He chuckled, imagining his starchy assistant facing down a goat. Ms. Jennings, a fifty-something powerhouse with an innate ability to make the most successful of executives feel incompetent, would most likely stare the goat into submission.
You found her!
Rafe turned toward the voice and saw a woman jogging toward him. She had a rope in one hand and what looked like lettuce in the other.
I was so worried. Athena lives to get into trouble. I cant find a gate lock that will keep her contained. Shes smart. Arent you, baby girl?
The woman approached the goat and patted her on the back. The goat moved toward her, like a dog seeking affection. She took the lettuce and the rope around her neck with equal acceptance.
The woman glanced back at him. Hi. Im Heidi Simpson.
She was maybe five-nine, with blond hair she wore in braided pigtails. A cotton shirt tucked into jeans showed him she was leggy and curvy, a combination that normally appealed. Just not today. Not when he still had to deal with his mother and a town he despised.
Rafe Stryker, he said.
The womanHeidistared at him, her green eyes widening as she took a single step back. Her full mouth trembled slightly and she lost her smile.
Stryker, she whispered and swallowed. May is your
Mother. How do you know her?
Heidi took another step back. Shes, ah, at the ranch right now. Talking to my grandfather. There seems to be a mix-up.
Mix-up? He used what Ms. Jennings referred to as his scary, serial-killer voice. Is that how youd describe what happened? I was thinking more along the lines of fraud and theft. Felony theft.
* * *
THIS WAS BAD, HEIDI THOUGHT, wishing she could simply run for it. Not that she wasnt one to face her problems. But in this case, she would feel a lot better facing them around other people, rather than on a deserted road. She eyed Athena, wondering if the goat would protect her, then decided probably not. Athena would be more interested in getting a taste of Rafe Strykers well-cut, obviously expensive suit.
The man standing in front of her looked seriously pissed. Pissed enough to plow her over with his big car and keep going. He was tall, with dark hair and eyes, and right now he looked angry enough to crush her with his bare hands. She had a feeling he was strong enough to do it, too.
She drew in a breath. Okay, maybe he wouldnt crush her, but he wanted to do something. She could read that in his brown-black eyes.
I know what youre thinking, she began.
I doubt that.
His voice was low, silky and made her feel unsettled. As though she couldnt predict what was going to happen next and, whatever it was, it was going to be bad.
My grandfather overstepped his bounds, she began, thinking it wasnt the first time Glen had given in to his ask forgiveness rather than permission philosophy of life. He didnt mean to hurt anyone.
He stole from my mother.
Heidi winced. Youre close to her? She shook her head. Never mind. Stupid question. If Rafe didnt take care of his mother, he wouldnt be here now. Not that she was surprised. From what she could tell, May was a lovely woman who had been very understanding about the mistake. Although not understanding enough to keep her son out of it.
Glen, my grandfather, has a close friend who was diagnosed with cancer. Harvey needed treatment, didnt have insurance, and Glen wanted to help. Heidi did her best to smile, but her lips didnt feel as if they were cooperating. So, um, he got the idea of selling part of the ranch. To your mother.
The ranch that belongs to you.
Technically. Her name was the one on the bank loan. She hadnt done the math, but she would guess she had in the neighborhood of seventy thousand dollars in equity. The rest of the ranch was tied up in her mortgage.
He took two hundred and fifty thousand dollars from my mother, and in return she owns nothing.
Kind of.
Your grandfather has no way to pay her back.
He gets social security and we have some savings.
Rafes gaze moved from her to Athena and back. How much in savings?
Defeat made her shoulders sag. Twenty-five hundred dollars.
Please move the goat. Im going to the ranch.
Heidi stiffened her spine. What are you going to do?
Have your grandfather arrested.
You cant! Glen was the only family she had. Hes an old man.
Im sure the judge will take that into account when setting bail.
He didnt mean to hurt anyone.
Rafe was unmoved by her plea. My family grew up here, Ms. Simpson. My mother was the housekeeper. The old man who owned the ranch paid her next to nothing. At times there wasnt enough money for her to feed her four children. But she hung on because he promised to leave her the ranch when he died.
Heidi didnt like this story. She just knew it had a bad ending.
Like your grandfather, he lied. When he finally died, the ranch went to distant relatives back east. His dark eyes turned into lasers that seemed to bore into her, promising untold punishment. No one is going to screw my mother out of this ranch twice.
Oh, no! It was worse than shed imagined. Much worse. You have to understand. My grandfather would never hurt anyone. Hes a great guy.