"Not at all," I admitted. "I appreciate it, though. Gives me a place to start."
He left, but I turned back to Luke and lifted a brow. He just shook his head, but neither of us spoke until we heard the truck start up. Instead, he just leaned his rump against the workbench and crooked a finger at me, summoning me closer. Naturally, I went.
Luke's arms slipped around my back and he spread his legs so I could stand between them. "How'd he get in the gate?" he asked.
I hadn't even thought about that. "You didn't let him in?"
"If I had, I would've been talking to him instead of letting him head to the house."
Point, and a good one. "Ash? Because I know it wasn't Cy."
"Cops have the gate code," Luke reminded me. "He also said he was here because of a complaint, and I know that the Fannin County agricultural office doesn't move fast. They're like the sloths in that movie. The cartoon one."
I just laughed. "Sometimes, you're such a dad, but I've seen the meme."
"All I'm saying is that he was much too interested when I mentioned Mr. Simmons." Luke lifted a brow. "I think our neighbor's been bribing someone. You know he doesn't have any cows on the main farm, right? He says he rotates, but he doesn't. Those fifty acres are just for the house. Hasn't been a cow grazing it in about eight years now, and there's a good chance that man's going to ask questions."
"I don't want to start slinging mud," I warned. "If we try to pick a fight with Paul and it wasn't him? That's just asking for him to double down."
"He's already doing that," Luke said. "He told me he wants to divide this land and sell it as ranchettes. What that man just said? Yeah, that's a two in one deal, Vi. Water and subdivisions, and if Paul keeps the mineral rights, he can sell water to the city as well. Invest two million and make fifty back? He'd never have to worry about beef prices again!"
"Shit," I breathed. "But would he really do all of this just for a little cash?"
Luke ducked his head and looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "Little cash? Fifty million dollars isn't a little cash, Violet. Out here, that's a damned comfortable life without working again. It's millions! Makes him a millionaire!"
I just sighed. "A million dollars doesn't go as far as it used to, and the more you have, the more you need to spend to keep from losing it all. Legal fees, as an example."
"But Paul Simmons doesn't know that," Luke reminded me. "He's probably got a million. One, Violet. That makes him hot shit around here. He's the rich man in town, and not a damned person has realized that you and Ash are richer. You don't rub it in their faces. He does. He makes it very clear that he can make or break people, hire or fire, and so on."
"And I'm not looking to be that kind of person," I reminded him.
"But people respect those with money," Luke countered. "It's like the pecking order, you know? Rich people do favors. Rich people make jobs. Rich people are the first step in getting our asses out of shit and up to where we want to be. We help them out and they help us back. If you're in Mr. Simmons' good graces, well, he'll find a job when you're laid off. He'll stop by and pay for dinner because he heard about the new grandbaby. Those little things are big deals to folks around here."
"Shit," I breathed. "So you're saying I need to start schmoozing the locals?"
"I'm saying that you spending all day, every day, thinking about Southwind isn't moving us forward. Ash and Cy can do that. You, Violet, are the woman running the show, and Cats Peak needs to see that you're not scared. Even better if you can make them cheer for you."
"I just wanted to reopen Southwind," I groaned, leaning back to make a production of it. "I thought I was done with all the social bullshit."
"Never done with that," Luke said. "And in a small town, we all think we know what you're doing, even if we don't have a damned clue. You being stuck up in this house with all these men and your body plastered in the middle of town?" He made a face.
And yet, that was exactly what I was doing. I was involved with three men and trying to pretend like it was all above board. It wasn't, and who knew if the next person to drive up to my house would be someone here to check on Faith's living conditions.
"Fuck," I breathed. "Cy was right. We can't cross any lines until Faith is really and truly yours."
"She's mine," he promised. "I would've chased off any guy sniffing around Meredith back then."
"I meant custody." But I slapped his chest playfully. Then I paused. "So why aren't you trying to chase off the ones that came sniffing around me?"
Luke grinned. "I kinda did. Ash put a fist in my face and Cy slammed it against my own truck. You, princess, don't go for the easy guys. You go for the big and intimidating ones. I just didn't realize that I do too." He tugged me closer, crushing my chest against his. "And I really liked that you told that man I'm your boyfriend."
I lifted my chin, begging for a kiss. "Figured you might."
Luke ducked his head and obeyed. Yeah, I could get used to this.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Iwas still sitting in the backyard when the back door opened. I turned, expecting to see Violet, but it was Luke who came out. His eyes dropped over me and I damned near groaned. I was doing my best to be good, but these three? It was like they were tag teaming me to make sure my dick stayed hard for the next month.
