Page 29 of Dark Side of the River

“Have a moment?” he asked his harried-looking father, who was sitting behind his desk in his office den. Cooper closed the door, wondering if his timing could be better. Too bad—this couldn’t wait. “I ran into Treyton earlier in town at Beckman’s Realty. He said he was looking at property for you.” His father’s expression gave nothing away. “I also heard from a reliable source that he was seen buddying up with one of the hotshots from the gas company doing all the drilling around here. I would have let both things slide, but I saw his name on a notepad at one of the gas company men’s house.”

“What are you saying?”

“I suspect he’s up to something and has been for a while.” Cooper shrugged. “Just thought you should know.” He hesitated. “If you’re thinking about letting them drill on the ranch, forget I said anything.”

“Hell no, I’m not. How can you even ask that?”

“Because you don’t seem that interested in why Treyton appears to be dealing with them. Was he looking into property for you?” This time, his father’s expression gave him away. “Then I suspect he was there to find out what the ranch is worth on the open market. Are you thinking about selling?”

His father sat back in his chair. He looked older, as if weighted down by life. “I’m just trying to understand what was going on,” Cooper said. He felt as if he’d walked into the middle of a movie, one he’d been edited out of. One thing was for certain: this definitely didn’t seem like a good time to adopt a twelve-year-old orphaned kid.

“You’re right,” he said, even though his father hadn’t said anything. “It’s none of my business, but this girl...”

“It will be a transition for us and for Holly Jo, but I made a promise and I’m damned well going to keep it. As for the ranch, I intend to keep it too, right up to my last dying breath. Does that answer your question?”

He nodded. “It does.”

He started to turn, when his father said, “As for Treyton, he doesn’t agree with me about the methane wells. But I think he’s too smart to try to go around me, don’t you?”

Cooper wasn’t so sure about that. His older brother had always been sneaky and often underhanded when he wanted something badly enough. “Probably me coming back just has him wanting to remind me that he is the eldest son. He’s always liked to put me in my place.”

“Where is your place, Cooper?”

He chuckled since his father had never answered that question. “You’d know better than me.”

“This ranch is your place.”

Was it?

“And now that you’re back,” Holden said, “any chance I could get you to teach Holly Jo how not to just saddle a horse, but how to ride? It seems she’s determined to learn. It might be a positive thing.”

He gave it a few moments’ thought. “I could do that.” He certainly hadn’t stepped back into any roles here on the ranch since he’d returned. Instead, he’d wanted to tiptoe back in just to get his feet wet until he knew how deep it could get. “I’d be happy to teach her.”

“She’s a wild one.”

Like Bailey, he thought, wondering why his sister had been so scarce lately. It made him think of Oakley, which made him worry about his sister. Both women were headstrong. “Is there some kind of local movement against the gas companies? It sounded like Oakley might have been involved.”

His father frowned. “If there is, you’re thinking of Bailey.”

“I might look into it,” Cooper said as he left.

CHARLOTTEMOVEDTOstand at the hospital room window. The glare as the sun began to dip behind the mountains made her wince. It shouldn’t be shining at all, the sky shouldn’t be so blue, the birds shouldn’t be singing. It felt as if the world should have stopped. Hers had. But all around her life was going on.

She turned back to her daughter’s bedside, consumed by her own anger. She’d been like this long before Oakley was wounded, but some days all this pent-up fury wanted to overwhelm her, making her feel as if she might explode.

Seeing Holden the other day had reignited more than her desire. The memory of that kiss made her shudder at how she’d dropped her defenses, at how desperately she’d wanted what he was offering. What had she been thinking? She felt a wave of shame wash over her. She’d wanted more than even that passionate kiss. She’d wanted him right there beside the creek as if they were still teenagers. How could she have wanted him, let alone succumbed to her own desire with a man who had betrayed her? She felt humiliated, shocked by her behavior and worse. She’d hated that Boyle had shown up when he had and at the same time was thankful that she hadn’t humiliated herself worse. How could she forget the devastation she’d felt when Holden, her lover, her soulmate, had married someone else?

“Char?”

She stiffened. Only one man called her that. Bracing herself, she turned and attempted a smile.

Alexander Forester stood in the hospital room doorway, the brim of his Stetson gripped in his thick fingers. “I came as soon as I heard.” He stepped in. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here before now.”

He opened his arms and she stepped into them. She pressed her face against his crisp, expensive shirt, breathing in his rich aftershave. Everything about Alexander felt like money. “Only first class for me,” he often joked. He didn’t flaunt his wealth, but he didn’t hide it either. He made no excuses, saying that he’d started out dirt-poor. He took pride in his accomplishments. He promised her a better life. He’d offered her a way out of at least one of her problems, keeping the ranch going. If only she could fall in love with him, she thought as she stepped back. She’d married for all the wrong reasons before. She would never do that again.

“Thank you for coming.”

He glanced toward the bed. “She the same?” Charlotte nodded. “Honey, just say the word and I’ll fly her out to any hospital in the world.”

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