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“I’ll have to talk to my boys,” Gus said when Clayton looked over at him as though waiting for an answer. “As you know, we’ve been trying to negotiate with the Ludingtons.”
“I’m sure we can work out some sort of deal,” Bobbie said.
She shifted her gaze to him then, and it wasn’t the look he’d been hoping for. Her eyes were narrowed, her mouth set in a firm line.
He found himself falling even more for her and had to check himself. Was this part of the disrespect toward women his daughters were always talking about? Instead of taking Bobbie Ludington seriously, he was thinking about kissing her.
But that never happened—not with anyone else. If they’d been here a couple of weeks ago, he definitely would have been focused on winning, but this new Gus Knott wanted to give her the world…whatever it took to make her happy. And that was dangerous when there were legalities involved. Especially when his family business was at stake.
“This entire situation has muddied my family name,” Bobbie said. “Now everyone in town thinks we stole our property.”
Legally, they had, but Gus knew Bobbie wasn’t responsible for that. Her late husband had rubbed many people the wrong way over the years. The truth was, like Gus’s own father, Thomas Ludington had a bad reputation. He was considered grumpy at best and impossible to do business with at worst.
Gus stayed out of it. He kept his distance and advised his own kids to do the same. But when they pulled the property deed to see how far they could go with the crops they were planting, he learned something unexpected. The nine hundred and twenty-three acres known as Cupid Ridge Dude Ranch was legally deeded to his grandfather.
“I take some of the blame,” Gus blurted.
Only when both Clayton and Bobbie turned to look at him did he realize his thoughts had strayed from the original topic. May as well explain himself.
“I outsourced bookkeeping to a guy upstate,” he said. “Mostly, I just didn’t want to deal with it. I, of course, didn’t check things like I should have. Everything was set up as part of the mortgage. I just…”
“Your father died when you were just a kid,” Bobbie said. “You did the best you could.”
The compassion in her eyes went straight to his heart. All these years, he’d beaten himself up for the mistakes he’d made as a teenager, trying to run a ranch. But there was no way he could’ve known how to handle things. He was still a child.
“I take full blame for not doing due diligence,” he said. “It was a bad business move.”
For the longest time, nobody spoke. Finally, Bobbie looked at Clayton, breaking the silence.
“If we were paying property taxes on land that wasn’t ours, wouldn’t that come out of what we owe for the property?” she asked.
Clayton shifted in his chair. He was uncomfortable. And he wasn’t talking, which was annoying.
“What?” Gus prompted.
“Your attorney should have discussed that with you,” Clayton said, finally looking Bobbie in the eye. “Your late husband was taking care of all of that. I know you handled the business books?—”
“But the mortgage came out automatically,” Bobbie said. “And when I signed the paperwork…” She sucked in a breath and looked over at Gus, eyes wide. “Thomas knew.”
Gus squeezed his eyes closed. Yes, this was exactly what Phoenix had unearthed. He’d somehow managed to get a copy of the will, and in it, the wording had made it clear that he thought someone might come after them over their property. This was just further proof that Thomas Ludington had been in on this all along.
“Marnie probably hasn’t had a chance,” Bobbie said, speaking of her attorney. “I haven’t exactly been…available. I was still grieving the death of my husband. It was all I could do to keep the inn and dude ranch going. Lawyers and paperwork were just too much.”
The words felt like a jab to his heart. It hadn’t been his decision to file a legal complaint. Phoenix had marched straight down to Clayton’s office and demanded that he do something. But whether it was him or one of his children, Gus would never want to cause this woman—or anyone grieving the loss of a loved one—more pain.
“I will say this.” Gus leveled his stare at Bobbie, hoping his sincerity showed through. “I never, in a million years, meant to hurt you in any way. Getting to know you over the past week has changed my view on things. I will do everything in my power to make this right.”
Her expression softened, and at that very moment, he knew his point had been made. But Gus Knott had learned one thing in his fifty-eight years. When he did the right thing, it was best to walk away before he messed it up somehow.
He pushed his chair back and stood, grabbing the barely touched cup of coffee in front of him. “Thank you for this.” He moved it toward Clayton slightly as though in a toast. “And I will see you soon. Both of you.”
He shifted his full attention to Bobbie on that note. Then he smiled, turned, and walked out of the room. Hopefully, the next time he saw her, he would have found a way to ease some of her stress.
7
Bobbie was no use to her family, to the inn, to the ranch, or even to herself. She was a distracted mess.
She’d done her best to keep busy over the past week, rushing off to meet with friends and running errands every chance she got. But the Cupid Ridge Cinema wasn’t the only movie theater in the world. Earlier that week, she’d skipped town and headed to the megaplex fifteen minutes away. It had not only been a way to destress, but it had also given her plenty of ideas for Cupid Ridge’s theater.
