Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn #4)(9)
“She was alone and scared. Ted was there, offering her a lifeline. Who could blame her for saying yes to him?”
David turned and retrieved his Stetson from his desk, placing it firmly on his head. “She doesn’t owe me an explanation, nor do I want to hear any more about this.”
He moved to walk out of the office, but Sarah raised a hand and blocked his exit. “You can tell yourself you don’t care if she’s single again. You can lie to everyone and say you’re over her, but how sad would it be if your pride kept you from calling her, and you lost her again?”
Sarah lowered her arm and let David pass. He strode out of the office, out of the barn. He marched up the steps of the bunkhouse, yanked open the door, then slammed it closed behind him.
Only a fool reopens a wound after it’s healed over.
Chapter Two
A few days later, Lucy closed the laptop on her father’s old desk and stood. She’d gone to Dallas to lay the foundation of her new home business. She’d met with an accountant to create an LLC that would ensure her privacy, opened a bank account in that company’s name, and was now in the process of purchasing everything online from domain names to staplers. No one needed to know the nature of her business, and if she was careful enough, no one ever would.
A loud knock on the front door made Lucy jump. She hastily hid a stack of paperwork in the top drawer of the desk and double-checked that the boxes were closed. She closed the office door securely behind her, then paused.
I’m a modern woman. There is nothing wrong with what I’m doing, even if selling it from my hometown makes it feel that way.
She gave herself a quick check in the large mirror in the hall. She’d always been on the curvy side and normally would have loved how the weight had been pouring off her since she’d been home, but there was no glow to the woman who looked back at her in the mirror. Her brown eyes looked tired. Her hair was thrown back in a ponytail instead of styled as she used to wear it in the city. The jeans, which had once clung to her, now hung loose. She’d never considered herself a nervous person, but even as she told herself she had everything under control, she could see how close she was to unraveling. What if I can’t do this alone? What if I fail just like my brother did?
I’m not my brother, nor am I going to give up like my mother. I can do this.
One step at a time.
Answer the damn door and breathe.
She did and found her father’s old foreman standing on her porch. He swiftly removed his hat to reveal his familiar face, toughened from many years of working outdoors. “I know I’m probably about the last person you want to see right now.”
“That’s not true, Wyatt.” Lucy’s hand tightened on the door handle. He’d left along with the rest of the ranch hands when Steven had announced he couldn’t pay any of them the money he owed them. If she hadn’t known Wyatt for most of her life, seeing him again would have been humiliating. Although Ted’s loan had made it possible for Lucy to set that right, she hadn’t asked the old ranch hands to return. They’d already found alternate employment, mostly via Ted. She’d never blamed any of them for leaving. They had families to feed, and Wyatt, already in his fifties, needed to hold on to whatever work he could get. “Come in.” Lucy led the way to her living room. “Would you like a lemonade? Some water?”
“I’m fine, Miss Lucy.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the side of one hand.
“Would you like to sit?”
“No, I’d rather stand.”
“Okay.” Lucy braced herself by placing a hand on the back of one chair. Had Ted sent him over with a message? He might be there to collect the engagement ring. That would be incredibly tacky, but perhaps not more so than breaking up with someone over the phone.
“Your parents were good people.”
“I know.”
“You heard any from your brother?”
Lucy shook her head. He wasn’t the curious type. If he was asking, he was doing so because he cared. “He said he needed time to clear his head.”
“What are you doing, Miss Lucy? I’ve known you since you were high as my knee. You never wanted to live here.”
Lucy held his eyes steadily. “People change.”
He looked her over with a critical eye. “You looked a whole lot happier when you lived in the city. Have you thought about selling?”
Only about a thousand times a day. “Why are you here, Wyatt?” Please don’t let it be with an offer to buy the land. I might just take it.
Wyatt cleared his throat. “I was in town yesterday, and I heard Miles say his father is buying your herd.”
“That’s right,” Lucy said cautiously. Selling the herd would provide her with enough cash to jump-start her new business as well as partially pay Ted back. It wasn’t enough to free her, but she had to believe her business would do that.
“You’d get a better price for them in Abilene.”
I would if the men here actually worked for me. They won’t do anything on my say-so. They do what Ted tells them to, how he tells them, and when. They don’t pay me any mind at all. “I don’t have the hands to do it, Wyatt. I’m grateful I found a buyer at all.”
Rolling his hat in his hand, Wyatt said, “I could gather some men, and we could haul your herd for you.” He was a timeless country gentleman. His jeans, boots, and faded plaid shirt had all seen better days. He was a man who wasn’t ashamed to work hard, get his hands dirty, or drop to his knees in gratitude for all he had. The sun had tanned and toughened his skin, making him look older than he was, but his eyes were sharp and bright. His humble strength reminded Lucy of her father. She blinked back a tear.