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“Because it was paid for by the Grandin and Lattimore families? It’s their land. How is that any different than you having oil rights and wanting them verified? They wanted to know what was on their property. Seems perfectly reasonable to me.”
“They have every reason to lie.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I can tell you that Henry Lawrence, the original surveyor, would never do that. My father was a geologist and he was friends with Henry. He’s incredibly well respected. One of the best in the business. If he found no oil, then there’s likely no oil. He wouldn’t put his name on any report that lied about what was on that property.”
“If you believe so strongly in what he found, then why not say that in your survey?”
“Because I wasn’t able to do the tests that he did. I can’t copy someone else’s work. It wouldn’t be ethical.”
He laughed, but there was a sharp and dismissive tone to the sound. “Ethical.That’s a funny word to throw around when we’re talking about the Grandins and the Lattimores. I don’t think a single one of them is familiar with the term.”
Heath was clinging to bitter doubt like it was the only thing he had going for him. She wanted to understand why. “Can I ask a question? Is this a dispute over oil rights? Or is there something else to it?”
“Very astute observation. Thisisabout more than oil. It’s about two rich and powerful patriarchs trying to silence a single mom because they didn’t want to take responsibility for the child one of their sons fathered. That child was my half sister, Ashley.”
Bingo.So thiswasabout a paternity case. The one people in Royal had been talking about. “And the single mom is your mother?”
“Was my mother. She’s deceased. As is Ashley. Both of them gone too soon. Ash’s birthday was last week. She would’ve been thirty-eight. She had so much life ahead of her.”
Ruby suddenly understood what this was really about—loss and grief. Ruby had wrestled with that for more years than she liked to admit. Trying to escape the pain had brought her to Royal. Doing a quick calculation in her head, and understanding what Heath was going through, was the only reason she was about to bring up one detail she’d noticed when she’d gone over the paperwork relating to oil rights. Before, it didn’t matter, but now it might give Heath some clarity. “Did you happen to look at the date on Henry’s original survey?”
“I never saw it. I was only told about it. By my lawyer.”
“We should confirm it, but going by Ashley’s birthday, I’m pretty sure Henry’s survey was done a full year before they granted rights to your mother.”
Heath froze while white-hot anger rose in his face like a flash flood. “Seriously?”
Ruby swallowed hard, understanding what this meant. “Yes.”
“So those bastards knew all along that it was worthless. They have piles and piles of money and they purposely looked for something of no value to give to my mother, just to shut her up.” He dragged his hand through his hair, then frantically scrubbed his jaw, seeming frustrated and in some ways at war with himself. “They not only lied to her, they tricked her. Of all the low things someone could do, this might be the lowest.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news.”
“I need to go. Now. I’m sorry I bothered you.” He stormed out of the room.
For a moment, she hesitated. Did she really want to get involved with this? No. But she hated the thought of two rich and powerful families taking advantage of a struggling woman. “Heath. Wait!”
“Thank you for your help, Ruby. I’m sorry if I interrupted your day.” He flung open the front door and slammed it behind him.
“Wait!” She grabbed the knob and opened it again, but she couldn’t run after him with nothing more than thick wool socks on her feet. She grabbed her boots, noticing that the snow was coming down sideways and the wind had picked up significantly. There was little to no visibility. She wasn’t sure how fast he was walking, but he was already nothing more than a shadowy figure out there. He was a fool for wanting to ride off in this. “Heath. Please stop.” She worked her feet into her boots, grabbed a coat and stomped out onto her front porch.
He must have heard her footfalls on the wood planks, because he turned back to her. “I’ve got to be somewhere. Just let me go. Please go back in the house.” He waved her off with his hand.
“No. Don’t rush off when you’re angry.” She scrambled down the stairs and shuffled across her driveway, which was now slippery in spots. The snow was not only still coming down fast, it was incredibly heavy. The branches of the trees surrounding them strained in the wind, weighed down with the winter precipitation, swaying and bobbing like a drunken man. “The weather is too bad. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be on the ro—” A deafening crack sliced through the air. It was wood splitting. Ruby startled and keeled back on her heels. She backpedaled, but there was no grip. Her feet flew out from under her.Thud.Her butt hit the driveway. Pain blinded her. It sizzled down her legs and up her back. More cracks came, then a loud boom, followed by the ground shaking.
Heath lunged for her, but it only made it worse. He landed on his knee and grabbed her shoulder, but the momentum flattened Ruby against the pavement with Heath practically on top of her. His eyes were even wilder and untamed this close, his lips slack as they both struggled to catch their frosty breaths. “What the hell was that?” he asked. “It felt like an earthquake.”
“The tree,” she answered, trying to ignore how much she liked having his body weight against her. She gestured behind him with a nod. A bald cypress, which had to be more than sixty feet tall, had come down, landing across the road and blocking all access to her house. That thing had shown signs of deterioration a few months ago. She should have had it removed, but it was too late for that. “It fell. You aren’t going anywhere.”
He turned away from her and shook his head in disbelief. “This doesn’t make any sense. We don’t get this kind of weather in Royal.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. She could not believe Heath Thurston.
“What?” he asked, seeming indignant.
“You’re arguing with what is right in front of you. Snow. A thousand-pound tree blocking your way off my property.” She looked skyward and squinted as fat, icy flakes landed on her face. It was really coming down. Yes, she preferred the heat of a Texas summer to a snowstorm. But it was a change of pace, and she appreciated that. She lowered her head and settled her sights on Heath again. He was nice to look at, even when his hair was wet from snow and his cheeks ruddy and red from the cold. “A little help?” she asked.
He blinked and nodded like her words had shaken him awake. “Of course. Sorry. Are you okay?” He threaded his arm under hers, wrapping his hand around her waist and helping her to stand. He held her close once they were on their feet.
