AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“If you would just sign some papers for me I won’t detain you any longer,” Mr. Harley told them, “oh, and I have to give you these.” He looked a little wary as he handed them each a small, sealed envelope and Chloé got the impression he was rushing them out of the room as quickly as he could. The poor old guy was probably used to seeing a lot of drama in this little office when he read out a will. She was determined not to make a scene, though. Not here, anyway.
Once outside, Tyler sighed and put his hat back on. He wore a thick jeans-style jacket today and looked utterly scrumptious. Chloé had to keep reminding herself how much she hated him, though, and was determined not to let his good looks get in the way of that.
“Well, that was a surprise,” he said at last.
“Was it?” She gave him a doubtful look and tore open her envelope.
“You think I knew about this?” Tyler raised his eyebrows and opened his own envelope.
Chloé pulled out a small sheet of paper, hopeful of some sort of explanation. She didn’t get it. All she got was one word, “Sorry”.
She looked over at Tyler to see what his had said. He was staring at it, and she wondered whether he was still reading. She daren’t ask him what his letter contained, so she folded hers up neatly and tucked it into her purse before making her way over to her car.
“Don’t you want to talk about all this?” he asked with a puzzled frown.
She swallowed hard. “No,” she said, “You’ve got work to do and I’ve got some decisions to make.”
She almost regretted being the first to get in her car and drive away when she saw his truck in her rear-view mirror again. She really didn’t like him following her, although she realized that they were both going the same way so it couldn’t really be avoided. It just felt to her that he was watching her all the time, just waiting for her to crash or something.
The road had become even icier and she felt a little nervous as she negotiated some of the sharp bends on the track. She was relieved when she got home and pulled up outside the ranch house. Her ranch house.
“What do you want me to tell the men? They’ll be expecting some kind of announcement or something. Some assurance that their jobs are safe, or at least some notice if you intend to sell up. Are you planning on speaking to them or do you want me to?” Tyler had pulled up behind her and was now standing on the bottom of the steps which led to her front door.
Chloé felt herself flush. She hadn’t thought of that. “Jeesh, Tyler. I haven’t had time to make any decisions yet, you know that. We’ve only just heard what’s happening with this place. I’ll talk to the men when I’ve seen the books and decided on the best course of action – you can tell them that.”
She opened the door and flung herself inside, before slamming it shut.
* * * *
Tyler sighed as he turned back toward the stables. It was odd to think that he owned all of these horses, except for Thunder, of course. He knew how special that horse was to Brenda, and how much Lightning had meant to Chloé. It was only right that she should get the horse now – heck it would have been right for her to get all the livestock. What in hell was John thinking, leaving them to him? It was no wonder Chloé was so pissed at him for inheriting all the animals as well as the house. That fiery little angel sure was beautiful when she was angry, though. He chuckled to himself as he stroked Thunder’s nose.
“Any news, boss?” Adam, one of the young hands came over to him. Tyler knew the guy was worried about keeping his job, especially as he hadn’t been working at Mile End for very long. He was a good worker, though, and Chloé would be crazy to let him go.
“Well she’s the new owner, all right. Hasn’t decided what to do with the place yet though, buddy. She’s got to go through the books and make sure it’s a viable asset before she can choose whether to keep it on or let it go. If she does sell it on there’s always a good chance they’ll need the hands so don’t you go worrying about it just yet.”
“Is it viable?” Adam asked, wide-eyed.
Tyler pursed his lips. “I’d say it is. Some areas need some work, but on the whole I’d say the place is making money.”
“Will she want to take it on though? I hear she’s got some hotshot job in the city. Won’t she want to sell up and get back to it? After all, even if she employs a manager for this place, she’ll have to spend time overseeing it all. If she’s got a life over in Atlanta then why would she want to be bothered with all this?” Adam looked gloomy as he gestured to the ranch, and Tyler couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.
He patted the youngster on the back. “Don’t you worry. Whatever happens I’m sure you’ll be fine, bud.” He tried to sound reassuring, although the truth was he wasn’t so sure himself.
He looked over toward the house, fighting the temptation to go in there and demand that Chloé hear him out. He was sure she must be thinking he’d done something to entice all of this out of her uncle, when, in fact, it was the last thing on his mind. He was also truly grateful for the house – although it might be awkward to own a property on the land if someone else took over the ranch and didn’t want to employ him. He sighed.
A pick-up drove onto the site and pulled up just outside the ranch house. Tyler frowned. It was the latest model and he instantly recognized it as belonging to Bill Simmons. What in hell was he doing sniffing around here?
He grimaced as Bill sneered over at him before walking up to the front door. Tyler seethed. He watched the door open and Bill went into the house. Every bone in his body wanted to make its way over to see what the heck was going on, but his brain stopped him. Chloé probably wouldn’t thank him for interfering, and, besides, it was just possible that she had asked Bill to come over. He just hoped to God this wasn’t anything to do with those decisions she was talking about making.
Tyler took Footloose, one of the palominos, up with him to check on some of the fences. If the spread was about to be sold, Chloé would want it kept in good shape so she could get the best price for it, and if she was keeping it then she deserved his loyalty. He couldn’t help wondering how things would work with him having the livestock and her having the land. Would she want him to keep things the way they were? He could rent the land from her, but would probably have to sell off some of the animals to pay for it. The thought irked him.
He knew Chloé wasn’t in a fit frame of mind to discuss it with him yet, but she would have to consider it sooner or later. She sure had been pissed with him ever since she got home. Tyler shook his head. Typical of a woman to be mad at him when it was she who stood him up.
He had known that the night of her graduation would have been the last chance he had of asking her to go out with him. It was his own fault, really. He had put it off for so long that it had just become harder and harder. When she announced that she had been offered some accountancy position with a hotshot company in Atlanta he knew his time had all but run out.
He figured that if he told her exactly how he had felt about her then maybe they could still keep in touch – or, even better, he could persuade her not to go. It wasn’t all for selfish reasons; Tyler knew she didn’t really want the job. He had overheard her telling Maisie that it wasn’t what she wanted but she could see no alternative – there was nothing for her around Rough Oaks. At first he had been crushed, but Maisie had later confided in him that Chloé really liked him but as he had never made a move on her she assumed he wasn’t interested.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. Tyler had loved the bones of that girl for years, but was aware that she was the boss’s niece and John was keen for her to get a good education and follow a career.
