In a Cowboy's Arms (Hitting Rocks Cowboys) (7 page)

Jarod felt his heart skip a beat. Despite what everyone had been thinking, Sadie wasn’t going back to California. Even when the circumstances pointed otherwise, deep down
Jarod had known.

“Does she have the kind of money it will take?”

“She has savings, but Zane is flying back to California to sell the Lawson house. That money combined with hers ought to be enough to pay off the bank loan so they can hold on to it until they come up with more.”

“‘They’?”
His nervous system received another shocking jolt. “What does Zane have to do with her ranch?”

“Everything! Being Ryan’s uncle, he has decided to move here with her. Together they’re going to do the ranching.”

Jarod frowned. “Does he know anything about ranching?”

“She said he’s a retired navy SEAL who just got divorced after finding out his wife was unfaithful. If he was courageous enough to defend our country and survive thirteen years in the military, it stands to reason he can learn. Mac will be there to help him.”

His grandfather had an amazing way of humbling Jarod.

“One day she wants it to be Ryan’s in honor of Eileen. Their mother put her heart and soul into that ranch before Daniel drove her away. What I want you to do is pay a visit to our attorney in Billings. Ned wants that ranch. He wants Sadie, too, but she was never his to have.”

Their eyes locked. His grandfather’s steel-gray ones stared at him. “If it wasn’t for that accident, she would have been your wife!”

As if Jarod needed to be reminded.

“When Ned hears it’s on the market, he’ll try to fight the will on the grounds that a third-party designee won’t stand up in court these days and anyone can buy it. I want you to get to Harlow before Ned does. Inform him of Sadie’s desperate plight and make sure no one else gets their hands on her property. Block him with everything you’ve got.” His gray eyebrows lifted. “I mean
everything.
”

Jarod got the message. This was a mission he was going to relish. Ralph Bannock of the Hitting Rocks Ranch was a big name in the State of Montana and wielded a certain amount of power among the business community. For once Jarod planned to use that power for leverage.

“Don’t worry about Tyson or your Uncle Grant,” his grandfather continued, unaware of the tumult inside Jarod. “I’ll take care of them. If they decide the blood between them and Ned is thicker than the blood between them and me, then there will be war. We’ll have to get there before they do. Time is of the essence. I’ll be damned if I’ll let Daniel Corkin cheat Sadie out of her rightful inheritance. Addie wouldn’t have stood for it.”

Jarod remembered Ned’s angry warning in the barn two nights ago about the war not being over. Little did his cousin know what he was in for. Though Ralph had always been Jarod’s champion, until this moment he hadn’t known how much he loved his grandfather. “I’ll drive to Billings first thing in the morning.”

“We’ll keep this under wraps.”

“I’m way ahead of you.”

* * *

S
INCE
T
HURSDAY
WAS
Liz’s day off from the clinic and she wanted to tend Ryan, Sadie had to wait till then to drive Zane to Billings to make his flight. Little Ryan cried when they walked out the back door. They both felt the wrench, but Sadie knew he’d be laughing in a few minutes.

After she dropped Zane off at the airport, Sadie met with Mr. Bree at Parker Realty and they talked business. He couldn’t tell her about the other bids, but he did give her a price. If she could meet it, he’d be happy to sell the property to Zane.

She explained about the house in San Francisco, advising that Zane’s agent would contact Mr. Bree with a notice of intent to use the money from the sale of the house to purchase the ranch. Everything depended on a quick sale. Sadie put down earnest money from her savings account. With that accomplished, she left his office and headed back to the ranch. She had a lot to discuss with Zane when he called her later.

Ryan was taking his afternoon nap when she returned. Now was a good time to get busy cleaning out her father’s bedroom. So far she hadn’t been able to bring herself to go in it. When she told Liz and Millie of her intentions, they wouldn’t hear of it.

“Give it more time, honey,” Millie urged her. “While Ryan’s still asleep, why not put on those sassy new cowboy boots and take a ride on Sunflower?”

“She’s a lot like Brandy once was,” Liz commented. “Playful, with plenty of spirit. You’ll love her. But Maisy’s energetic, too. Go ahead and ride whichever one you want.”

“Thank you.” Sadie stared out the living room window facing the mountains. “I presume Dad sold my horse after I left.”

“Along with half the cattle.”

“Did he get rid of my saddle, too?”

“No. It’s still waiting for you in the tack room.” Millie got up from the couch and put an arm around her. “Don’t dwell on the past. I happen to know a girl around here who never let a day go by without going for a ride.”

Obviously, Millie knew she was on the verge of breaking down.

“Maybe for a half hour. If you’re sure.”

“What else have we got to do? Having a child in this house makes me feel useful again.”

“It makes me want one of my own,” Liz said on a mournful note.

So far every subject they’d touched on was painful one way or the other. “I’ll get ready, but I won’t take a long ride. If Ryan starts crying for me, call me on my cell.”

Millie shook her head. “Whatever did we do before cell phones?”

If Sadie and Jarod could have called each other eight years ago...

But Sadie’s father had forbidden her to have a phone. He didn’t want guys calling her without him knowing about it. At Christmas, four months before she’d fled to California, Jarod had bought her one and paid for the service, but she’d been too afraid her father would find out. She’d made Jarod take it back.

If they’d been able to talk before his accident, she would have known he hadn’t deserted her. They would have communicated while he was in the hospital and their marriage would have taken place the second he got out....

You’re a fool to dredge up so much pain, Sadie.

She put the phone she’d bought ages ago in her blouse pocket, then went in the bedroom to change into her cowboy boots. Just a short ride to the bluff overlooking the ranch and back.

After thanking Millie and Liz, she left the house through the back door and walked to the barn, lifting her face to the sun.

The smell of the barn flooded her with bittersweet memories. Horses had been her soul mates, just as Jarod had said. When her mom had left, this was the place where she’d come to cry her heart out and find solace. They’s always listened and nudged her as if to say they understood.

Though the fights between her parents had stopped, for a long time the emptiness of no loving parent in the house had swallowed her alive. From her earliest memories, her father had been a gun-toting alcoholic. He’d always been gruff, though her mother had done her best to shield Sadie from him.

But somewhere along the way he’d turned hard and cold. After the divorce he’d just have to look at Sadie and she’d known he was seeing her mother. Sadie had learned to stay out of his way.

A neigh from the horse in the barn startled her, breaking her free of those memories. She discovered her cheeks were damp. After wiping the tears away, she walked over to Maisy’s stall. The sorrel stared at her as if surprised to see a stranger.

Sadie moved on to Sunflower’s stall. With a yellowish gray coat set off by a black mane and tail, the dun-colored mare was well named. She nickered a greeting.

Sadie rubbed her nose. “Well, aren’t you the friendliest horse around here. Want to go for a ride? I know you’re one of Liz’s horses, but you won’t care if I take you out for some exercise, right?” She marveled that her friend, who’d become a vet, was still Montana’s champion barrel racer. But as she’d informed Sadie, this would be her last year of competition and she hoped to go to the Pro Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas in December.

The horse nickered again, bringing a smile to Sadie. She could saddle and bridle a horse in her sleep, and before long she had left the barn and was galloping away from the ranch. As the horse responded to her body language, the exhilaration she hadn’t felt in years came rushing back. She’d done this before. She’d felt this way before.

Her inner compass told her where to go. She was on one of those rare highs and discovered herself racing toward the rocky formations in the distance where Jarod had first taken her to see the wild horses. Sadie knew he wouldn’t be there. She didn’t even know if the horses still ran there, but she was back now and this was one pilgrimmage she had to make.

In a few minutes she’d reached the place where her bond with Jarod had been forged. The deserted gulch held no evidence that anything had ever happened here, but cut Sadie open and you’d see his imprint on the organ pumping her life’s blood.

Jarod. It was always you. It will always be you.

* * *

WHEN
J
AROD
TOLD
Harlow’s secretary he needed to see his grandfather’s attorney ASAP, he figured he might have to wait hours or come back the next day. But the two men were old friends. As soon as she buzzed her boss and told him who was out in reception, she smiled at Jarod.

“He says you can go right in.”

“Thanks, Nancy.” He walked across the foyer to the double doors and opened them.

Harlow started toward him. Though the older man was in his seventies and had a shock of white hair, he was a wiry, energetic individual. His shrewd blue eyes played over Jarod with genuine pleasure. “Come on in! It’s always good to see you.”

They shook hands before the lawyer took a seat behind his desk, motioning for Jarod to sit in one of the leather wing-backed chairs in front of it. “Has Ralph taken another turn for the worse?”

“His last bout of pneumonia left him weak, but he’s still fighting.”

“That’s good to hear. And Tyson?”

“His macular degeneration along with ulcers has taken a real toll.” The brothers were only two years apart. “I’ve come on my grandfather’s behalf about something vital.”

“Ralph appears to be depending on you more and more to run the Hitting Rocks Ranch. He couldn’t choose a better man to be following in his footsteps.”

Jarod’s uncle Grant probably wouldn’t like hearing that, but Jarod had always liked Harlow and felt the man’s sincerity. “They’re big ones.”

Harlow chuckled. “Indeed they are.” He pushed a stack of legal briefs to the side of his desk and leaned forward. “Tell me what’s going on.”

It didn’t take Jarod long to explain the problem.

The older man touched his fingertips together. “What a tragedy, but there is a very simple way around the problem. If Ralph wants to make certain Sadie Corkin doesn’t lose her ranch without her knowing he’s behind it, I’ll act as a straw buyer and purchase the property.”

“It’s going for $700,000.”

He nodded. “When all the papers are filed and transactions made, Ralph can pay me and the land will be deeded over to Zane Lawson. He can work out the details with Ralph to get him paid back. No laws have been broken, therefore no grounds for a court case. That part of Daniel Corkin’s will doesn’t hold water. Anyone has the right to buy that ranch including a Bannock.”

With those words Jarod felt his chest expand. Only a friendship as strong as the one his grandfather and Harlow had built over the years could have achieved this miracle. “How soon could you act on it?”

“Today if you want.” He quirked one white eyebrow. “You’re anticipating a bidding war?”

“According to Sadie, who confided in my grandfather, two other people made offers on the property before Daniel died. The place will be sold to one of them if no other offers come in before the deadline. The ranch is already in the multiple listings online. I’m afraid once my cousin sees it, he’ll outbid anyone else to make make sure he comes out on top.”

“Which cousin is that?”

“Ned.”

“Ah, yes. Grant’s son, the one who’s always been in trouble. Why would he want to buy that ranch?”

“Though close to a century has gone by without any evidence, Ned still believes there’s oil on the land. He’s determined to get his hands on it.”
And on Sadie.

“Do you know how many gamblers have squandered their lives going after that same pipe dream around these parts?”

“Ned has never been able to let it go,” Jarod said.

“From what Ralph told me,” Brigg mentioned, “that cousin of yours has some deep-seated problems. I recall hearing about the time when he and his friend were caught stealing some wild horses on federal land. It cost Grant plenty to keep that hushed up.”

Jarod’s brow furrowed in surprise. “I didn’t know that. What happened?”

“Instead of ending up in jail, they were charged with drunk and disorderly conduct. It took influence with the judge and a lot of money to keep that under wraps. Ralph said Ned’s father was continually bailing him out of some pretty nasty scrapes.”

This was all news to Jarod. For Ned to have that kind of serious brush with the law underlined his cousin’s dark side. Jarod had no idea his grandfather had confided in Harlow to this extent.

He winked at Jarod. “We’ll get there before Ned does. I’ll phone Mr. Bree at Parker Realty after you leave and set things in motion.”

“When my grandfather hears that news, it’ll probably add several years to his life.”

The lawyer smiled. “I owe him so many favors for sending business my way, I’m delighted to do this.”

“We’re indebted to you, Harlow. Sadie’s been our neighbor since she was born. It’s time she had some joy in her life.” He stood to shake the lawyer’s hand.

Harlow squinted at him. “I’ll give you and Ralph a ring as soon as I’ve spoken with Mr. Bree.”

“Good. I’ll see myself out.”

On the way to the underground car park, Jarod mulled over the new revelation about Ned. It triggered his memory to the time his cousin had accused him of stealing Chief. Though Jarod had gotten legal permission to keep the wild horse once he’d tamed him, Ned had been furious. Having always been in competition with Jarod, Ned might have decided to steal a wild horse to prove he could have one of his own, too.