Big Chance Cowboy

by Teri Anne Stanley

  “He said he wouldn’t sell unless we could top the five-hundred-thousand-dollar bid some developer supposedly offered him. Then he offered to negotiate in exchange for a blow job.”

  Adam’s stomach churned, and he had to consciously relax his hands. The disgust he felt knowing someone disrespected his Lizzie was tripled by the knowledge it had come from Mitch Babcock.

  He’d never seen her look so…sad. He pulled her into his arms, all the while thinking about driving out toward Fredericksburg to talk to Mitch.

  “Hey,” she said, leaning back to look up at him. “I’m okay. He didn’t touch me, and I’m never going there again.”

  “Damn,” he said. “I’m sorry about this. What are you going to do next?”

  She rose on her tiptoes to kiss him on the jaw. “I’m gonna thank you for not telling me what to do next, for one thing.”

  “Well, it’s not like I’d have a clue,” he muttered.

  “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. “If he won’t sell, there’s not much I can do. Maybe the county will charge him enough back taxes to scare away his big fancy developer, if such an entity even exists. Otherwise, I’ll look somewhere else, I guess. Now that we’ve started planning, I really, really want to see this thing through.”

  “It’s too bad this place wouldn’t work for you. We could kill two birds with one sale.”

  She didn’t respond, so he plowed ahead.

  “I mean…we could get a bulldozer out here and build a fake creek,” he said. “Invent some legends about stuff that never happened.”

  Her lips smiled, but her eyes didn’t. “Well,” she said, on a long, shaky breath, “that’s another thing. I got a voicemail. It seems Rob Chance is looking to start a large-animal veterinary practice, and this ranch sounds like it might fit his needs.”

  “Really?” Adam didn’t know why he was surprised. This was what he wanted, and Lizzie’d come through for him. This was good, right?

  “No promises,” Lizzie said. “I’ll call him tomorrow and find out what he’s looking for specifically.”

  His phone rang. “Crap. Hold that thought.”

  Lizzie nodded and led Loretta toward the barn to reunite with her puppies.

  “Hey, Emma.”

  “I really hate to ask you this…” Emma began, which meant that she was about to ask him this. Whatever this was.

  “Whatever you need, just say it.”

  “Yeah, you’re going to take that back.”

  He couldn’t imagine what she could ask that he’d deny, but he said, “Ask and we’ll see.”

  “I need you to keep Granddad at the farm for a couple of days.”

  No. No, no, no. “Sure, Em. What’s going on?”

  “He got agitated today about that thing he keeps talking about. Our legacy. He knocked Mrs. King down when she tried to stop him from leaving the house.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “She’s still at the ER, but it looks like she’s got a dislocated hip. She’ll be out of commission for a while.”

  “Will she be okay, though?”

  “They’re transferring her to Austin to see a specialist. We’ll know something in a couple of days, but the ER doc said it might have been easier to fix if the hip actually broke.”

  “That blows,” Adam said.

  “I’m really sorry,” Emma said, her voice thick and rough.

  He might have thought she was crying, except Emma was tough. She only cried at movies and the national anthem.

  “I wish I didn’t have to ask you, but the Sterns are out of town, and I’m running the Feed and Seed by myself this week,” she continued. “I can’t leave Granddad alone, and I can’t take him in with me. He’ll chase off the customers.”

  Adam rubbed his forehead. “It’s okay. You want to bring him now, or you want me to come get him?”

  “Can you come in the morning? He just took his medicine, and when he goes to bed, I’ll get him packed.”

  “No problem. Damn. I’m sorry, Emma.”

  “What are you sorry for?” She sounded truly puzzled.

  “That you’ve had to deal with all this. It’s not fair.”

  She laughed. Huh? “You’re such a dork. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  “Good night, Dipwad.”

  “Good night, Buttface.”

  She laughed again and disconnected.

  He looked at Lizzie, who had returned from the barn and was leaning against her car again, looking at something on her phone. When she realized he’d ended his call, she put it away.

  “Emma doesn’t understand why I’d be sorry that she’s stuck with Granddad,” he blurted. He needed an interpreter for sister speak, because it sounded like she really didn’t get it.

  “She loves him,” Lizzie said, shrugging. “She’s lived with him for, like, ever, right? Even when she was married? He’s been there for her, so she wants to be there for him.”

  Adam hadn’t been there for anyone. “He knocked his caregiver down today, and she’s pretty banged up.”

  Lizzie covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh no.”

  “Yeah.” He rubbed his forehead again, which did nothing to stop the continuous loop of It’s all Adam’s fault running through his brain.

  “No you don’t,” Lizzie said sternly, and he looked around for a dog until he realized she was talking to him. “You’re not going to beat yourself up about Emma being okay with taking care of your granddad.”

  “But she should have a life. She should be out meeting new guys and buying shoes and shit. Instead, she’s stuck working a dead-end job in this dead-end town and living with her grandfather.”

  “Seriously? You think she hates her life?” Lizzie huffed out a breath and held up a hand. “I’m sorry. It’s really none of my business. I just hate that you take on so much.”

  He laughed. “You’re the one who wants to save the world.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “And what are you trying to do?”

  “Get through today, mostly.”

  “Yeah. And bail your sister out of some imaginary miserable existence, give your friends a place to figure out what to do next, and adopt a boatload of homeless dogs, and—”

  “I did not adopt those dogs. They’re all going to other homes. Except maybe D-Day. And Emma might not know she’s miserable now, but when she figures it out, I need her to have choices. And Granddad does need more care.”

  Lizzie smiled at him and moved closer. Almost close enough to touch. And then…yes. She was right where he needed her to be so that, as he leaned down, he was able to plant his lips on hers. So that, as he kissed her, he could smell her hair, feel her sigh. Be with her. Let the world disappear for a few glorious moments.

  When they separated, as humid Texas air refilled his lungs, he thought of a question. “Did good ol’ Mitch say what these ‘developers’ of his want to do?”

  “Nope.” The way she popped that p sounded pretty definite. “Let’s just hope they aren’t putting in a strip club.”

  “Well, if I were building a gentlemen’s entertainment center,” Adam said, “the outskirts of Boo-Foo Nowhere is exactly where I’d start.”

  Lizzie snorted. “Gentlemen’s entertainment center?”

  “It beats titty bar. Or do you prefer exotic danceteria?”

  She laughed outright at that one. “Danceteria?”

  “Yeah. I made that one up myself.”

  “I can tell.”

  And there they were, smiling at each other again. He was starting to get used to the warm bubbly feeling he got when she was close.

  “I really—” His phone rang again. Which was probably for the best, because he wasn’t sure what he was about to say. Really enjoyed her company? Really wanted to razzle her dazzle?

 
; He took his phone out of his pocket, surprised at the display. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Adam. Joe Chance.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Do you have a minute?”

  He looked at Lizzie, who was busy with her phone again. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “You know those papers you gave me on the Fourth?”

  The stuff he’d found in Granddad’s old bureau when he cleaned out the horse shed. He’d almost forgotten about that. “Sure.”

  “Sorry it’s taken me so long, but I finally got a chance to go through them.”

  “No worries. I know you’ve got a few other irons in the fire.”

  Joe laughed. “You wouldn’t believe.” But then his voice sobered, and he said, “I had to do some research, because some of the writing on that deed was almost illegible.”

  “There’s a deed?”

  Lizzie looked up, listening to his end of the conversation.

  “Yeah, it’s a deed,” Joe confirmed. “And here’s the thing.”

  Something about Joe’s tone… “Is this going to screw up my life?” He put his arm around Lizzie, tucked her close while he waited to hear the news. A cool breeze blew over them from the west, and lightning crackled in the distance.

  “I hope you’ll find this to be good news. That bill of sale and the other stuff? Your grandfather bought the Mill Creek farm from Mitch Babcock ten years ago, for fifteen thousand dollars.”

  “What?” Adam didn’t understand. “Granddad bought it?”

  Lizzie pulled away from Adam now, looking at him in confusion, so Adam put the call on speaker to let her listen.

  “Yep.”

  “But Lizzie said that—”

  “I know,” Joe interrupted. “I heard from Lizzie’s dad that they’ve got paperwork showing Mitch bought the place from his father for a buck on June 17, 2006. Well, it seems that Mitch turned around and sold it to your grandfather on June 18.”

  Lizzie grabbed Adam’s arm and practically jumped up and down. A tickle of excitement ran down his spine, but he ignored it, because there was no way this was happening. It still didn’t make sense. “But then why would Mitch think it’s still his?”

  “Well,” Joe said, “these papers were all part of that freak accident at the courthouse—which I’m starting to believe wasn’t so freaky or accidental. Anyway, there’s no official record of the transfer of property. As far as county records go, it would appear to still belong to Mitch.”

  “So who actually owns it?” Adam asked.

  “This deed’s witnessed and notarized, so it’s legal. I want to dot a few i’s and cross a few t’s, but your grandfather owns it fair and square—or rather he did until we signed this last batch of papers, where everything’s in a trust for you and Emma.”

  “I’ll be damned.”

  Joe kept talking, some mumbo jumbo legalese, but the take-home message was that it was Adam and Emma’s. Not Granddad’s. And not Mitch Babcock’s.

  “Thanks, Joe.” Adam hung up and turned to Lizzie.

  “Did you hear that?” she asked, eyes wide and excited.

  “Yeah. I did. You’re going to get to build your park.” He kissed her, reveling in the knowledge that he could make both their wishes come true. “And after I sell Mill Creek farm and this place, I can get Granddad decent long-term care, put away savings for Emma to start a new life, and maybe get my ass to Maine before the first snowfall.” As he recited his plans, he didn’t feel quite as jazzed as he’d expected.

  Lizzie’s expression sobered, and she looked toward the house, where Talbott, Jake, and a few dogs were visible through the living room windows. She kept her eyes on them as she said, “Yep. You’ve got a chance now to do what you’ve been dreaming of.”

  Chapter 29

  Lizzie’s mind had been spinning for hours and showed no sign of slowing down as the sun rose and cast long shadows through her bedroom.

  Adam owned the Mill Creek farm. Not nasty Mitch Babcock.

  She gave a passing thought to what Mitch might do when he learned his claim of ownership was invalid but then figured he must know this, since he was the one who’d originally sold the place to Mr. Collins. He’d get over it and slither off somewhere else. Blinking her gritty, sleep-deprived eyes, Lizzie decided to get up, shower, and face the day. She needed to let Dad know they’d be able to purchase the land and start on their park soon, and she had to return Rob Chance’s call about Adam’s ranch and set up a time to show it to him. She had to stop freaking crying about Adam’s plan to leave Big Chance.

  Maybe she should call him, just to check in, tell him…what? She was sorry for pooping on his happiness last night when he talked about his plans? She hadn’t screamed and cried and begged, only failed to offer a “Go, Adam!” about bailing out of Big Chance. No, she decided. It was time to wean herself away. She wouldn’t call. Or text.

  Another stupid tear blurred her vision, and she wiped at it angrily. Why did she think for one second that he would do anything other than exactly what he’d said? He’d told her what he planned from the beginning—before she’d gone and gotten attached to his twisted-up, all-around good-guy-in-spite-of-himself self.

  It had been crazy to hope he’d fallen so hopelessly in love with her that he’d forget how much he hated Big Chance. That he’d somehow see he could be complete and happy here, where people—not just her, but lots of people—wanted him, needed him, cared about him.

  Loved him.

  Oh, fine. She’d admit it. She loved him.

  Whatever. She’d survive, and this time, she would not wind up with a schmuck like Dean as a consolation boyfriend. Time to stop crying.

  Zzzzt. Zzzzt. She jumped for her phone. Maybe it was Adam… She checked the display as she hit Accept and—Oh. “Hey, Emma.”

  “Hey, Lizzie. Are you up? Of course you are. You answered. I’m sorry to bother you so early, but I wanted to call you before I got Granddad up and moving, and I need to ask you a favor.”

  “Okay.”

  “Can you check in when you go out to the ranch to work with the dogs and let me know everything’s okay? I mean, I know it will be. I think. But Granddad’s going to stay there today, and I worry he’ll drive Adam up a wall or something, and—well, you know.”

  “Yeah. I…” She cleared her throat. “I’m not sure…” she tried again, but apparently, she wasn’t done crying just yet.

  “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Emma asked.

  And as if her question was the key to the floodgates, Lizzie started to cry in earnest—and talk.

  Amazingly enough, Emma understood enough of what Lizzie was telling her to say, “What the hell? He’s blowing everything up because he thinks he needs to give me money?”

  “I’m not sure blowing up is exactly what he’d call it,” Lizzie hedged, feeling protective of Adam and his misguided motives.

  “I don’t care what he calls it,” Emma fumed. “He’s got a good life, right here, right now. His friends are here, and he’s got a purpose, helping those guys and working with those dogs. If he’d just get out of his own way, he could really make something of all that. And then there’s you. What does he think is going to happen between you two when he leaves? You’ll just hang around until he decides to slide back through town?”

  “I’m not sure there’s supposed to be an ‘us two.’ And he wants you to have choices.”

  “What choices do I need money for? Which Prada bag to carry when I pick up Granddad’s meds from the pharmacy?”

  Lizzie couldn’t help but laugh. Leave it to Emma to get pissed off at someone for wanting to be generous to her.

  “All right, listen,” Emma said. “Don’t worry about me worrying about Granddad. You take care of yourself today. Get your nails done, binge-watch every episode of Gilmore Girls, or try one of every Blizzard flavor at Dairy Queen if you
want. I’ll worry about Granddad.”

  If only that were an option, Lizzie thought. Instead, she was going to call Rob Chance and help him buy Adam’s ranch.

  * * *

  When Adam pulled his truck in front of Emma’s little house, he had that anxious buzzing in his head signaling the start of a bad day. He’d gone to bed with the same feeling, and it had kept him company as he watched constellations shift through his window until dawn.

  He reached over the center console for D-Day before remembering he’d left him at the ranch this morning to recover from Adam’s sleepless night. It was disconcerting, how much he’d come to rely on the dog’s steadying influence. Over the past several weeks, D-Day had become sensitive to Adam and his damned moods, and the dog had gotten plenty of practice trying to distract him during the past twelve hours or so.

  Things had begun to get weird yesterday, sometime between sharing the good news about Mill Creek farm with Lizzie and when she’d driven off into the night. She was upset, even though she was going to get her park. It wasn’t the Mitch Babcock thing, because that was all but over—someone would have to break the news to him, but what could he do? No, some kind of dark cloud had fallen over both of them when they’d discussed the sale of both properties. He refused to consider that the thought of his leaving Big Chance was a problem for either one of them. He’d never in his life wanted to stay here, and she had no reason to want him to. Did she?

  God, did she have feelings for him? Of course she liked him. She wasn’t the have-sex-to-scratch-an-itch kind of woman, but she also had standards, which she shouldn’t consider lowering for an unemployed, washed-up cowboy-without-a-cow loser like him. Maybe after he was gone, Joe Chance or that veterinarian, Rob, could step in—

  The growl that rose from his own chest startled him, and he decided not to think about who Lizzie might end up with.

  “Are you coming in to help me, or are you going to sit there like King Useless all day?”

  Adam was startled by Emma’s sharp tone. He hadn’t even heard her come outside, and here she was, right next to his truck.