Page 48 of Come Home to the Cowboys

Well, to hell with that. That’s not how it was going to work.

He pulled up in front of the bank and they both got out. With the mood that Colby was in, Preston couldn’t let him be by himself. The man was itching for a fight and he was afraid he would start one deliberately just to let go of some of his frustration.

They walked inside the Blessing National Bank and were standing in line when the very person that Preston didn’t want to see walked into the bank.

Colby hadn’t seen him yet and fear spread through Preston.

There was no way they could avoid the man.

With a sigh, he said, “Don’t look now, but Jim White just walked in the door.”

Colby whipped around and watched as the man went into an office and laughed and talked to the man behind the desk.

“That son of bitch, I’m going to kill him,” he said beneath his breath.

“No, no, you’re not,” Preston said. “He won, we lost, and we have to accept that.”

“No, we don’t,” Colby said as he walked toward the man.

“Colby, stop,” Preston said, running after him.

Hell, why was this happening? Of all the people to come into the bank, why did it have to be Jim?

Colby walked into the office, grabbed Jim by the shirt, and spun him around.

“You son of a bitch,” he said. “Why are you so damn lucky? She could have sold it to anyone else but you.”

Jim’s eyes widened and he raised his hands to protect himself from the punch that Colby was about to unleash on him.

“What are you talking about?”

“The Sweet B Ranch. Why Kalie sold it to you, I don’t know. You don’t deserve it,” he said and his arm was back and ready to hit him.

Just then Nathan came running in and grabbed Colby’s elbow. “Stop.”

“She didn’t sell it to me,” Jim said. “I offered her a very sweet deal and she refused. Why? Did she sell it to someone else?”

Confused, Preston stared at Jim. The man appeared to be telling the truth.

“But I saw the signed contract,” Colby said.

“I signed it, but she refused,” Jim said.

Whirling around to Nathan, they both stared at him and he smiled.

“Did you ask her if she sold the ranch?” Nathan said. “Or did you see the contract and assume that she sold it to Jim.”

Like a ton of bricks, it hit Preston. “Oh hell. We assumed, and she was so mad, a nest of hornets would have run from her.”

“Gentlemen, it’s not my place to tell you anything. I would suggest you talk to Kalie. Ask her questions. See what she has to say.”

Jim became indignant. “She didn’t sell the ranch to me. I’m out and the only other contract was Zachary McCoy and I don’t think she sold to him either.”

Shit! Shit! Shit! What had they done?

“Kalie was afraid something like this would happen. If you want to salvage your relationship and keep your jobs, I suggest you get back to the Sweet B and try to talk her off the ledge. She’s pretty upset,” Nathan said.

How could they have been so stupid? Because they’d been worried she was going to leave. They had assumed the worst about her.

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