Gina would’ve disabused Jill of that notion, but it was actually a good cover.
Jill brought them each a glass of water and motioned for them to take a seat at the round oak table in the breakfast nook. There was a sliding glass door half-covered in dog and little-hand smudge marks that looked out onto a garden.
“Is your dad selling to Mitch?” Sawyer asked.
The question had been delivered bluntly and Gina heard an undertone of…something. Anger, maybe. There was a strange undercurrent going on here that she couldn’t read. Another thing to ask him about later.
“They’re in negotiations,” Jill said and let her eyes drop to her feet. “Brett’s on his way over to spend some time with the kids. I think he’s planning to hang out with Jace later, but I know he’d love to see you.”
Gina got the sense Jill was trying to change the subject with her abrupt non sequitur about Brett. She assumed Brett must be Jill’s ex and that Jill didn’t want to discuss the sale of her family’s ranch, which was probably emotional.
Gina watched Sawyer, trying to figure out what was going on here. He definitely didn’t like Jill, who seemed perfectly nice to Gina.
Sawyer glanced at his watch and feigned surprise at the time. “We’ve got an appointment in town that we’ll be late for if we don’t giddyup. I’ll catch up with Brett this evening.” He stood abruptly. “Tell your dad I dropped by and I’ll call him later.”
Sawyer gently took Gina’s arm and guided her out of her chair. Jill walked them to the door and Sawyer made a beeline for Gina’s BMW.
“What just happened there?” Gina started her car and nosed down the driveway.
“A couple of more minutes in Jill’s presence and I was going to let her have it. She’s getting everything she ever wanted.”
“What is it that she wants? And who’s Brett?”
“It’s a long, ugly story and Brett is Jill’s husband.”
She slid Sawyer a sideways glance. “I’ve got nothing but time.”
“You’re going the wrong way. You were supposed to make a left on Dry Creek Road, not a right.”
Gina sighed. These blasted country roads had her all turned around. She hung a U-turn and headed toward the highway.
“Are they broken up?” Gina assumed if Brett was coming over to spend time with his kids he lived elsewhere.
“Yep.”
“Why?” For a man in the communications business, he was awfully tight-lipped.
“Among other reasons, she cheated on him with Brett’s best friend,” he finally said.
She turned in her seat to face Sawyer. “Seriously?”
“Watch where you’re going.” He nudged his head at the road. “Yeah, seriously. She cheated with Mitch, the guy who’s about to buy her family’s property and turn it into fucking leisure land.”
“How does that get Jill exactly what she wants? And what do you mean by leisure land?”
Sawyer huffed out a breath. “Here’s theReader’s Digestversion because the full version is complicated. Last summer, Jill and her brother stole their parents’ cattle in a ploy to force them into selling the ranch. That way Mitch could come in and swoop up the land for a good price and develop it. In return, Mitch was going to give Jill and her brother, Pete, a cut. But Jace and Cash got wise to their little conspiracy and busted them before the deal could go through. If it wasn’t for Randy refusing to press charges against his kids they’d all be in prison now.”
“Are you saying that without the money from their cattle they would have defaulted on their loan?” Gina had no idea what cattle were worth, but it seemed like there had to be livestock insurance against theft, market fluctuations, disease, or any of the myriad things that could go wrong in the livestock business.
“Yep. Most ranchers don’t have a lot of reserves and can’t afford insurance. We’re living paycheck to paycheck, so to speak.”
“Okay, but if they got their cattle back, why are they being forced to sell now?” It didn’t make sense.
“They didn’t get their cattle back. By the time Jace and Cash figured out what was going on, the Bealses’ cattle were already hamburger meat. As part of the resolution, Mitch agreed to pay Randy and Marge restitution for the stolen cattle. But they were already so far in debt that the only way to crawl out is to sell. Which means Mitch is going to wind up with the property anyway. And when he’s done developing it, we’ll be living next to a retirement golf-course community with rows of mini-mansions and fake lakes. It’s not anything my cousins and I want for a neighbor.”
“Why don’t you guys just buy it?”
He let out a rusty laugh. “You mean with all the millions we’ll make from leasing land to two college grads who want to go into the flower business? We’re having enough trouble holding on to Dry Creek Ranch, let alone buying more land.”
