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“You’d have thought so,” she whispered.
“So?”
“Well, Johnson’s land is more than just his. Part of it used to belong to my ex-husband, Blake. He sold it to Caleb Johnson years ago, when we were first married. My property, which is known as the Hawthorne place, bordered Blake’s family’s acreage. Once Blake sold out to Johnson, Caleb became my neighbor.”
“And the Summers’ place doesn’t exist any longer.”
“Right. It’s all part of Johnson’s spread, although he made one minor concession to Blake’s family and decided to name his resort Summer Ridge.”
“What does that have to do with property lines?”
“Johnson claimed that when Blake sold him the land, he’d meant to include the strip of my property on the ridge of the mountains.” She pointed westerly, toward the Rockies. “I don’t farm the entire acreage; part of the land rises into the foothills.”
“And has hot springs on it.”
Surprised, she stiffened in the chair. “That’s why Johnson wants the land so badly, I suppose.”
Chase shifted and rubbed his hand around the back of his neck. “I suppose. So what happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“The judge threw the case out of court. It cost me several thousand dollars in legal fees, but the land is mine.”
“How did Caleb take the news?”
“Not particularly well. It’s common knowledge that he owns several of the judges in this part of the state. I’m willing to bet that some have even invested in Summer Ridge. Fortunately I ended up with a judge who didn’t happen to be in Johnson’s back pocket.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that Johnson has powerful friends.” Her small jaw was thrust forward and her eyes were guarded. “And I don’t trust any of them, including you.”
“I didn’t say I was his friend.”
“Partner. That’s good enough.” Standing, she cinched the belt of her robe more tightly around her waist. “Though Caleb Johnson didn’t end up with my land, he still put a noose around my neck. I had to go into debt to pay off my lawyer and mortgage this land. I got behind on my taxes and it took me two years to get back to even again.” Her blood boiled at the injustice of it all and her voice trembled slightly. “I offered to sell him part of the farm once. It wasn’t enough for him. He tried to wheel and deal and swindle me on that piece as well as the rest of the farm! So I’m through dealing with him. As far as I’m concerned, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of buying one square inch of this property!”
“No matter what?”
“No matter what! So, if you’re entertaining any ideas of persuading me to sell, you’d better forget them.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
She lifted a delicate dark brow and cocked her head to the side. “What then?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to see you again.”
Brace yourself, Dani, don’t fall for his line. You don’t know a thing about this McEnroe character, she told herself. She took a step backward, toward the door. “Why?”
“I only wish I knew,” he said shaking his head. “You’re a very beautiful woman. Intriguing.”
“A challenge, Mr. McEnroe?”
A crooked smile slid over his face. “Maybe—”
“Then forget it. I don’t like dealing with anyone associated with Caleb Johnson. I don’t know why you got roped into being his business partner . . . oh, yeah, it was something about giving your business a shot in the arm financially, wasn’t it? Well that doesn’t wash with me. There are lots of ways to raise capital. You don’t have to go crawling to the likes of Johnson!”
“He came to me.”
