Page 49 of The Wrong Ride Home (Wildflower Canyon #1)

duke

“ W hat?” she asked me for the third time.

“I said I’d like to take you out for dinner. And please don’t say what again.”

I leaned against the doorway of her office in the stables, watching her work.

Two reasons for that—one, my back was killing me from more hours in the saddle than I was used to; two, I was blocking her quick escape because that’s what she’d been doing with me for the past week. Avoiding me or saying no to me.

Despite our breakthrough at Nash’s grave, Elena was turning me down a lot.

I’d invited her to move into Nash’s house because the bunkhouse was no place for my woman to live.

“No, thank you.”

I’d asked her to stay the night with me.

“Absolutely not.”

I suggested a picnic by the river.

“I’m busy. ”

A ride together?

“I don’t have time for that.”

And now, a dinner date.

She hadn’t answered yet, but judging by the way she kept her attention locked on her laptop screen, I knew what was coming.

Fuck me! The woman was making me sweat, and the ranch hands were having the time of their lives watching me practically on my knees, begging for her attention.

“Duke, I?—”

“Dinner. Seven. If you’re not ready, I’ll carry you as you are to Blackwood Prime.”

She sighed. “Look, Wildflower Canyon is a small town, and if you take me out, everyone’s gonna talk about it.”

I frowned. “The ranch hands know, you really think that hasn’t spread like fuckin’ wildfire around here?”

She groaned and rubbed a hand over her face. “See, this is why I stick to one-night stands with out-of-towners. You start anything with a local, and everyone is in your face about it.”

“ Florecita , why don’t you start something with me and then worry about gossip?” I suggested. “Seven. Be ready. Oh. And this is a date . It’s not a friendly dinner or a get-to-know whatever; it’s an honest-to-God, proper date .”

“Fuck you, Duke.”

I walked away and threw over my shoulder, “Anytime, darlin’.”

“I won’t wear a dress,” she yelled at me .

Ben, who was in the stables with Copper, grinned.

“I won’t wear makeup,” she cried out.

“You don’t need makeup,” I called back.

“You sure you want to take her out, bossman?” Ben teased. “Maybe better to hang around the ranch, be easier on you if she kicks you in the nuts by accident.”

I flipped him the bird. “Just focus on Copper, yeah?”

Ben was laughing when I left the stables.

“Everyone is a fuckin’ comedian around here,” I muttered.

“Say what?” Hunt fell in step with me.

“She’s going on a date with me,” I said triumphantly.

“But she’s not wearing a dress or any makeup,” Hunt pointed out.

“You heard her?”

He snorted. “Everyone in the county heard her.”

I sighed. “Two weeks I’ve been beggin’ her. You’d think she’d relent, don’t you?”

Hunt shrugged. “She’s afraid. And speaking of afraid, I’m hearing rumors about Piper Novak working with your ex-girlfriend to finagle a way to get you to sell.”

“How’s she going to do that?”

“I keep hearing a lot about eminent domain.”

I waved that off. “I have as many politicians in my pocket as she does. And judges in Colorado don’t like it when the government comes after poor ranchers and farmers.”

“So, you’re not worried?” Hunt queried.

“I am worried,” I admitted. “I’m keeping an eye on things to make sure Piper doesn’t get something past me to get the land reclassified. You know how it is. Strip the ag exemptions, jack up property taxes so high we’d be bleeding cash just to keep the damn place running.”

I got to Nash’s office in the ranch house and called Kaz.

“I’m hearing rumors,” I said to him without preamble.

“Well, good morning to you, too,” Kaz drawled.

“Piper trying to declare part of the ranch as a protected wetland?”

Kaz chuckled. “Not yet. That’s plan D, I think. Plan A is eminent domain for the airport expansion project, which just so happens to need a chunk of your land.”

“I heard that, too.”

"And did you hear that someone might be coming to audit you for zoning violations?"

I laughed at that. “Seriously? That’s all she’s got?”

“She’s pissed. She hired your girlfriend.”

“Ex-girlfriend and good luck to her with that. ‘Cause I’m working on getting her disbarred.” I had already asked my team to investigate the Evergreen project and knew we’d find irregularities.

“I’m glad you’re taking this seriously,” he remarked. “’Cause Piper usually gets what she wants.”

“And she wants an airport in Wildflower Canyon?”

“Well, that’s a start. She wants a ski resort, a few hotels, maybe do what they did in Park City or Telluride, bring in a film festival or two.”

I sighed. “Why is she after Wilder Ranch?”

Kaz chuckled. “Been on her radar a long while. With Nash gone, she felt she had a shot, and with you now not selling, she’s angrier than a bull stuck in a barbed-wire fence.”

“That’s pretty angry,” I remarked.

“More angry than pretty,” Kaz drawled.

“You wanna tell me why you’re working both sides of this?”

“I’m a free agent, Duke. I don’t work for anyone. I was only assisting Piper.”

“And me, apparently?”

“What is it that you’re asking, Duke?” Kaz sounded lazy, but I had a feeling he was sitting up.

“You don’t have to tell me what your deal is, but I need to ask you, how careful do I need to be?”

Long pause.

“Very.”

“Give me a little more.”

“Last time Piper went after a ranch in Texas, one of the owners died in a suspicious accident. And the time before cattle were killed, some horses, the ranch house was burned down.”

I sucked in my breath. I wasn’t na?ve; I knew how this was played, but I never imagined it went this far. Murder?

“Good to know.” I ended my call with Kaz and looked out of the window.

I drummed my fingers against Nash’s old desk, my mind already running through a dozen different scenarios. Did I need to get security for the ranch?

How the hell did you secure 100,000 acres of open land? Cameras and fences weren’t enough. We’d have to rely on what we already had—our people.

I grabbed my hat and headed for the door.

I found Hunt by the paddocks talking to Roy. As soon as he saw me, he nodded, and I tilted my head. He came up to me.

He gave me a once-over. “You look like you’ve been chewing glass.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Might as well have been.”

Hunt raised a brow. “What now?”

I glanced around, making sure no one else was within earshot. “Talked to Kaz about Piper and…we need to be careful?”

Hunt snorted. “Meaning?”

I told him what Kaz had told me about Piper’s modus operandi when someone didn’t want to sell to her.

“She’s not just pushing legal pressure. There was an accident at another ranch she wanted. One of the owners didn’t walk away.”

Hunt went slack-jawed. “Jesus Christ.”

“I don’t know what the hell that means for us,” I conceded. “But we need to stay sharp. No strangers on our land, and none of the hands get so comfortable they stop payin’ attention. Everybody keeps their eyes open ‘til this blows over.”

Hunt’s eyes darkened. “If she’s going to kill someone, it’s probably gonna be you.”

“Maybe,” I granted. “But she’ll also try to hurt the ranch. I think Piper Novak will do whatever she has to.”

Hunt muttered a curse. “I’ll let the boys know.”