“I was his only child,” her father muttered. “You’d think I would be his favorite, but obviously I wasn’t.”
Neither parent looked at Kate. She felt as though she’d stolen her father’s inheritance, that somehow this added pain was her fault. She couldn’t stand to see him so broken. “After the year is through, I’ll sign over the ranch to you. It should be yours, not mine.”
Her father lifted his head from his hands. So much gratitude shone in his eyes, she knew she’d made the right decision. “Really? You’d do that for us?”
Kate nodded. “We’ll call it payment for my tuition.” The land and cattle were worth ten times that amount, but her parents’ happiness mattered more.
Her father reached across the table and put his hand over hers. “You’re the best daughter ever.”
“Hey,” Libby protested. “It’s not my fault Grandpa didn’t leave me anything.”
Kate’s father squeezed her hand. “Once the development pays out, we’ll make sure you have enough money to start your own design business.”
Kate smiled. That was a financial windfall she could enjoy—one that felt like a prize, not a punishment. Now all she had to do was make sure she didn’t lose the ranch.
Chapter Five
“So let me get this straight,”Jaxon said as he sat perched on the old black family room couch. Landon had called his brothers together for a meeting before Dillon headed back to Bisbee. “Our strategy,” Jaxon continued, “is to make sure Cal’s granddaughter fails at ranching, so you’ll inherit Coyote Glen?” Jaxon had already changed out of his suit from the funeral and was back in jeans and a T-shirt. “Doesn’t sit right with me. Seems like we ought to be helping Kitty. That’s what Cal would want.”
“No, that’s not our strategy.” Landon had only told his brothers that Kitty was bound to make all sorts of mistakes. He hadn’t even gotten to his thoughts on strategy yet.
“If we’re talking about what Cal would want,” Dillon put in, “Cal wouldn’t want our ranch to fail.” Dillon for once wasn’t checking his watch and reminding them all that he needed to head back to his apartment in town. He sat next to Jaxon, looking out the picture window at the front pastures, green patches set against the backdrop of red mountains. “Cal didn’t leave Coyote Glen to Jeff Benton because he knew his son would sell it. Kitty will do the same.” Dillon shook his head. “It’s just a shame Cal didn’t sell us the place beforehand and leave the money to his family.”
Landon tossed his tie on the couch and loosened the top buttons of his shirt. “Cal didn’t sell it to us because he hoped Kitty would take to ranching.”
“Right,” Dillon said. “It’s clear how much she loved the ranch by the fact that she hasn’t stepped foot on it since she was fifteen. Maybe we shouldn’t offer to share our equipment like we did with Cal. To succeed in business, you’ve got to use the leverage you have.”
Preston took a handful of Doritos from a bag on his lap and flipped one into his mouth. “We should tell everyone about the Bentons’ golf course ambitions and how Kitty’ll put our ranch out of business. People won’t want to help her.”
“She won’t put us out of business,” Landon assured him. “Even if we can’t use Cal’s wells, we can still haul water in.”
“That’ll be such a hassle,” Jaxon said.
“And expensive,” Dillon added. “Which means that it will cut into both your time and your profits, not to mention the wear and tear it will put on your trucks.”
Preston scowled. “You don’t mess with a man’s truck.”
“Agreed,” Dillon said. “Hauling in water isn’t a long-term solution.”
Landon didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking. “Yesterday, I offered to help Kitty with anything she needs. I’m not going go back on my word now because of the will.”
Preston crunched another chip. “You’re just saying that because Kitty is single and pretty. If Cal had left the ranch to his son with the same agreement, you and Jax would happily see Coyote Glen go down in flames. We need those wells, so we can’t be nice about this just because our opponent is a woman.”
“She’s not our opponent.” Jaxon leaned back and put his feet on the old wooden trunk they used as a coffee table. “She’s our neighbor and our friend.”
“More of a friend to some of us,” Dillon said with a knowing look that verged on a smirk.
Jaxon picked up a Dorito and threw it at Dillon, nicking the side of his face. “Kitty and I are past history. She’s not my type anymore.”
“Yeah,” Dillon snorted. “She’s too smart for him now. She might not fall for that ‘I’m offering kissing lessons line.’”
Landon raised his hands to change the subject. Somehow talking about the way Jaxon had kissed Kitty still irritated him. The whole thing had become a joke to his brothers, but that was because they hadn’t been there when Cal chewed out Kitty. They hadn’t driven her home and seen her eyes swollen from crying.
“We don’t need to do anything to make sure Coyote Glen doesn’t turn a profit,” Landon emphasized. “I don’t believe for a minute that a city-girl interior designer is going to last one month, let alone twelve, on a cattle ranch that’s almost a half hour from the nearest small town and an hour and a half from Tucson. She’ll be stir-crazy by next week. All we have to do is sit back, wait, and then offer to pay a fair price for the land if she agrees to give up her claim on the ranch. Win-win all around. We’ll have water, Cal’s family will be compensated, and we won’t have to worry about golf carts spooking our cattle.”
Preston made a grumbling sound in the back of his throat. “I think you’re underestimating how greedy some folks are.”
“And you’re forgetting how hard ranch work is.” Landon leaned over and ruffled his younger brother’s hair. “Maybe we need to give you more chores after school.”