Page 14 of Silent Deception
“Of course, of course.” Leland lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “Forgive me.”
Ryan winced. Leland had always kept the best interests of the Gallaghers at heart, and he certainly didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of Ryan’s unpredictable bitterness. “No...the apology should be mine.”
Clasping his hands loosely in his lap, Leland leaned back and gave Ryan a fatherly smile. “That time when you got your first Purple Heart a few years ago? Your bravery was mentioned at a high school graduation assembly. After that, at least five elementary classrooms started sending letters and gift boxes to servicemen overseas.” He shook his head in wonderment. “Townsfolk filled those collection boxes to overflowing.”
Surprised and a little embarrassed, Ryan looked away. “At least some good came out of it. I didn’t realize anyone even knew.”
Leland laughed. “Then you probably don’t remember the Niebauers, who run theHerald.Millicent isn’t bigger than a minute, but she’s got a nose for news and the tenacity of a bulldog. She wrote about your Purple Heart and other medals, but I don’t think she’s gotten wind of your current injuries.”
“So how bad are things out at the ranch—really?”
“Really?” He shook his head slowly. “Up until a few years ago, your father watched over both his political career and the ranch with a sharp eye. Nothing got past that man—nothing.Then his vision started failing, but of course being Clint, he never let on. We know Nate got away with at least sixty grand, but the books are such a mess that it could be triple that, easily.”
“Pretty much what Trevor said...and what I found in the forensic accountant’s report.”
“Clint may be snarling about your arrival, but I’m sure he’s angrier at himself than he is at anyone else. Once he simmers down, he’ll be grateful.”
“So I’m just supposed to reorganize the bookkeeping system?” Ryan sighed. “That’s something a good office manager would do.”
“Not with Clint bird-dogging every last step of the way...and it’s not just the bookkeeping, either. You could revamp the hunting lease program, and maybe work on marketing angles that will get it moving. I’m not sure, but the quarter horse and beef cattle programs might need some work, as well.” Leland grabbed a legal pad on his desk, ran a forefinger down a list of notes, then set the pad back down. “Whatever you can do while you’re here will help the new manager who follows you. I’ll assist in any way I can.”
“And the missing money?”
“Honestly, it’s a lost cause.” Leland splayed his fingers on his thighs. “But if you come acrossanything—any clues whatsoever—let me know immediately. I’ll get the private investigator on it right away.” Leland studied Ryan over the rim of his glasses again. “The corporation needs that money back, but this situation can’t get out to the press or the sheriff’s office—either way, news will spread. Clint’s political rivals would have a heyday crowing about him ‘allowing’ his own business to end up in such disarray. This next election will likely be his last, but there are still issues that mean a great deal to him.”
“Right.” Ryan shifted in his chair, wishing he’d taken some Tylenol before leaving the ranch. “After all this time, those horses are out of the barn, anyway.”
“The loss came at a bad time. Remember the K-Bar-C?”
“The Braxton place. Shares part of our eastern property line.”
“It went up for auction twelve years ago. A group of locals formed a consortium, bought it, and also picked up some smaller properties to create KC Enterprises. Every one of those investors had dreams of making big money. Some of them poured their life savings into the deal, some mortgaged their own property to scrape enough money together.”
The K-Bar-C...“Trevor filled me in on some of this already, and I do know Dad and Braxton weren’t the best of friends,” Ryan mused. “Clyde’s place was upstream on the aquifer that supplies the Four Aces, and I vaguely remember Dad ranting about water rights.”
“Which is why he wanted to buy out Braxton for years. We put together one offer after another, but Braxton hung on to it until he died in his late eighties—out of sheer spite, Clint figured. The heirs scrabbled over the estate and ultimately ran it into bankruptcy. It came up for auction when I was back East for a couple of months and your dad was in the middle of some big tussle in the State Senate. It sold to a group of locals.”
“I can imagine how happy he was when he heard the news too late.”
“You have no idea,” Leland retorted. “Then just a year ago, the consortium folded. Crazy idea anyway, if you ask me. Drought hit. Cattle prices dropped. The partners were up to their ears in debt and way behind on taxes.”
Ryan had heard it all from Trevor, but he sat back and listened to make sure he understood. “So Dad—”
“This time he knew about it. But he couldn’t pull together a down payment fast enough, and the town council quickly foreclosed on the property. They wanted it for that homesteader program, bringing in more families to grow the town. Your father is still furious, and he’s had nearly a year to adjust.”
“Homesteads?”
“Property offered at low-cost loans that mostly just cover the back taxes, with no down payment. If all goes according to plan, there’ll be hundreds of families sitting on top of that aquifer, drawing water away.” Leland pursed his lips. “The sheriff is on the Home Free committee, along with Francis Isaacs, the town librarian, Pastor Anderson’s wife, mayor Miranda Wright, and Enfield.”
“Enfield. I can imagine what Dad thinks about that.”
Leland pushed himself to his feet and started to pace. “Local politics are small potatoes to your father, of course, but those two have been rivals since they were kids. He probably thinks the entire land giveaway deal was Arlen’s scheme to irritate him. It wasn’t, though. Miranda came up with the idea and sold everyone else on it.”
“I was out riding yesterday and ran across a boy in our east pasture. I figured his family was just renting the old Cedar Grove place.”
“Nope. You just met your neighbors. Permanent neighbors, that is. There’ll be a lot more coming. And a lot of the property adjoins the Four Aces.”
“The boy was Kris Cantrell’s son.”
