by Kelly Moore
“It’s not a company per se, but a town.”
He’s going to buy Salt Lick. “It wouldn’t happen to be this town, would it?”
“That’s more than you need to know right now. Just see to it that I get the money by next week.”
I get up as if our conversation didn’t faze me one bit. My mind races as to the owners of this town. Daddy holds twenty-five percent. The other seventy-five is owned by three men. Surely, none of them would give up their stake in this town to him.
Rushing to my office, I shut the door behind me as I dig my phone out of my purse to dial Clem’s number.
“Hey, Ellie.”
“I don’t have much time. I need you to listen,” I say as I open my laptop. “I’m forwarding you an email from Watkins. I need you to see if the person in it is listed in the ledger.”
“Hold on, let me get to my computer.”
“Hurry up, Clem.”
“Peter Granger,” she says.
“Is he on the list?”
“Hold your horses a minute. There are no first names, but there is a P. Granger.”
“I need you to dig up whatever information you can find on him, and do it quickly.” I hang up.
A knock at the door has me closing my laptop. “Come in.”
Watkins walks in my office with Ian. “We need to go over the funding for Ian’s project.”
Ian doesn’t look at me. He must have driven quickly to get here.
“I have the file right here,” I say, opening my desk drawer, handing each of them a copy to search over.
“There are going to be some overrides on the model home. The price of lumber has gone up since this estimate was drawn up,” Ian says with his gaze fixed on the paper.
“We’ll have enough to cover on the profit of the cottages being built. The rental income alone will fund it.” I show him the projections.
Watkins leans back in his chair. “I know I only contracted you for this project, but I’d like you to come work with me exclusively. There are going to be some big changes in this town that need a great deal of demolition and renovations.”
He’s talking about tearing down ranches. More specifically, Calhoun Ranch.
“Really? I haven’t heard of any projects being approved other than the ones you already have going.” I can tell Ian is suspicious.
“That’s because I’ve kept it under wraps. Once Ellie gets things in place for me, I’ll make an announcement. So, what do you say, will you come work for me full-time?”
Ian glances in my direction then back at Watkins. “I don’t know. It’s a lot to think about. I’m not sure I want to stay in Salt Lick.”
“I plan on making you a financial offer you can’t refuse.” He smacks his beefy hand on Ian’s back. “I need to make a few phone calls. You two go over the changes in the plans.” He gets up and walks out, leaving the door open.
“You can’t work for him,” I growl softly.
“You think because you fucked me, you can tell me what to do?” He throws my angry words back in my face.
I blow out a hard breath. “We need to call a truce until we get to the bottom of what he’s up to. He’s planning on buying Salt Lick.”
“The four men that own this town, especially Chet, would never sell to him.”
“He acts like it’s a done deal. He wants me to contact one of his investors and have the money to him by next week,” I whisper.
“Do you have a name?”
“I sent the information to Clem to research. I don’t want to do any digging from this office.”
“You do as he asks. I’ll go see Clem.”
“I need to warn Daddy and Wyatt.”
“I’ll do it. You need to act normal with Watkins.” He stands. “Continue to be on his elbow.”
The thought is revolting, but Ian’s right. “Fine, but if he lays his nasty hands on my leg one more time, I’m going to deck him.”
“When all this is said and done, you’re going to have to wait in line. That’s if your daddy doesn’t have Boone kill him before then.”
“We can’t let that happen. It would destroy my sister.”
Chapter Twelve
Clem
“I can’t believe my momma would ever forgive him.” Boone runs to keep up with me.
“She loved him like I love you. I’d forgive you anything.”
He nearly knocks me over when I stop, bumping into me. “You’d forgive me cheating?” My voice is high.
“That’s not exactly what happened, but yes, if I were the cause of it, I believe I would.”
“Don’t you ever think I’d do the same for you. I’d have Tweedledee and Tweedledum strung up.” I point to his balls.
“Note to self.”
I start walking again.
“But you can’t be mad at him. Your momma forgave him, and she knew about the kids. They made a decision together. It wasn’t like he hid it from her.”
“I don’t care! He struts around here like he ain’t ever made a mistake in his life. He treats Bear like a child and ridicules Wyatt any chance he gets. The only one he’s nice to is you.”
“That’s not true. He’s done a lot for both his boys.”
“Maybe so, but he holds them indebted to him.”
“He’s nice to you and Ellie.”
“Ha! He made me work for it when I came back here, or have you forgotten?”
“Nope, not forgotten.” He follows me into Ethan’s place. Our cybersecurity systems are set up in 102. “What are we doing here?” he asks.
“Ethan and I are going to do some research on the men in Watkins’s ledger.”
My phone rings, and it’s Ellie. “I need to take this,” I answer, walking off to a corner of the room. Ethan comes in while I’m talking. Opening my email, I see the name of Peter Granger. I look for him in the ledger as Ellie talks. After I hang up, I show Ethan the name. “Start searching for information on this man.” I take Boone by the elbow and lead him outside. “I can’t deal with my father’s ill behavior right now. Watkins is up to no good.”
“I wish you’d stay out of it, Clem.”
“This is my family, too, and I’m going to do whatever I can to stop him.”
Boone’s phone vibrates, and he takes it out of his pocket, stepping away from me to answer it.
Noah pulls up with Margret not far behind him. She gets out of her car. “I packed your things like you asked me to.” She hands him a duffel bag. “I’m going to miss seeing you at the Magnolia.”
“You know where to find me.” He holds his bag in the air.
“Still, it won’t be the same. I’ve gotten used to having you around.” She hugs his neck. When she lets loose, she walks over to me. “Is Chet at the main house?”
“I think that’s where he was headed.”
“I baked his favorite pie. I thought I’d run it by while I was here.”
Boone hangs up the phone. “Come on. I’m headed there now. You can give me a lift.”
I make my way toward him, giving him a kiss.
“Please don’t do anything with the information you find before you talk to me,” he says.
“And don’t you go doing anything for my old man before you talk to me.” He purses his lips together and doesn’t respond.
I rush back into 102. Ethan is showing Noah where to put his things. I get right on the computer, plugging in Peter Granger’s name. It takes me an hour to apply all the filters, narrowing it down to three P. Grangers in California.
“How many names did you start with?” Noah asks.
“There were twenty-five.” I stop what I’m doing and stare at him. How did I not see the resemblance before? He does resemble a younger version of Daddy, but I see myself in some of his features. “What is it you do for a living, Noah?”
“I’ve done a lot of different things to get by.” He lowers his head and gaze.
“Nothing illegal, I hope?”
“Let’s just say I’ve done a fe
w things in the gray area.”
I lift his chin. “Then you are a Calhoun. At one time or another, we’ve all been on the other side of the law.”
A genuine smile covers his handsome face.
“What’s Jane like?”
He taps his chin. “How do I describe my twin? She’s somewhat sweet but really feisty.”
“Oh good lord. She sounds akin to Ellie.” I laugh.
“She reminds me a little bit of Jane when she had long hair. She’s blonder than me. When she got sick, she cut off all her hair into a pixie.”
“Do you have any pictures of her?”
“Only one with me. It’s from when we were younger.”
“I can’t wait until she’s well enough to meet her.”
“Thanks for being so kind to me. I didn’t deserve it the way I acted when I came to town. I didn’t expect so many other siblings, much less for me to like all of you.”
“Some of us have to grow on you. Especially Daddy. He’s an acquired taste, even for his children.”
He chuckles. “I kinda got that.”
“I’m sorry he chose not to know the two of you. He’s far from perfect even though that’s what he wants you to think. I’m just…”
“Just what, Clem?” He dips his head, so his gaze meets mine.
“I’m surprised at Momma, that’s all.”
“Where is she?”
“She died over a year ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You would’ve loved her. She was a good woman.”
“I’m sure she was.”
“How about your mom? Did you have a good life?”
“Things were always a struggle, but she loved us, and we always knew it. She made sure of it.”
“Good, I’m glad. I’d hate to think you were unloved.”
Ian comes busting through the door. “What have you found?”
“While the two of them have been chatting, I’ve located the Peter Granger we’ve been searching for.” Ethan appears proud of himself.
Noah and I get up, hovering around Ethan’s computer.
“He’s a bad guy. He’ been indicted several times on many different things. One being arson, another murder. Both times the charges were dropped right after a large sum of money left his bank account. There’s no trail for it.”
“Track these transactions and get with Ellie to see if anything leads to Watkins.” Ian points to numbers on the computer. “Ellie says he’s got a backer, and she thinks he’s trying to buy the town of Salt Lick.”
I gasp. “Daddy would never sell out.”
“No, but there are three other people involved. I called Wyatt on the way over here. He’s gettin’ ahold of them to find out where they stand.”
“Ellie needs to get out of there.” Ethan is on his feet.
He and Ian have a stare-off for a moment. “She wouldn’t quit working for him. In her position, she thinks she can stay abreast of things.”
“From the looks of this guy’s record, if she gets caught, he’ll kill her.”
“We’re on the same page. I’ll keep an eye out for her.” Ian sighs.
“I’ll do it. I can take care of her.” Ethan juts his chest out.
“Okay, boys. It’s no time for a cockfight.”
“Am I missing something?” Ian scowls.
Ethan, who is much smaller than Ian, closes the distance between them. “I’ve been taking care of her without your help.”
“Ethan,” I say, warning him about where he’s going.
“I’m glad she’s had someone while I was gone.” I know that’s not what he wanted to say by the look on his face, but it takes the steam out of Ethan.
“She loves you, not me, but I swear if you hurt her again, I know where Chet Calhoun keeps his guns.”
“I appreciate you watching out for her.” He nods to him out of respect.
“Does Ellie know you two are swearing to protect her because I’m purdy sure she can take care of herself.” I point between them.
“I say we don’t tell her,” Ethan snorts. “She’d have our balls if she thought we think she’s a damsel that needed saving.”
“Agreed.” The unlikely duo shakes hands.
“Ethan, you call Ellie. Tell her what you found. I need to go talk to my husband.”
It’s a nice day out, so I decide to walk to the main house. Bear is sitting on the front porch step when I get there.
“Hey, Bear.”
“Hey.”
“Are Daddy and Boone inside?”
“Yeah, you might not want to go in there.”
“Why?”
“Daddy is plotting something. He threw me out.” He rises. “I need to go pick up Missy anyway.”
“How are you and Nita doing?”
“Fine, I guess.” He shrugs.
“You don’t sound so sure.” I pat the step, and he sits.
“I said some things I didn’t mean.”
“We’ve all done that before.” I drape my arm over his shoulder. “Do you love her?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll work it out. Look at Momma and Daddy.”
“Right. That blew me away. I can’t believe there are more Calhouns.”
“I like Noah, and I can’t wait to meet Jane.”
“He seems like a good guy.” He stands.
“I gotta go. If I’m late picking up queen bee, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Why don’t you bring her by later so you and Nita can spend some time together?”
“I will, thanks.”
I stand, watching him drive off. I turn to go inside and hear Daddy’s voice coming from the living room.
“Wyatt just heard from one of the council members that Watkins is trying to purchase the town. If he does, he’ll shut the water down, killing our land.”
“Is he calling a meeting with all the owners?”
“He says they aren’t returning his calls. I’m going to go knock on their doors myself. In the meantime, I suggest you make this all go away before he sinks his teeth into Salt Lick.”
I don’t hear Boone respond before I bounce through the door. “What exactly is it you want my husband to do?”
“Clem.” Boone tries to hold me back.
“Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about,” Daddy says.
“It is my concern when you involve Boone in your dirty work.”
“You need to leave it alone, Clem.” Daddy marches out of the room.
“He wants you to kill him, doesn’t he?”
“You should go home.” Boone tries to dismiss me.
“Then, you’re going with me, and I’m not letting you out of my sight.” I punch my finger into his chest.
“You need to let me do my job.”
“Your job! Your job is to take care of this ranch and me. Not killing someone!”
“There are things that have to be handled a certain way.”
“If you do this, you and I are done. I won’t be married to a man that’s going to end up behind bars.” Anger is pouring off me, and my hands are shaking.
His jaw twitches as he places his hands on my arms. “Okay. I’ll find another way.”
I hug him to me hard. “Thank you.”
He kisses my forehead, but he’s quiet. It scares me. Daddy stomps back into the room, and Boone nods at him. “I’m taking Clem home.”
“That’s probably a wise decision,” he says.
I walk over to him. “I’m not liking you very much right now. I’m angry at what you did. Not to mention the fact that you’d ask my husband to do something unsavory for you. Leave him out of it. The only thing you need to have your nose in right now is finding out if you’re a match for Jane. Wyatt will have the information we need tomorrow. I’d be happy to take you to the lab for testing.”
“I know you’re madder than your momma’s old wet hen. I will make things right with Noah and Jane. I don’t want you judging Amelia for anything. We made a
decision together right or wrong. I loved your mother very much.”
“I know you did, Daddy. And for some unexplainable reason, she adored you.”
“It was my charm.” He smiles.
“Right now, that’s lost on me.” I take Boone’s hand in mine. “Let’s go home.”
He tips his hat to my dad and follows me out the door. “I think you were a tad bit hard on him.”
“He deserves it.”
“How he and Amelia handled the situation isn’t for you to judge. It was their relationship. Not yours.”
“I can still be mad at him for expecting my husband to do something awful.”
“You know I won’t let anyone hurt this family or this ranch.”
“You’ve already promised you won’t kill him, and I believe you. Can we just go home and have a little bam bam in the ham?”
He stops. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You know, lust and thrust.”
His brows draw together, not getting my meaning.
“Oh my gawd, Boone.” I place my hand on his crotch. “Dipping the corn dog in my batter.”
“You ain’t right, but in my book, makeup sex is always a good thing.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ellie
Placing him on speakerphone, I jot down notes as Ethan rattles off information. I don’t want anything traced back to this office.
“I gave Ian bank numbers to give to you.”
“Ian? He was there? With you?”
“Don’t worry, we didn’t kill one another. The bad thing is, I really like him. He’s smart. I could learn a lot from him.”
“Oh, Ethan…”
“What is it, Ellie?”
“I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
“I’m alright. I always knew there was someone else on your mind.”
“You’re such a good guy. I wish I was capable of returning your feelings, but I think I just may be broken.”
“You’re not broken, Ellie. I love your feistiness and your heart.”
I sit tall in my office chair. “Tell me something. If you told a woman that you loved her and she couldn’t say the words back, but you knew she felt the same, what would you do?”
The line almost sounds dead. “Ethan, are you still there?”
