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"No need to lose fifteen percent with an agent." Mr. Simmons gave her a sleazy smile, probably unaware of how disturbing he looked. "I'd be more than happy to work with you."
She reached for another fry. "Still not selling, and you're ruining my appetite."
"How about the back pasture? I just need a few more acres, what with the droughts and all."
"No." She tried to turn her attention back to me, but Paul Simmons wasn't ready to quit.
He leaned closer, hovering right over her meal. "County Assessor comes out in a month. Be a shame if someone told him there's no agriculture being produced over there. How high you think your taxes'll jump, girl?"
With those long, blue nails, she pushed right into the middle of his chest, guiding him back. I could see the dents she left in the cotton of his shirt. It took everything I had not to chuckle. Maybe I needed to rethink my first impression of her. This dainty little city girl wasn't bothered in the least by Mr. Simmons' threats.
"I think my recent inheritance of the land, Gran's eighteen months of hospitalization, and all those extenuating circumstances will be taken into consideration when we take this to court." She smiled at him like she honestly wasn't worried. For a moment, I even thought her kindness was real, but the ice in her eyes gave it away. "Now didn't your mother ever teach you that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar?"
When she flicked a hand to dismiss him, I damn near lost it. From the look on Mr. Simmons' face, that was not at all what he'd expected. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite finished.
"Let me be blunt, Violet. This is the best offer you're going to get. Take it, or things are going to get real ugly. There's a lot of things I'm sure you'd hate to get out."
She just shrugged. "If you mean that Vera's buried beside the woman who should have been her wife? Please, make sure everyone knows."
"No." He took a step back. "That's not at all what I mean. You think the state is really going to let you run a place like that? A girl like you? Just look at how your mother turned out."
Without another word, he turned and left. It was Violet's mad scrambling for her phone that made me look over. Even under layers of makeup, she was pale. Too pale. I had no idea what threat Paul Simmons had just made, but evidently it was a good one.
Without even a fake apology, she pressed the phone to her face. It only took a second before her eyes unfocused as someone answered on the other end. "Cyan?"
Across the table, I could hear the bass of a man's voice.
Violet nodded unconsciously at whatever he'd said. "Good to know. Hey, I need a favor. Get with Shawn and run my records? Yeah, I don't have his new number yet. Sure, text me that, but I need everything public. If that's boring, tell him to see what my mother has been up to." She paused. "Nah, he knows. Yeah. And I'd love anything you can get on Paul Simmons. He's already trying to stop Southwind." Then her eyes flicked up and landed right on me. "I also need a history on Luke Barrett. Yep. Says he knew Gran. K. Love ya, babe. Bye, sweetie."
"Boyfriend?" I asked when she set the phone down.
Violet shook her head. "Old friend of mine. We kinda went to school together."
"Mm." I couldn't pretend to ignore what she'd said. "I think I have three speeding tickets. All between here and Dallas. Public intox on my juvie records, but that's sealed."
She picked up another fry, paused, then dropped it back into the basket. "I didn't ask for a criminal check."
I felt the muscles in my jaw tense. "Fine. Dropped out of high school my junior year. Work for Paul Simmons feeding his cattle. Pull a few jobs with Mike every so often to make ends meet. Anything else you want to know, Miss Dawson?"
Her face was serene, as if the anger boiling in the back of my mind didn't bother her at all. I knew she could hear it in my voice, but the fancy bitch just looked at me for a few seconds too long. Well, that was all I was going to give her. If she wanted to know about all the mistakes I'd made in my life, then she could find them herself. When I tensed to stand, those heather-grey eyes of hers flicked to the window.
"How'd you know Gran?"
I paused. "I worked on her place."
"You think I should sell?"
I glanced over my shoulder, checking to see where my boss had gone, then relaxed back into the chair. "No. I think Vera would understand if you did, but no. I think it's amazing that you're trying to help out kids who get caught between a rock and a hard place. Just like Vera helped me."
"She what?" Her mouth fell open in shock.
I finally picked up my burger. "Yep. That's how I ended up helping her. Got kicked out at seventeen and she taught me enough so I could get my own place and a stable job. Same one I got now. Granted, if Mr. Simmons knew all that, I'd be out on my ass and there's not a whole lot of work out here."
Violet giggled. It was not at all what I'd expected. Everything about her was immaculate and planned, like some movie starlet. Before this moment, I never would have been able to imagine a giggle coming from those lips - but it did.
"Tomorrow," she said. "Soon as you're done with the cows? Come over." Then she flipped open her tablet-wallet thing and pulled out a pretty lavender business card. "If you can't make it before lunch, text. Mine's the number at the bottom." Then she pushed her untouched burger away and slid off the bench. "Looks like my car's done. Thanks for the rescue, Mr. Barrett."
"My pleasure, Miss Dawson."
