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Well, at least it seems we share the same opinion of her father.
Her eyes flick to me again. Gorgeous green eyes that I could get lost in. It’s like she’s studying me and trying to figure out exactly who I am in this strange situation. That’s fine, she’ll find out soon enough.
Katie clears her throat. “Be that as it may, your grandmother recently passed away, I’m sorry to tell you.”
The look on Rachel’s face is one of genuine shock. It seems she wasn’t even aware of Evelyn’s existence.
“She was the owner of Rocking R Ranch.” Katie slides one of the ranch’s brochures across the table to her. “It’s a fully functioning ranch as well as an elite resort and vacation destination. When she passed away, she left the ranch to Mr. Burgess here. But there are some very old laws in Wyoming, and the ranch has to pass to a blood relative or be sold to the government. You’re the last living blood relative.”
Rachel’s eyebrows raise into her hairline. “Are you serious?”
I don’t have to look at Katie to know that she’s pinning the woman across the table with the look that she gave me a couple of hours ago: not unkind, but absolutely unyielding. “I promise you, Miss Dover, I’m not a woman who plays games. I wouldn’t have flown you all the way out here for any kind of practical joke. You’re the last living blood relation of any kind to Evelyn Roscoe, and so the ranch now belongs to you. You own it.”
I watch as she processes the information. First shock, then anger and sadness. Disbelief. Her face is like an open book. “This can’t be real,” she mutters. “My father didn’t even like me enough to give me his last name. I’m supposed to want a ranch from his family? No thank you. The Roscoes have done enough damage to me already. I don’t want anything to do with that loathsome family.”
“Evelyn was nothing like your father,” I snap, and her gaze locks on mine. They’re the first words that I’ve spoken to her, and she’s appraising me with new and curious eyes. “I know what kind of man he was. But Ev—your grandmother was nothing like him. She was kind and genuine, and she cared about the ranch.”
She looks at me for a long moment, and then back at Katie. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time, but I’m not interested. Sell it and have them send me a check. You clearly have my details.”
She moves to stand, and red tints the edge of my vision. How can she be so callous? So dismissive? She doesn’t understand and I’m going to make her understand. My mouth is opening to tell her exactly what I think about her and her attitude when I feel Katie’s hand on my shoulder.
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Miss Dover. If you’ll listen, I can explain everything to you.”
Rachel looks hesitant, but nods.
“Rocking R Ranch isn’t just a ranch like you might see in the movies. There’s a full staff who live on the property, as well as the people who come and visit for vacation. It’s a community in itself, and the center of the local economy. It supplies local stores with meat and dairy. If the ranch is sold to the government, everyone who lives on the ranch will lose their homes and jobs. They would likely turn the property into a straight mass cattle ranch. But, if Mr. Burgess continues to manage the ranch, everything can continue as normal, and it will be much more profitable for you. He’s Evelyn’s chosen beneficiary of the property and has an excellent reputation.”
Rachel looks between the two of us, and I can see her mind going into overdrive, trying to figure out exactly what we want from her. “There’s a catch,” she says. “There’s got to be. That speech is one that you could have given me over the phone, so why I am I really here then?”
I have to give the woman credit. She isn’t stupid. Glancing over at Katie, I see that killer little smile again. “In order to stay within the limits of the law, Mr. Burgess has to be a relation of the late Mrs. Roscoe. In order to make financial decisions for Rocking R. Ranch, he would need to be a part of the immediate nuclear family.”
The air stills, and I see the question in her eyes. Katie goes in for the kill. “In order to save Rocking R Ranch, you and Mr. Burgess need to marry.”3Rachel“In order to save Rocking R Ranch, you and Mr. Burgess need to marry.”
The words that come out of the lawyer’s mouth make me go cold. And then the laugh comes flying out of my mouth. They can’t be serious, can they?
