Page 2 of River Legacy (Powder River #5)

R yder Stafford tugged down the brim of his Stetson, keeping his head lowered, as he wound through the crowd at the Billings Logan International Airport. The name made it sound much more impressive than it was. For the largest city in Montana, the airport was small compared to others in the state.

Normally, it also wasn’t this busy, but apparently some politician was flying in for a rally later tonight. Usually, the only time the state saw big-name politicians was when one of them was running for president.

Traffic would be terrible until Ryder got out of the city, he thought with regret. But he planned long before any rally began to be miles from here before that. He couldn’t wait to get back to the Powder River basin where there was so little traffic it was laughable.

Tycoon Wendell Forester made it impossible to get to him personally.

Even as Ryder thought it, he noticed two of the airport security standing nearby as the plane began to taxi toward the south end of the terminal where the private hangars were.

Ryder knew this might be a fool’s errand.

He very well might have trouble even getting close enough to the man to tell him what he needed to.

Not that a couple of airport cops could dissuade him, he thought. Not at this point.

A cell phone rang next to him with a tune that caught his attention.

“He just landed,” said a young female voice after he hurriedly answered the call, cutting off the ringtone.

“No, I haven’t talked to him since he texted his ultimatum.

He seriously can’t think he’s going to force me to marry his latest handpicked yes-man. ”

Ryder glanced over at her, curiosity getting the better of him.

The woman on the phone looked to be close to his age, with curly red hair that looked natural given her fair skin and jade-green eyes that rivaled his own.

Her hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail.

Strands of copper had escaped to frame her face, accentuating high cheekbones that made her eyes all the more vivid.

She was a stunner, and he had a pretty good idea that she knew it.

As if feeling his gaze, she looked at him, their eyes locking as a smile broke out on her lovely face.

“I wonder what Daddy would say if I found myself a cowboy instead.” She winked at Ryder before go ing back to her phone conversation.

“You know my father. He buys a ranch in Montana, and all of a sudden he thinks he’s a Dutton.

Why shouldn’t I give him more than he asked for?

Besides... I’ve never kissed a cowboy. ”

Ryder quickly dropped his gaze, turning away. He knew trouble when he saw it, and he had enough problems without adding a new one to his list. He headed for the closest exit that would take him to where the Gulfstream was now taxiing to a stop.

“Wait,” the now-familiar female voice called after him as he pushed out of the terminal.

He heard her footfalls behind him, but concentrated on reaching the plane and Wendell Forester, determined to have a word with him since according to his daughter, he was indeed on that plane.

The man had avoided him so far, but not this time.

The redhead had to almost run to keep up as she fell into step beside him. “I’ll give you a thousand dollars to pretend to be my fiancé for the weekend.”

He didn’t even bother to look at her. “Sorry. Wrong cowboy.”

“Five thousand,” she said, having difficulty keeping up with his long-legged stride.

“Please, help me out here. Look, I’m desperate.

I can’t even imagine who my father might have brought to Montana, determined to make him my future husband.

It’s just for this weekend. With luck, by dinner tonight I will have made my point, and we can break up,” she said, latching on to his arm as she smiled up at him.

She did have a great smile and she smelled wonderful. But he was here on ranch business. “Trust me, I’m not the answer to your problem.”

“You could be. Ten thousand dollars,” she whispered urgently, sounding more desperate as the two of them headed for the private jet. The airport security guards Ryder had been concerned might try to stop him barely gave him a second look with this woman on his arm.

As they approached, the door on the jet opened, and steps dropped down. A couple of serious-looking men in suits embarked quickly and took positions at the front and rear of the plane. Both, he realized, were armed. Bodyguards?

“Ten thousand and an evening you’ll never forget.”

He shot her a look to see if she was actually serious an instant before she called “Daddy!” and, grabbing Ryder’s arm, drew him forward with her. An older man carrying a large briefcase in one hand and a coat thrown over his other arm began to descend the plane’s stairs.

Her daddy, like the other two men who had already exited the jet, wore a suit, only his fit as if it had been made for his contours alone.

Ryder didn’t doubt that it had been handstitched as he recognized Wendell Forester from the many news stories he’d read.

Just this year that face had been on the cover of Forbes where he’d been referred to as one of the wealthiest men in the country.

Another more left-wing publication had called him the richest and greediest tycoon in boots and a Stetson, listing properties from his latest “shopping” spree around the country—including Montana.

“Victoria.” Forester strode down the stairs to his daughter and gave her an awkward embrace without putting down the large briefcase or changing arms for his coat. “I wasn’t sure you’d be meeting my plane.”

“Your text didn’t give me much choice,” she said as she stepped back. “But here I am!”

“Good,” he said distractedly and turned to motion behind him. “You remember Claude Duvall.” He indicated the thirtysomething man also in a suit who’d come halfway down the stairs behind him.

Ryder heard her whisper “Oh no” as her hand on his arm tensed at the sight of the man.

“I thought the two of you needed more time together,” her father continued. “And with business in Montana this weekend—”

“There’s someone I want you to meet, Daddy,” Victoria interrupted him as she pulled Ryder closer to her. She squeezed his arm as she said, “He’s a cowboy.”

“A cowboy?” Forester repeated, then settled his gaze on Ryder. “I’m sorry, but if this is about a job on one of my ranches, you need to talk to Personnel.”

Ryder noticed that the two bodyguards were now watching him closely.

“Daddy, he’s my fiancé ,” Victoria Forester cried with a laugh as her fingers gripped Ryder even tighter and she looked from her father to her pretend fiancé pointedly, then back.

“He already has a job .” Ryder started to speak, but didn’t get a chance as she rushed on.

“You said yourself it was time for me to settle down. Who better than with a cowboy, since you’re buying up ranches all over Montana? ”

“Your fiancé ?” her father repeated, eyes narrowing as he took in Ryder.

“Ryder Stafford ,” Ryder said and stuck out this free right hand, even as he told himself he should clear up this nonsense before it went any further.

Wendell shook his hand slowly. Ryder had seen his gaze widen as the name registered. “Stafford, from the Stafford Ranch over on the Powder River?”

“That’s the one,” Ryder said, ready to add The one you’ve been trying to buy by throwing money and veiled threats at me, even though I’ve told your people repeatedly that the ranch isn’t for sale.

One of the suited bodyguards interrupted to announce that their car had arrived to take them to the hotel.

“You heard the man,” Forester said, his booming voice sounding more cheerful than he looked. “Why don’t we move this to the Northern Hotel where we can have more privacy to discuss these matters. Where are you staying, Mr. Stafford? I am most anxious to talk to you.”

He hadn’t been anxious to talk to Ryder in the months before. That was why Ryder had come to the airport today planning to ambush him and finally make a few things clear to the man. He figured the confrontation would be short before Forester had his heavies run him off.

Which would have been fine as long as Ryder got to tell the man what he thought of him. Then he planned to climb into his pickup and get out of Billings, putting this problem behind him.

What he hadn’t anticipated was for his plan to go so awry, he thought as he looked over at Victoria, still holding his arm as if she never intended to let it go.

He’d figured before this moment that the best he was going to get was a few minutes to tell Forester off.

This was more than he could have hoped for.

He couldn’t leave here until this man realized he’d better back off. Stafford Ranch wasn’t for sale.

But now Victoria, for whatever her reasoning, had gotten him a sit-down with the man he’d come to straighten out Montana-style.

Ryder had to admit he was getting a lot more than he would have on his own with so much security around.

The two bodyguards would have escorted him off the premises before he’d gotten a word out.

So he told himself he should be grateful for her ridiculous ruse.

“I also stay at the Northern when I’m in town,” Ryder said. Which was true. He just hardly ever came to Billings, much preferring the ranch. “I look forward to sitting down with you.”

“Then, we’ll see you there,” Forester said. “Unless you need a ride.”

“Thanks, but I drove my own rig.”

The man nodded, seeming to take this in stride. Something told Ryder that Forester would be having a word with his daughter on the way to the hotel, though.

As if on cue, Victoria said, “I’ll ride with my fiancé.”