Page 13 of Tempting Fate
No, because he’d promised the two hundred-acre parcel to her and Butch along, with Levi’s Gold—if they could find it. “How much are they offering?” she asked and took a deep breath.
“Full price, as long as the environmental impact report is approved and the well is still good.”
“How long will those tests take?” She desperately needed the money, but she also needed time to search the place, something she should’ve done when Ray died. But she’d been too busy fighting Butch for full ownership of the land in the divorce.
Now he wasn’t entitled to one red cent of it, though she’d paid dearly to win that battle.
“They want to do this quickly. And I suspect you do, too,” Dana said, but she didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about the deal. Or maybe, like everyone else, the real estate agent was unenthusiastic about Raylene. She’d like the big fat commission she got, though.
“They’d like a thirty-day escrow,” Dana continued in the same dour tone that was starting to annoy Raylene. “They’re willing to lift their inspection contingency in ten working days. It’s an all-cash deal so nothing’s hinging on the financing.”
An all-cash full offer sounded a little too good to be true. But the price of the land was nothing compared to Levi’s Gold. If the legend was true, she’d never have to worry about money again.
“Ten days. Does that mean they’d start with their inspections right away?” She didn’t want anyone mucking around on the land until she’d examined every acre with a magnifying glass.
“As soon as you accept their offer.”
Raylene didn’t want to lose the deal, but she needed a few days. “Can I sleep on it?”
Dana seemed surprised. “Of course.”
“It’s the only thing I have left of my daddy,” Raylene said by way of an excuse, deciding that she’d start digging first thing in the morning. Ray had sworn by the legend and had considered the gold his secret reserve, telling her and Butch that when the crash came and the banks failed, like they had during the Great Depression, he’d have Levi’s buried treasure to save him.
It’s safer in the groundthan it is in a savings account.
Her father had always harbored a distrust of financial institutions. Still, Raylene suspected he simply hadn’t wanted to turn over a big chunk of the gold to the IRS. And it wasn’t as if Ray had needed the money. Growing up, Raylene had never wanted for anything other than her parents’ hard-won affection. Her mother was too caught up in her own misery to give Raylene a second thought, and her father was difficult to please, always pushing her to meet his ever-increasing expectations. She’d convinced herself that making him proud was synonymous with love. Only now did she realize that a parent’s love should be unconditional.
“Are you interested in who the buyers are?” Dana asked, and Raylene got the sense she was being tested.
Her mind had been spinning so fast she hadn’t thought to ask. She assumed it was a cattle rancher. It was just bare land, after all. Albeit prime usable land with Feather River frontage, but little else to recommend it other than an excellent well that would support an agricultural venture and a good road close to the highway. There was already one of those golf course communities in town. From what she’d heard, the owner was having trouble unloading the homes. She doubted a developer wanted her land for the same purpose. Or any purpose, for that matter.
“Who are they?” she asked.
“Moto Entertainment. They develop motocross parks.” Dana let that sink in for a second.
“They want to turn the land into a racetrack?” What the hell did she care? As soon as Raylene got her gold, she was leaving. The land was far enough away from Logan and Annie’s place that it wouldn’t impact them. As far as the others…not her problem. “Isn’t it zoned for agricultural use only?”
“Nope. Your father got a variance after he annexed the parcel from the rest of Rosser Ranch.” Dana rolled a pen back and forth on her desk. “It’s my job to represent you and get you the best price possible but…I’m glad you’re sleeping on it.”
Several seconds of silence stretched between them. Raylene needed this deal—she’d promised a sizeable chunk of the sale to Lucy’s House—and told herself that a motocross park would be good for Nugget. It would bring people and money. Progress. And who was she to stand in the way of progress?
Raylene put the sale out of her mind and took her time driving back to the farm, wanting to give Logan and Annie some private time before the hordes descended. Today, Logan’s mom and stepdad were due in. They were driving their Winnebago from Las Vegas. Raylene was nervous about the meeting. Even though she hadn’t been born when Maisy and Ray had had their affair, coming face-to-face with the “other woman” would be weird and awkward.
She thought about Gabe a few times and wondered what he was doing today. He seemed to keep his own hours and didn’t talk much about work. Most of what he and her brother did wasn’t for public consumption. And because she didn’t pay much attention to the news, she probably wouldn’t have understood it anyway.
As much as she gave him a hard time about being her constant shadow, a secret part of her was thankful. He’d become her security blanket through this whole ordeal. Unlike most men she knew, he didn’t demand anything from her. And even when he was trying to keep her in line for Logan’s sake, she felt in control. Which was a first.
And for a guy who could have any woman he wanted, he was pretty self-deprecating. More importantly, that New Jersey accent kept her entertained for hours.
She got off the highway and made her way to Rosser Ranch like a homing pigeon.It’s someone else’s now, she thought as she passed the large iron gates and felt a wave of melancholy settle over her. The ranch had been her hell and her haven and her family’s pride and joy since the Gold Rush. Her great-great-grandfather had built the house with his own two hands after making his fortune, selling beef to the miners. Her grandfather had brought the house into the twentieth century, and her father had turned it into a showstopper. Ray Rosser had always lived large, and the ranch exemplified his excesses. The Olympic-size swimming pool, the two-story stable fit for the best horseflesh money could buy, the wraparound porch with its sixteen ceiling fans. Ray never did care much for the heat.
She continued to drive, taking the paved road toward the mountains, past McCreedy Ranch and Lucky’s burgeoning cowboy camp. Ray must be rolling in his grave knowing how well Lucky Rodriguez had done for himself. Even in Los Angeles, she’d kept up with his progress.Sports Illustratedhad done a spread when he’d hung up his bull riding spurs. And God bless Facebook, where you could stalk a person from the comfort of your own living room.
When she got to her destination, she pulled off to the side of the road. Nothing but fields and trees and mountains for as far as the eye could see. At night you could hear faint sounds of the highway. But in the light of day, only the birds and the breeze and the river.
A motocross track, huh?Her gut told her Clay, Lucky, and their neighbors would fight it tooth and nail. Both men held a lot of sway in this town. They’d get the variance undone.
See, not my problem.
