Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn #4)(13)

And it was working. Even if Ted’s men had heard she was considering selling her herd, they didn’t seem to believe it. By the time the call had come in that the local buyer was no longer interested in purchasing her herd, Lucy had already lined up a sale in Abilene via Wyatt. She had no proof, but she didn’t doubt for a second that Ted had been involved in the first deal falling through. He thinks I’m gullible, easily manipulated, and why shouldn’t he? I trusted him when he swooped in and offered to help like some hero in a romance novel. But I see him for who he is now. He wants me to fail, expects me to. His underestimation of her intelligence and determination was something she could use.

He doesn’t think I have any fight left in me.

But I do.

A huge red truck drove up the long driveway, pulling a long stock trailer. Several more followed behind. They began unloading horses and ATVs almost immediately. Wyatt was barking out orders for the men to put up the temporary chutes that would funnel the herd into the trailers. Lucy squared her shoulders and walked across the dirt driveway to greet Wyatt.

She laid her hand on his forearm. “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you enough for this, Wyatt. Tell the men I should have the money from the sale by tomorrow.”

Wyatt nodded and adjusted his Stetson. “You don’t have to thank a man for doing the right thing, Miss Lucy, and you don’t have to pay them. Your daddy was a fine man, and he did a lot of good in this community. This is what grows from planting those kinds of seeds.”

Lucy blinked back tears. “I haven’t done much to deserve this.”

Wyatt gave her shoulder a pat. “You’ve got time, Miss Lucy. You’ve got time.”

One of Ted’s men stood in the path of one of Wyatt’s while the other was on his phone. Wyatt said, “Looks like I might have to explain to some men that they don’t work here anymore.”

Lucy turned and squared her shoulders. “I’ll do it.”

Wyatt stepped in front of her. “Some matters are best handled between men.”

Lucy’s chin rose. “Wyatt, I appreciate everything you’re doing, but this is my ranch, and I need to start acting like it is.”

Wyatt moved back to let her pass. “I don’t like this one bit, but go on.”

Lucy was on her way to do just that when a big red pickup pulled up the driveway and all attention turned to it. Ted.

Breathe. This is actually a good thing. He would have never tried to take the land from my father. It’s time for him to see he is wasting his time trying to take it from me.

Ted headed right for Lucy. The expression on his face was sad, as if he were indeed a jilted suitor. “Can we speak—privately?”

Lucy looked around at the concerned faces on the men who had stalled their work as they waited for instructions. She nodded. She still had to return Ted’s engagement ring, so was that what he was waiting for before admitting it was over between them? She’d spent the last few days vilifying him in her head, but he had saved her ranch when she would have lost it. He could have kept his men at her ranch because he knew she couldn’t pay anyone yet. Yes, he’d been harsh when she’d called off their engagement, but he’d been understandably upset. Had it been that male Texan pride that made him lash out at her? She’d been busy chasing her dreams when she was younger and hadn’t put aside much time for boyfriends. Sure, her college boyfriend had been all about having sex with her, but Ted was older. Had she confused respect for her with a lack of passion?

And the first sale falling through? It might have been a coincidence.

Which doesn’t mean I want to marry him, but I don’t have to hate him, either. They walked into her home, past the shotgun concealed near the door, and Lucy thought, Or fear him.

Please let me be right this time.

Lucy picked up a small box she’d placed in the hallway days ago. She held it out to Ted, but he didn’t make a move to accept it. “I’ve been meaning to give this back to you,” she said softly.

Ted folded his arms across his chest. “I hoped you would have come to your senses by now. You don’t want to end our engagement.”

Lucy took a fortifying breath. Give me the words to do this in a firm but kind way. “I wish that was true, Ted. You don’t know how much I do, but I can’t marry you.”

“I love you.”

Lucy’s hand tightened on the jewelry box. “You don’t. You might think you do right now, but someday, when you meet the right person, you’ll see that what you felt for me wasn’t real.”

His expression cooled. “Your mind is set?”

She nodded.

He took the ring box and pocketed it. “Give me the east side of your property, the five hundred acres in the valley, and I’ll consider your debt to me paid in full.”

And there it is, the reason he’s here.

Not me.

The land.

The ugly greed in his eyes made Lucy shudder. How had she not seen it earlier? On the surface, he was an attractive-enough man, but it didn’t take much to see who he really was.

In that moment of desperation, with her emotions in a tailspin, she considered his offer. Saying yes would free her from him, but it would also give him the water rights to the area. It would cripple any chance of the ranch ever being used for cattle in the future. It was also the place where her great-great-grandparents had built the first family home. There were memories on that land, even a small cemetery. It wasn’t an easy yes.