Page 36 of Smokescreen

“I appreciate that.” Reid stood. “I don’t want to take any time away from you doing that, so I won’t stay much longer. Besides, I’d like to take Olive to the Saddle Saloon.”

Olive followed his lead and rose to her feet.

“You’re going to love that restaurant,” Wayne said with a twinkle in his eyes. “Try the cowboy burger with onion rings and barbecue sauce. It’s delish.”

“I’ll have to do that,” Olive said.

They turned to step toward the door.

“There is one more thing I thought I might mention before you leave,” Wayne called.

They paused and turned back to him.

“What’s that?” Reid asked.

“There’s rumor around town that the government is trying to claim some land through eminent domain.” Wayne paused. “If that’s true, then some of your property would be on the chopping block.”

Olive turned to watch Reid’s expression.

Fire filled his gaze.

If that happened, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

But was the government too big to defeat?

Olive didn’t want to believe that, but it was a real possibility.

“This burgerisreally good.” Olive grabbed her napkin as barbecue sauce dribbled down her chin. The cowboy burger was tasty, just as Wayne had said. But it was also messy.

Reid grinned at her. “If there’s one thing we do right here in Wyoming, it’s nature and food.”

“That’s two things,” Olive pointed out.

“True.”

They sat at a corner table at the Saddle Saloon. The place had dark wood walls, a dark wood ceiling, and a grand wooden chandelier in the center. Waitstaff came and went through swinging double half-doors from the kitchen and wore Western wear. An old player piano near the back wall played ragtime tunes, and the whole place smelled like sizzling beef.

Reid and Olive had decided not to discuss the eminent domain issue. Not yet. Reid wanted more information first.

But Olive’s mind was already spinning. What if the government was somehow connected to the sabotage at the ranch?

For now, she honored Reid’s request not to talk about it. But there would come a time when they’d need to.

Olive placed her burger back on her plate and wiped her mouth again. “I can’t believe what Wayne said about that will.”

Reid’s gaze darkened. “Me neither. It just seems so far-fetched.”

“I wonder about the lawyer Lucy hired to do this for her,” Olive murmured. “Radcliffe, Johnson, and Pearson. I did a quick internet search, and they are an actual law firm based out of Billings.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re behind this.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Olive said. “But she clearly has some resources behind her if she was able to make the will look as believable as she did.”

Reid narrowed his eyes. “She probably swindled someone else out of some cash in order to pay for it.”

There was clearly no love lost between them.

“What’s the age difference between you two?” she asked.