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Tess sampled the beans, which were as tasty as the meat. “Go on,” she said. “Pardon me if I eat while you talk. I’m famished.”
“It’s fine. Enjoy.” His smile was unreadable. “Here’s what’s happening. Today I met with the people who manage some of my real estate holdings. They agreed with me that in order to protect what I have, I need to put some of the properties under names other than my own.”
“Protect, you say? Protect from what?”
“It’s complicated. I’ll explain another time. But I assure you, what I’m proposing is perfectly legal.”
“I’m listening.”
“That property to the north of yours—with the hayfields and the vacant house. I take it you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I figured it was you who’d bought it when you started charging us full price for the hay.”
“Yes.” Brock cleared his throat. “Anyway, what I want to do is put the entire parcel under the name of the Alamo Canyon Ranch. It would still be mine, of course. But if you’ll agree to manage it—keep the hay watered and bill me for the harvesters to cut and bale it, you can have all the hay you want for free.”
“I see.” His proposal sounded almost too good to be true. “What’s the catch?” she asked. “There’s got to be one.”
“No catch. I’ll still retain the property and make money on the hay that’s sold. If your family doesn’t want to manage the hay, I’ll hire somebody to live in the house and do the job, like the man who was there before.”
Tess felt a chill. “The man who was there before murdered my stepmother. And that house isn’t fit to be a pig wallow. It needs to be burned to the ground.”
“Then I’d replace it and build something else—simple, but nice. Maybe some of your family—say, Val and Casey—could live there. I couldn’t help noticing that your house is pretty crowded.”
“What about property taxes?”
“I’d pay them, of course.” He put down his fork. “So what do you think?”
Tess took time to weigh her answer. “I’d have to know more,” she said. “And of course, this isn’t just my decision. It would involve my entire family. Could you write up an offer with all the details?”
A smile tightened his lips. “I already have. It will be in your e-mail by the time you get home.”
“Of course.” How like Brock, to work out the plan ahead of time and spring it on her without warning. “One more thing,” she said. “I can’t make a decision unless I know why you’re doing this. You said you’d explain later. I’d like to hear your explanation now.”
Did he flinch? Tess couldn’t be sure, but she sensed that she’d touched a nerve.
“All right, but for now, this is between you and me, understand?”
“All right.” Tess had never seen him look so uncomfortable.
“I can’t tell you the details,” he said, “but someone is threatening legal action that could damage me. I’m hoping nothing will come of it, but in case I lose, I need to protect as many assets as possible—even small ones, like that land parcel. And I need to do it soon.”
“What about a trust? Wouldn’t that protect your assets?”
“I’m working on it, but I may have waited too long—and it may not cover everything. Does that answer your question?”
“I suppose so. For now.”
“And you’ll keep this from your family?”
“They’re not fools, Brock. They’re bound to figure it out.”
“Then do the best you can. If they’re interested, I can bring the paperwork and answer their questions when I deliver Quicksand.”
“And if they say no?”
“Then I’ll probably send the bull with one of my men, and that’ll be the last you hear about the matter.” He stood, gathering up his half-finished meal for the trash. “I’ve given you a lot to think about. But what do you say we forget about business and enjoy the event tonight? I’ve got two prime seats above the chutes. Clay mentioned that Whirlwind won’t be bucking tonight, so you might as well use one. Otherwise, it’ll just go to waste.”
Tess hesitated, not wanting to owe him for the favor. But why not? With Whirlwind on hold, watching the competition from a choice seat would give her a chance to size up the bulls and riders.
