Page 93 of Wrangled Up

The corner of his lip tugged upward. “Guess not now.”

She whirled to face Darcy, who had led Boom Boom into the rain. Snagging the leash from her hand, Claire took off with the blinged-out animal, making straight for the stage where she’d parade Boom Boom.

“Guess she’s changed her mind about allowing you to show Boom Boom,” Christian drawled in true cowboy style.

Darcy burst into a keening wail. Leon’s eyes shot bullets. And Tucker couldn’t be happier.

He ground his boot into the mess of paper and shouldered his way past his family. The alpacas were about to be shown, and only one had been that well-cared for as far as he was concerned—the one with the pink ankle cuffs and tiara.

When he and Christian took their seats in the soggy area in front of the stage, he could only see the joy radiating from the woman he loved.

* * * * *

“Hey, little gal.” The whisper from behind caused Claire to whirl.

The man from the bar who’d wanted to talk to her about Leon stood there, his plaid shirt wet from rain and sweat after the wood-chopping competition.

Claire put a bit of distance between them. “What did you need to tell me? Make it fast before my men see us talking.” She cast a nervous glance left and right, but luckily Tucker and Christian were off with Letty, watching the tractor pull.

“I’m with Bradley Coal.” The man shifted from boot to boot. She glanced down to see he wore simple, utilitarian cowboy boots. So he wasn’t like Leon, at least as far as fashion sense went.

A long pause ensued. Finally, she met the man’s gaze.

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Look, I don’t know why I’m compelled to tell you this—”

It always started this way. She steeled herself to hear a dark confession about this man’s love affair with Leon or the fact that Leon had stolen his wife from him and plunged him into despair.

He continued, “There’s something been bothering me for a while about that mining operation up on the Langley land.”

She held her breath then released it in a slow trickle. “What’s that?”

“I oversee several branches of Bradley Coal, and I see quite a bit of paperwork. See…” He searched her face as if waiting for her to pull out a badge and bust him for giving up confidential information.

She waited patiently. No better way to get a person talking.

In a rush, he spoke. “That land, some of it isn’t minable. But Leon—he rigged the maps to make it look as if it is.”

“What?” Confusion slanted her brows into a V.

“Seems that part of that land Leon owns—not Tucker, mind you—has a hold on it by the state.”

“I don’t understand.” A deep quake began in her belly. She wished she hadn’t given into Christian’s wishes and taken a bite of his corndog.

“The state claims there are ruins on that upper portion of the land. They plan to have an archeological dig. Indian ruins or dinosaur bones—I’m not sure what’s in that ground. But Leon isn’t supposed to disturb it with mining.”

And he has.A flutter took up residence in her chest. Fear or excitement? She wasn’t sure.

“So he falsified the surveyor’s maps to make it look as if the land the state wants him to keep untouched is really some distance away. In the north corner.”

The gravity of the information hit her full force. Bearing down on her until she felt as if her wooden heels would splinter. With this information, she could stop Leon once and for all. If she told on him, he’d be in for the lawsuit of his life, racking up millions in fees and fines.

For the first time ever, Claire reached out and placed her hand on the arm of the man who had told her something she didn’t want to hear. Because in the end, she needed this information to keep Tucker, Christian and her all safe and living happily on the ranch forever.

“Thank you.” She squeezed the man’s arm, a smile eating up every square inch of her face. It felt as if her forehead was even smiling.

He grinned in return, infected by her excitement though he couldn’t know why. “My pleasure. Just…” A worried look passed over his features.

She ran her finger and thumb along her lip in a zipping motion. Then backing off, she gave a final wave before making her hurried way to the tractor pull.

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