While he tried to keep a positive spin on why Amber didn’t come around much, his son was getting older and smarter. He’d know there were other reasons for her traveling around for her gallery—his current line of BS. How was he supposed to tell his son that his mother didn’t want him and never had? He didn’t want him messed up like Ben had been over his mother not wanting him. Look how that had turned out… His wounds had screwed things up good with Hannah.
Will stepped into his face. “I can see your wheels spinning. When I considered asking Hannah to come back, I thought about Amber’s reaction. I don’t want to make thingsharder for you, but I couldn’t let my worries stop me from making the right choice.”
“I know that, Will.” He tapped his brother on the chest because he didn’t like the way his brows were slammed together. “Best you know what I learned living briefly with Amber. There’s no pleasing her. Anything can set her off. All you can do is keep the damage to a minimum. Don’t ever let her stop you from doing what you think is best.”
“Ben! Will! I’m so happy to see you breaking ground around these here springs,” Paul called out as he and Cooper walked over. “My grandson tells me you’re set to open a place for people who are seriously sick or injured. That’s a great idea if I ever heard one.”
Ben shook his hand, noting the tense lines around the older man’s mouth. Yeah, he had news about Amber. His stomach twisted.
“Grandma Elena had the plans drawn up way back when.” Will also shook his hand. “I’ll have to tell you more about it sometime.”
“Cooper gave me some insights.” Paul lifted his hand and waved at their father and grandfather before turning back to Cooper. “Why don’t you go on over to your two other grandpas over there? I need to talk with your father.”
Even though Ben noticed Cooper clenching his hands at his sides, he had to give the boy credit for running off without asking about Amber. “I assume you’re here about your daughter.”
“I’m afraid so.” Paul pulled out a cigar, cut the tip, and lit it, inhaling the smoke. “I got a call from a resort in Jackson Hole this morning. Apparently, Amber and some of her friends wrecked the suite she’d checked into. It’s a mess I’m cleaning up, but I thought you should know. I figured her acting out was about Hannah coming back. It’s all over town.”
“Thanks for stopping by and telling me, Paul.” Ben kicked at the dirt with his cowboy boot. “I figured she’d be upset.”
“I know you’ll take good care of Cooper like you always do.” Paul gave a few audible puffs, his stress evident. “If I can stop Amber from coming over, I will, Ben.”
He nodded. “We deal with what we have to. But if she gets violent, Paul, I’m going to call the sheriff. If it were only me, you know I wouldn’t. But there’s Cooper, and I have to protect him.”
Paul threw his cigar down and stomped it out before it was half-smoked, like he needed to do something physical to feel more like himself. Funny how trouble with a woman, even one’s own daughter, could make a man look smaller. Usually, Paul Kincaid’s presence arrested conversation in a room. He could stop a fight among his ranch hands by simply stepping inside the bunkhouse.
Running a big ranch like the Flying K with thirty thousand acres wasn’t for any man. He’d weathered the storms like the rest of them, but he hadn’t been lucky in his personal life. Two greedy ex-wives and a child from each. Owen being the oldest—a no-good wastrel of a man—and Amber being the hot-tempered party girl.
“You having full custody is still the best way for that boy. When I have a bad moment about Amber or Owen, I think about Cooper growing up and becoming the good man we all see in him, uniting the McAllister and Kincaid ranches into one.”
“That’s a long way off, Paul,” Ben cautioned, deciding not to mention Cooper’s free will in the matter. Would his son want to work the ranch? The decision would be up to him.
“I’m turning fifty-eight next month, Ben.” Paul thrust his hand out toward the site. “Every man thinks about legacy and what comes next. I’m sure your grandma Elena is smiling down from heaven with you finally implementing her dream, Will.”
“I’d like to think so,” his brother answered.
“You should know there’s talk from that billionaire Taft about grandfathered plans,” Paul continued. “He’s sore about you not selling Wild Mountain to him. Then again, he’s sore about me not selling my ranch to him—again. He’s pretty much sore about everything if you ask me. Did you know he renamed the Double U to the Silver Dollar Ranch? That name’s been around since 1882. He’s got no respect.”
“I heard that was the name his ancestor had given the place before he lost it in a card game,” Will added. “Makes me wish I’d played poker with him. Would have cleaned him out.”
Ben wasn’t interested in his ancestor. He wasn’t the one trespassing and throwing his weight around. “When did he make another offer for your ranch?”
“A couple of days back, and you don’t want to know how many zeros I turned down.” Paul’s smile held a glimmer of amusement. “He ultimately wants Wild Mountain, he told me. His ancestor wanted it. Oh, and get this. He was named after him, so it’s mighty personal.”
Ben shook his head. “Some people need to get a life.”
“While some people who have everything find old scores to settle.” Paul looked him in the eye. “Taft’s not above closing in on you and making life mighty uncomfortable. Like other newbies, he wouldn’t be above putting up fences and throwing out previous understandings between ranches and barring cattle from water. He thought that you being my ex-son-in-law might put me in a selling mood. I told him he couldn’t be more wrong.”
“We need to hold together against men like Taft.” Ben could only imagine the trees Taft would cut down and the earth he would move to create the playground of his dreams, disrupting their ranching operations.
“Agreed, but you watch out for him. He’s a cunning cuss.Well, I’d best be going. Tell Cooper we’ll make a plan soon and go fishing.”
“He’d love that.” Ben shook his hand. “Thanks again for stopping by, Paul.”
“Least I could do.” He tipped his finger to his cowboy hat and headed back to his truck.
Will hung his hands on his belt buckle. “I didn’t say much since it was your show, but you might call Lloyd Sutton and tell him about Amber wrecking that fancy suite in Jackson Hole.”
His ongoing file on Amber with his lawyer was another yoke around his neck. Some days, he wished he could forget all about Amber, and he might if it weren’t for Cooper. The law was more inclined to let women raise children, and even though Amber had signed over her rights, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t cause trouble to get something she wanted. He was guarding against a call he never wanted to receive. “I’ll give him a holler later. Put me to work, Will.”
