Page 17 of Rough Ride

She nodded and sipped her coffee. He studied her for a second and saw the dark circles under her eyes.

“I should have thought you would be tired. We should have waited until tomorrow.”

She shook her head. “This is a working ranch. I want to get started tomorrow.”

“Started?”

“You do know I ride, right?”

“Joe mentioned you did a little.”

She snorted. “A little? Barrel riding champion of South Central Texas, thank you very much.”

Her lips curved up into a cocky grin. He knew it was a bit of a challenge to him. She was there and she wasn’t going to hide away. Damn if that didn’t make her even more attractive.

“So, you want to really work the ranch?”

She laughed. “I can deal with being in the background, but I would like to see all the land. Joe loved it so much. My mother did too.”

“But she never came back.”

Her smile faded a bit. “Time. That was one issue. And whatever went on before she left.”

“You don’t know what that was about?” he asked.

She shook her head as the front gate buzzed. He walked to the front of the house and looked at the video cam.

Damn.

He knew Sam Kaheaku would show up, but he had hoped it would be a few days.

“Well, you might get an idea about what kept her away from the island. Your uncle’s here.”

* * *

She didn’t like him. It wasn’t that often she made a judgment on a person within a few minutes time with them. Sure, she had met him at the reading of the will, but now, looking at the large Hawaiian man frowning at her, she felt as if he was judging her and found her lacking.

“So, what the hell is going on here?”

She glanced at Eli waiting to see what he would say. His expression didn’t tell her much. She assumed that was more for Sam’s benefit and not hers.

“Not sure what you mean, Sam.” His voice held a hint of amusement but she knew without a doubt, Eli wasn’t amused.

“With this one here finally, I figured you would be interested in talking.”

The only sign of irritation on Eli’s face was a slight narrowing of his eyes. “Talking?”

“About settling? After this idiocy is done, I suggest you sell to me.”

“Why would I do that?”

For a second, Sam looked like he was confused. He looked at her, then back to Eli. “It’s Kaheaku land.”

“No. It isn’t. Joe did this on his own without your help. This has nothing to do with the family. He told me what you did when he came back here. I saw the way you disdained him and his life. You hated him and he didn’t want you to have the land.”

“Our land marches side by side.”

“And this ranch is three times as big as yours. I happen to know you don’t have the money to buy this ranch.”

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