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But Gus’s words did give her a much-needed break. Their full attention turned to the paperwork on the table in front of them. They had to get down to business. Once that was finished, she could separate herself from Gus Knott until it was absolutely necessary to see him again.
Why did the idea of seeing him again sound more appealing than it should have? Could it be…she liked the drama?
Whoosh!
The door burst open again. More chilly air. No doubt it was a customer stopping by for breakfast. It was more of a nuisance than anything.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Wait…was that her son Sawyer’s voice? Bobbie turned just in time to see her oldest child walking straight toward their table.
“Sawyer!” Bobbie heard herself say. “You didn’t mention you were coming. I thought you were fixing that broken fence.”
Gus grabbed right onto that one. “You have a broken fence?”
Bobbie leveled another stare at the Knott family patriarch. He seemed almost excited to hear the Ludingtons had a broken fence. It was as if he saw their challenges as good news or something.
She didn’t have long to think about it. Phoenix blurted out their family’s offer. They were now asking for forty percent of every dime their ranch brought in.
“You can always buy the land from us,” Gus said when Sawyer laughed at his ridiculous offer. “That was your plan, right?”
Gus directed that question straight at her. It took Bobbie a few extra seconds to work out why. She was the head of her family, and, as such, he thought the ultimate decision fell on her. He probably operated his family that way, but Bobbie Ludington looped her kids in on all the big decisions, including how to handle this legal complaint.
But Thomas would’ve been a lot like Gus if he’d lived to see their lawyer show up at Cupid Ridge Dude Ranch. He would have ordered Clayton off the property and refused to work with Gus. He wouldn’t have cared that his dad had stolen the land and that Gus’s dad hadn’t done anything about it. At the time, both men had been young and foolish and trying to find their way in the world.
No, the best way to handle this was to reason with Gus and his son. So Bobbie leaned forward, stared straight at him, and appealed to that sensitive side she’d glimpsed in his eyes earlier.
“Gus, you and I have never had an actual conversation before,” she said. “But I know enough about you. You’re not all that different from my late husband.”
Almost immediately, she knew that had been the wrong thing to say. Gus’s eyes darkened, and his expression hardened.
“I’m the complete opposite of your late husband,” he said. “For one, I don’t steal.”
His words hit home. Bobbie put on a brave face in front of her children and…well, everyone. But deep down, she had her doubts. It was hard not to when she could vividly recall things her husband had said over the years.
“What’s your beef with Augustus Knott?” she’d asked more than once.
“I just don’t like the guy,” Thomas had always responded.
Thomas had pushed his sons to stay far away from the Knott family, giving no reason whatsoever. It had never made much sense…until she learned that they were on property that wasn’t theirs. Maybe the hatred for the Knotts was so ingrained in Thomas that he couldn’t shake it, even after his father was gone. Or maybe…
“Your dad knew exactly where the land came from.”
Those words came from Phoenix, who leaned forward to glare at her oldest son. Sawyer wouldn’t take that. Bobbie held her breath, just hoping Sawyer stayed seated.
“It’s in the will,” Phoenix added.
Silence followed that statement. Bobbie’s gaze locked with Gus’s, and she saw, at that moment, a human side of him. Unlike her late husband, who probably would have escalated the fight, Gus’s mind seemed to be in the same place as hers. He wanted to de-escalate it, and he was hoping she’d help.
“What are you talking about?” Brendon asked Phoenix.
Phoenix looked straight at Sawyer as he answered Brendon’s question. “Your father put in the will that the ranch was in your name, no matter what claims someone might have against it. Read it. Or better yet, have your attorney read it to you since, obviously, you’re illiterate.”
All the air in Bobbie’s lungs seemed to have evaporated as Sawyer jumped up. He was at Gus’s end of the table before Bobbie could even collect her thoughts. She had to stop this.
As she shoved herself to her feet, a part of her was aware that her chair had tipped backward, probably weighed down by her heavy purse. She rushed toward the other end of the table, hoping that just being close to the action would make the boys snap out of it. By then, Phoenix’s fist was raised in the air, poised to deliver a punch that could never be taken back.
Gus stood, putting a hand on his son’s left arm and pulling his fist backward. That move seemed to put Phoenix off balance since he’d shifted his entire body weight to make his punch more powerful. He teetered to the side, then flew backward. Sawyer had clutched two fistfuls of Phoenix’s shirt, which meant the two of them went down together, with Sawyer face-planting on the table.
