His eyebrows went up but he nodded without comment.
“She has stopped the checks my grandfather was sending from my trust fund until I enroll Makayla in a music academy in Connecticut. The deposit is due Friday.”
Reno set his coffee mug down. “Does your mother by any chance have a relationship with the oil company currently challenging Fern’s will?”
She laughed lightly. “Doubtful. My mother does her own dirty work. She wants me to know she’s the one twisting my arm.”
“More like applying thumb screws,” Reno muttered.
Tessa shrugged. “I never said she’s a nice person. She’s more shark than human.”
“Sharks don’t eat their young,” he retorted.
“My apologies to sharks everywhere for the comparison,” she replied.
They traded smiles, and he said kindly, “I’m sorry your family’s like that. Sadly, it’s people like them who keep lawyers like me in business. And on that note, I’m going to file a set of motions with the court tomorrow. I’ll try to block as much as I can of the oil company’s discovery motion, and I’ll drag out the process as long as I possibly can. It’ll be the one thing they don’t expect from you. Should cause them a fair bit of consternation and throw their lawyers off balance.”
“You’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you?”
“Absolutely. I can’t stand legal hacks who throw around their law degrees to harm regular people.” He picked up his briefcase and said, “If you want to talk through your mother’s blackmail or your decision about how to respond, call me. And don’t sign anything from her that you haven’t run by me first. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“And Tessa, I’ve worked for a lot of big corporations trying to bankrupt little guys into folding, and I’ve represented some of those little guys. One thing I know: the corporations never expect the little guy to fight and they don’t plan for it. You’ve got way more leverage than you think.”
“What if I’m not inclined to fight?”
“Then we’ll make sure you sell this place on terms that make the bastards bleed.”
She sat at the kitchen table for a long time after Reno’s truck disappeared. She truly didn’t know what she was going to do. Which felt exceedingly strange. She’d spent her entire life knowing exactly what she was supposed to do. Be a good student, go to a prestigious university, marry the right man, marry the wrong one to spite her parents, set up the same kind of life for her daughter, even though her child had inherited every drop of her father’s free spirit.
The script had always been there, even when she was rebelling against it.
But now there was no script. She was on her own to shape her life and it was scary as heck.
16
Hope was nearly three weeks old now, all knobby legs and curiosity, and Dillon would have bet a paycheck that the calf recognized his truck.
She came trotting up to the fence as soon as he killed the engine, ears forward, her dark eyes following him as he climbed out and reached for his bag. Her mother lifted her head from the grass and gave him a mildly resigned look as if she knew he there to bother her.
“Morning, ladies.”
Pete Maddox came out of the barn wiping his hands on a rag. “Hope’s the friendliest critter on this place. Marla says she’s half cow and half puppy.”
“How’s your wife doing?” Dillon asked warmly. Marla Maddox was a good woman—steady, kind, and big-hearted. She would like Tessa, and he was fairly sure Tessa would like her.
“She’s still mad she wasn’t here to see Hope born. But she was real touched when I told her about Tessa sitting in the mud holding her mama’s head and talking her through it.”
Dillon grinned. “I might have had a little to do with getting Hope born. You, too.”
The men traded knowing grins. Best to let the ladies take all the credit when it came to birthing kids or critters.
Dillon ran a hand down the calf’s back. Glossy, thick coat, good muscle tone. He checked her gums and listened to her breathing and heart. Calves born early were prone to underdeveloped lungs and respiratory infections, but hers sounded strong and clear.
“Clean bill?” Pete asked.
“Clean as it gets. Keep her on the supplement another month. But she’s a healthy, happy calf.”
