Page 102 of Tempting Fate
“Word’s all over town that you sent that Motocross operation packing. I just wanted to thank you, and let you know that I’m working on getting a consortium together to buy your land…for full price.”
She swallowed hard. This wasn’t what she’d been expecting. “Talk to Dana when you’re ready.”
“You leaving town?” Perhaps it was her imagination, but he sounded a wee bit wistful.
“Yep. Just have to close out a few things.” Rhys wanted her to check in before she left and Annie wanted to do a dinner.
She started to head to the house.
“Hey,” he called. “We’re even now.”
“Okay,” she said, not knowing exactly what that meant.
“Take care, Raylene.” He tipped his hat, got in his truck, and drove away, leaving her feeling lighter than she had in a long time.
Chapter 25
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Logan slapped Gabe upside the head. “For the last ten minutes, you’ve done nothing but stare into space. If I wanted to have a beer by myself I would’ve come to the Ponderosa alone.”
“I’ve got stuff I’m thinking about.”
“Like what?”
Like your sister, asshole.“Just stuff.”
“Oh, stuff. Glad we got that cleared up.” Logan glanced up at the TV. “We’ve got another hour to kill, so do something entertaining.”
Annie had kicked them out of the house while she put the finishing touches on Raylene’s dinner.
“So she’s really leaving tomorrow, huh?” Gabe had struggled with it the entire week, telling himself it was for the best. There wasn’t anything here to hold her. No job, no home, only years of bad history.
“Yep. We tried to get her to stay longer, but she and Nugget don’t mix.”
“Seems like she’s mixing better now, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yeah. Better than before, that’s for sure. It sounds like Lucky, Clay, and Flynn are getting ready to make her an offer on her land. That’ll go a long way to putting her back in the black.” He shook his head. “I always knew she’d blow through that money, the way she was living.”
“She’ll be able to buy her horse property.” Suddenly, the idea of selling property to buy different property sounded absurd. “Hey, I’ve got to go.”
“What are you talking about? We just got here.”
“I forgot something.” Gabe slipped off his stool and made it to the door before Logan got any more in his face. “I’ll see you tonight,” he called across the bar.
As soon as he got out into the square he called Raylene. “Meet me at your property.”
“I can’t right now. I’m helping Annie peel potatoes for my dinner.”
“What if I told you we missed the real gold?”
“I’d ask you how many beers you had with Logan.”
“Come on, Ray, meet me at your land. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up before she could argue with him, then drove way faster than the speed limit permitted.
The trench Rufus and his two thugs had dug was still there. Gabe slammed the door of his SUV and walked closer, kicking in some dirt. As soon as he could carve out the time, he planned to fill in the hole. Gabe wandered around the lower part of the property, scoping it out. The sun was setting over the mountains and the sky was a vivid red and blue and pink and yellow. It was cold enough to see his breath, but not cold enough to snow. Soon it would be spring and the days would get longer.
He took the trail down to the river and skipped a few rocks, working it all out in his head. The hills wouldn’t be good for much, but they did afford the parcel a good degree of privacy. And they were beautiful. Come summer, they’d be awash in flowers. Heather and primrose and a thousand other plants Gabe didn’t know the names of. But most of the land was semi-flat—and usable.
He swung around when he heard Raylene’s truck pull up, but waited for her to find him. This is what he wanted her to see. The breathtaking views of the Feather River and the mighty Sierra mountains looming in the background.
