated. No one she knew would believe this was Megan Calhoun actually looking forward to going to work. She didn’t quite believe it, either.

  * * *

  A week went by before Megan could set out to meet
with Dr. Sharon Wallace. She had research to do and a plan to implement. Then she found out the coming weekend was the Marfa Lights Festival. Since Raylene had also passed on the same rumors Clint had mentioned about a big planned demonstration, Megan realized she had a deadline. So she’d called to set up the appointment with the professor, ready or not. Rowdy was going to drive her to the Wallace ranch, which wasn’t far from the well site.

  Her next call was to get the okay from Mason MacKenzie. There were things that needed approval both from her evaluator and from the company if this was going to work. After she told him her idea, he was quiet for so long she was beginning to think she’d blown it.

  “Go ahead. Ever since these protests started, I’ve been studying the area where you and Baker are working,” Mason finally said. “What I found surprised me.”

  “Really? I can make the offer?” Megan just hoped this would be enough for Sharon Wallace.

  “Yep. I know Conrad had his faults—”

  “Faults?” Megan heard her voice crack. “Mason, Daddy has turned out to be a liar and a thief.”

  “Okay. He was in his early days. But he was also what my grandfather called one of the best oilmen he’d ever known. He had a nose for finding oil that was hard to beat. That’s how he built one of the most successful oil companies in the world.”

  Megan thought about that. It hurt even more, then, that her daddy had cheated to get there instead of just relying on his God-given talent.

  “Megan? You still there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Listen to me. Conrad was out there in Reeves County over a year before he died, wasn’t he?”

  “Yes, the supervisor here at the well site even met him.”

  “That’s because Conrad was buying up land out there, most of it with the mineral rights intact. That piece on Wallace’s land was an exception. Most of what he bought is uninhabited.” Mason laughed. “You’re not going to believe this, Meg. Hell, I couldn’t believe it myself. I knew your daddy had the nose for oil, but he stumbled on one of the biggest new oil fields the industry has seen in years. He bought thousands of acres. I’ve got the geologist’s reports here in front of me. I only got it because Cassidy talked her board into making the development of the new field into a joint venture with Texas Star.”

  “You’re kidding.” Megan wished Rowdy was here with her to hear this instead of out on the rig.

  “No, I’m not. That property is sitting on billions, that’s with a b, billions of gallons of oil, Megan. Yes, it’s not easy to get the oil out of there, the place is pretty damn isolated. But with a partnership, like with my own company, it can be done and very profitably. It couldn’t have come at a better time for both of our companies.”

  “Mason, you mean Texas Star and Calhoun really will work together on this?” Megan knew they’d always been rivals. She was shocked their board of directors was going along with this.

  “I brought some things to the table that made a joint venture attractive. One of them is that I proved I’ve got a line on some tax credits that will even make it worth our while to recycle our wastewater out there. It costs a lot, but with those federal credits, we can make the environmentalists happy and avoid more earthquakes.” Mason couldn’t have sounded prouder.

  “Wow.” That was all Megan could think to say. “Could—could that discovery make a difference for Calhoun? Keep us from going under?”

  “You’ll have to ask Cassidy about that. She’s still trying to figure out how much it will cost to pay off the people your father defrauded.” Mason sighed.“But it will bring in a lot of money, even at the price of oil now. Our hope is that this new field can save your company and mine.”

  “I can’t believe it. So I can present my plan to Sharon Wallace?”

  “In light of what’s coming? Her field is insignificant. Cass got permission for you to do whatever you think is right. So go ahead.” And he hung up.

  Megan sat back. Good news for a change. And good to know that her father had been doing some clever thinking near the end of his life. With that crazy will she’d been having some real doubts.

  * * *

  At last they were on their way to see Sharon Wallace. Megan was glad to get it over with, but she was also afraid she was going to throw up before they got there. The road was smoother but still not without its bumps and dips. Suck it up, Megan.

  “It’s interesting. We go down the same county road the well site is on, but then the entrance to her place is on another little offshoot that is little more than dirt and gravel,” Rowdy said when he turned at a stop sign. “So when Wallace looked at the place with a Realtor, she wouldn’t have had a clue that the wells were probably already getting started. The prep work isn’t as noisy as drilling and doesn’t smell.”

  “Right. It’s one of the points I’ll make. She didn’t take time for her own due diligence when she bought the place. Surely whoever sold her the land owed her more information up front, too.” Megan shifted in her seat, fighting the case of nerves.

  Rowdy patted her leg. “You have a folder full of papers. You’re ready for her. Relax, you can do this.”

  “We’ll see. Of course, we know that lizard she’s so crazy about isn’t even endangered. So, she can take her Texas horned lizard and shove it.” Megan had printed out a picture of the thing that could actually spit blood out of its eyes. She hoped she never ran into one. She couldn’t imagine an uglier creature.

  “That’s my girl.” Rowdy laughed. “What else?”

  “Wait and see.” She’d decided to surprise Rowdy with her plan. “Just feel free to jump in if I get in a bind, especially if one or more of the cousins look like they want to rumble.”

  “I have faith in you, baby. But if a cousin goes ballistic, you can count on me.” Rowdy grinned as he stopped at Wallace’s gate. “You’d think she’d have this open since you called ahead.” He waved when a man walked out from behind his truck. “Oh, it’s Bert, or was it Ernie? One of the cousins.” He rolled down his truck window. “We have an appointment to see Dr. Wallace. She’s expecting us. Megan Calhoun and Rowdy Baker from Calhoun Petroleum.”

  The man just nodded and pushed a button on his side of the gate, which began to slowly swing open. There was no friendly smile or greeting.

  “Gee, why do I have a feeling we’re going into enemy territory? At least he’s not carrying a gun.” Megan turned around and saw the gate closing behind them as soon as Rowdy drove the truck inside.

  “Want to bet? I think I saw a bulge under his jacket.” Rowdy drove down a dirt and gravel driveway.

  At the end was a large log house that had a contemporary feel. Trees surrounded it, and someone had arranged flower beds with the types of native plants that managed to flower even when there was a drought like the one that had plagued the region for months. There were big windows and a slanted roofline that helped Megan understand why Sharon Wallace had fallen in love with the place and jumped to buy it. Especially since records showed she’d gotten it at a bargain price.

  “I see at least a dozen cars and trucks. RVs, too.” She sighed as Rowdy stopped the truck. “We’re sure going to be outnumbered. Maybe you should pull your gun out of the glove compartment and stick it in your pants.”

  “Go in there armed? That’s just asking for trouble.” He squeezed her hand. “You can’t be serious. Just stick to your research, and it’ll be fine. As a fallback, play hardball. Calhoun doesn’t owe Wallace a damn thing. We’re here as a courtesy. Is that what your daddy would have said?”

  “My daddy would have done a lot of things I won’t. Like bring up her problems back at the university. I won’t play dirty. Something my dad was known for in his early days in the oil fields.” Megan couldn’t look at Rowdy. She’d already said too much. The ball of nerves in her stomach tightened. Yes, she knew now that her father wouldn’t have hesitated to do whatever it took to get his way. He’d have loved to sling the mud and see what stuck. She wasn’t going that way. Surely a well-ed
ucated woman could be made to see reason. She took a breath, then opened the truck door. Rowdy was right there to help her get down.

  “Smile. You’ve got this.” He stepped back and walked behind her to the front door of what was a seriously beautiful log house. The door opened before Megan could push the doorbell.

  “Ms. Calhoun. Come in. I hope you’re not going to waste my time.” Sharon Wallace turned and walked into an open-concept living area. A fire blazed in a soaring stone fireplace that had a colorful woven art piece hanging above it. There were many chairs and two long sofas facing it. People sat or stood in clusters around the enormous room.

  “Of course not. And I hope you agreed to meet me with an open mind.” Megan didn’t bother to count the number of cousins in the room, but she felt every eye on her as she sat in the straight-backed dining chair the woman indicated. Apparently no one had saved a seat for Rowdy, so he stood behind her. She kept her papers in her lap and waited for Wallace to sit in an easy chair a few feet away.

  “I won’t offer you refreshments.” Dr. Wallace glanced around the room. Most of her guests held coffee cups or soda cans. “This isn’t a social visit.”

  “Of course not, since you seem determined to be belligerent.” Megan leaned forward. “But could I trouble you for a glass of water? Or is that too ‘social’ for you?” She knew this was pushing it, but she’d be damned if she’d let this start on Wallace’s terms.

  “Amos, would you mind?” Wallace waved her hand. “I’m not belligerent. I’m just fed up. Since I moved here, I’ve put up with lies from your company and empty promises. If you’re here to give me the same, you might as well leave.”

  Megan waited until Amos handed her a bottle of water.