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“Then tell me.”
“They’re developers. They’ve been trying to get their hands on this patch of land for years.”
I sink back in my seat, eyes widening. “Oh…” My mind whirls for a second. “And you thought I was working for them?” I don’t know whether to be amused or offended. I’m both, I surmise.
“You have to admit the timing is suspect,” Connor offers quickly. “You come in here out of nowhere?—”
“You just said that they’ve been trying for years. How is my timing suspect?” I counter, annoyance flaring in me.
“They’ve been turning up the heat the past few months. I think they have a real plan for the land now, and they want to get us out,” Eli explains, but I’m still not sold on how they put me in the center of all of it.
I shrug indifferently. “So what? Just don’t sell.”
Eli smirks before he can turn away, and my eyes narrow. “What?” I demand. “It’s your land, isn’t it? What’s the problem?”
It’s Connor who responds. “You haven’t had much occasion to go up mega corporations, have you?”
I peer at him, not understanding. “Not really… I mean, I worked for a pretty big construction firm in Seattle. They had another office in Spokane.”
The men look at one another again, and I bristle, understanding that I’ve just reignited their suspicions about me. “But I have nothing to do with this!” I add. “I don’t know anything about MVP. I’ve never even heard of them.”
Connor leans forward in his chair, laying his forearms on his knees. “They’re big in these parts,” he explains. “And this isn’t the first time they’ve set their sights on smaller ranches in the area. There’s an entire strip mall really close to Helena, which was once acres of generational property until a couple of years ago.”
“MVP bought them out?” I conclude.
“Yep. And barely paid what the land was worth from what I hear,” Eli adds, finally stopping his rounds of the massive living room to sit and face me, too.
“But it’s like I said,” I insist. “You don’t have to sell.”
Eli rolls his piney eyes heavenward like I’m too naïve to understand. “Have you been to Katherine’s lot?” he asks tersely. “It’s on its last legs and has been for decades. The only reason it’s…” He stops and looks at Connor, pursing his lips. “It’s on its way out.”
“That’s more the reason to fix it up,” I implore him. “If we get the ranch running and functional, maybe MVP will back off. We fight fire with some sparks of our own.”
“They won’t back off until they get what they want,” Connor sighs.
“Then hire a lawyer,” I suggest. “They can’t keep harassing you. If you’ve said no?—”
Eli throws his hands up, and I stop speaking. “They’re not going to stop. The thing that really encourages people to sell is the property taxes. Your grandma may own the land, but the taxes are what might do her in.”
I chew on the insides of my lips. It pains me to learn that my grandmother is being harangued by suits on top of everything else she’s had to deal with, but I will find a way to put a stop to it.
“Have you guys spoken to a lawyer?” I ask Connor.
He shrugs. “For what? All they’re doing is making offers.”
“Offers that you’ve repeatedly shut down. I would speak to both the police and a lawyer immediately. At least put them on notice that you’re taking action and not sitting idly by.”
For the first time, Eli’s face relaxes, and he eyes me with less wariness.
“The police?”
“Of course. They can’t just keep bombarding you with offers when you’re refusing. It is borderline harassment, Eli,” I explain patiently. “I don’t know enough about the law, but I’m sure they’re doing something illegal—or at least borderline illegal. And it sounds to me like they’ve been getting away with it, which is why they keep doing it.”
Both men stare at me now, appreciation lighting their gazes, and I allow myself to feel a spark of pride that I’ve won them over with something more than sex that night.
Not that I hadn’t thoroughly enjoyed that, too.
Eli’s mouth twitches into a half-smile. “I admire your enthusiasm, city girl, but the local police are barely scraping by on their salaries. They’re not going to help.”
