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Your land. It did belong to her, and Kady, and the three other mystery sisters.
Kitten looked to Sutton. “A surveyor,” he repeated.
“He’d be looking at topography, geographical specifications like rivers or a creek. Large rock formations, outcroppings, buttes.” She frowned, considered, then glanced at Kady. “You didn’t ask for one?”
“Me?” Kady’s eyes widened in surprise, then she laughed. “I’m an east coast girl and wouldn’t know a butte from my butt. I’ve barely figured out how to ride a horse.”
Jamison chuckled, stroked his knuckles down Kitten’s cheek. “That’s true, about the horse part, but she’s getting much better at riding.” He softened his teasing with a wink.
I saw Kitten’s cheeks heat as she glanced at the floor.
“Then what was he doing here? Looking for oil?” I asked. “Can someone just look at land and know there’s oil on it?”
I wasn’t involved with Steele ranch. While I was born and raised in Barlow and considered myself a little bit of a cowboy, I was also a city slicker. A doctor. I spent my days in the ER dealing with everything from the flu to alcohol poisoning to cardiac arrest. A completely different experience than riding the range on the back of a horse. Even though I was friends with Jamison, I didn’t come to the ranch often, maybe a few times a year if one of the guys were sick. Eight years I’d been away, at college and then hospitals from Chicago to Austin for my residency and other years training to be a doctor.
“It’s possible to find patches of oil that have seeped to the surface. Unlikely, but scientifically possible,” Kitten said. “But you can study rocks, see if there’s a presence of hydrocarbons.”
She stopped there, looked around. While none of us had glazed looks on our faces, she was definitely talking over our heads. She recognized that and looked to Sutton. “Did he have any equipment with him? Something to collect rocks or soil samples. Maybe a machine that looks like a fancy-looking metal detector?”
Sutton shook his head. “He had a small backpack, nothing bigger than what a kid would take to school, water bottle in the side pocket. He had his phone out, so maybe he was taking some pictures?”
“A company that wants you to work for them has a surveyor stop by your property,” I said aloud. This wasn’t over. Sutton may have driven the man off, but it wasn’t over. I could feel it.
“Maybe our father made arrangements with them before he died?” Kady wondered aloud.
“It’s possible, sweetness, but we didn’t find any record of it when we cleaned out his office, his papers,” Riley told her. “There’s no mention anywhere of any kind of oil or mineral rights leasing. As far as I know, the land’s untouched. If Borstar made a deal with your daddy, they’d be in touch with me about any dividend checks since I’m executor. Those you can’t hide or avoid the taxes on.”
“True,” Kady finished, shrugging her shou
lders.
An old arrangement with Steele was a plausible scenario, but Riley was right. He’d have gotten a letter from the IRS if there were any unpaid taxes.
I took hold of Kitten’s chin, had her look at me. “I think you should reach out to your contact there, see what’s going on.”
Kitten met my gaze. She had her bottom lip between her teeth, a sure sign her smart mind was at work and thinking about more than just hydrocarbons. “All right. Do you think we’re in danger?” she asked, glancing at Kady.
The women had had several girls-only get-togethers since they first met at my house. No doubt Kady had shared what had happened to her.
Cord had Kady tucked on his lap, an arm about her waist. While I saw the hard glint in his eyes at the possibility, there was no way he was letting anything happen to her. No fucking chance.
“While he seemed harmless enough, the guy’s a credible threat. I’ll call Archer,” Sutton said, getting to his feet.
Archer was the town’s sheriff. He’d been involved with Kady’s murder-for-hire case and knew to take this seriously. While Jamison and I had gone to high school around the same time with him, he was close with Sutton. If they ever found a woman, they’d definitely share her. Someday.
“I’ll also update the men, tell them to keep an eye out,” Sutton added. After the fuck-up at the Silky Spur, they’d be watching. “I’ll keep you posted on what Archer says.”
Strange men on Steele Ranch land was not a good thing, especially when the women seemed to be directly involved. It couldn’t just be coincidence that Kitten inherited and Borstar followed.
He gave the women a nod, then strode into the kitchen where the dishes were still being washed, letting the door swing back and forth behind him.
“Borstar is based in Texas, I think,” Kitten said. “Their offices are closed this time of night. I’ll contact the HR person tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.” Jamison stood, lifting Kitten over his shoulder as he did so, and grabbed the whipped cream off the table in front of Cord. “I’m taking this. Thanks for the idea.”
Kitten’s calls to be put down were ignored as Jamison strode from the room. He didn’t close the front door behind him, knowing I would follow. I looked to the others, who were grinning. Sutton would connect with Archer and the men would be vigilant. Kady was safe with her men and Kitten would be safest with us. Especially between us. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t worry and that was why Jamison had carried her off. He wanted her distracted and knew just how to do it. I couldn’t agree with him more, especially since the quickie had done nothing to ease the ache in my balls. They were heavy and full of cum for her already.
I shrugged, then followed, my hard dick leading the way.
