Page 10 of River Legacy
Wen looked him in the eye. “There are two options here as I see it. Victoria is going to marry someone. If I have my way, and I usually do, it will be to someone I want her to marry. She thinks I couldn’t possibly approve of Ryder Stafford. That’s why she came up with this so-called engagement to him. True, he definitely won’t make the son-in-law I’d hoped for. He would fight me at every turn. You, on the other hand, will do whatever I say, which makes you my perfect choice for a son-in-law. So that is why I know she’ll choose the cowboy.”
Claude was dumbfounded. He hung on to the only part he’d wanted to hear. Wen just said he would make the perfect choice for a son-in-law. With that, he couldn’t agree more because he hadn’t given up.
But Wen didn’t know his daughter. There was no way Victoria would marry the cowboy and give up her flush lifestyle with her friends in Dallas and New York City. Trade her penthouse apartments for a dusty ranch? Not a chance, and not even Claudeshowing up was going to make her rush into the cowboy’s arms.
His boss stopped in front of his hotel room a few doors down the hallway and turned back. “The problem, Claude, is that I’m not sure you can handle my daughter. You did let her take off with that cowboy. So consider this your chance to prove yourself.”
He groaned. He didn’t need to prove himself to anyone, especially Wen’s spoiled-rotten daughter. “You can’t play with people’s lives like this.”
“Really? You didn’t saynowhen I invited you to Montana for the weekend. What did you think I had in mind?”
“I thought you were trying to hook me up with your daughter,” he snapped.
Wen smiled. “That was my intention, which Victoria had also figured out, which is why she came up with her own plan. I can’t help but admire that quality in her.”
Claude could now see why the man needed two bodyguards, because right now he certainly wanted to kill the bastard. But one of the bodyguards was standing at the end of the hallway, and he figured the other one wasn’t far away.
“You can force me to go to the Stafford Ranch, but nothing in my contract says I have to make a play for your daughter,” he said indignantly.
Wen seemed to consider that for a moment. “I’ll make you a deal, Claude. You steal her from that cowboy, as you call him, and I’ll tear up yourcontract and throw you and Victoria the biggest wedding you’ve ever seen.”
“You’re only saying that because you don’t think I have a chance,” he said sullenly.
His boss shrugged. “Let’s see what you’ve got in you. Who knows? After some time at that ranch, my daughter might be so grateful that you came to save her that she’ll throw herself into your arms. Haven’t you always dreamed of being my son-in-law?”
Claude thought of Victoria and the chance to make her life a living hell. “Yes, I have,” he said.
Chapter Four
Victoria woke with a start, surprised to see daylight streaming through the windows. She hurriedly looked next to her in the big bed. Empty. For a moment, she had no idea where she was or how she’d gotten there. A breeze stirred the curtains, billowing them in and back out again.
She felt as if she’d gone deaf. She heard nothing. No traffic, no honking or sirens, no music drifting through the open window. Instead, she heard birds singing and smelled... freshly mowed grass?
Frowning, she sat up. Through a crack in the curtains, she saw a giant stand of trees she didn’t recognize and caught a whiff of something pleasant even though she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. The day, from what she could see, was beautiful, all brilliant blue sky and sunshine, not a cloud in sight over the mountains. Mountains? She smiled as she remembered where she was, even though she couldn’t remember getting here. She vaguely remembered Ryder carrying her upstairs to bed.
But clearly he hadn’t shared the bed with her. Such a gentleman, she thought, smiling as shestretched before lying back on the pillow. So this was the Stafford Ranch?
She really wished she had grabbed her cell phone before leaving the hotel bar. She would have loved to put this place up on her social media. Her friends would get such a kick out of it. After spending her life in huge city penthouses, she enjoyed the quiet—for a moment. She told herself that it would get to her before very long, but she could handle it for a weekend, if she stayed that long.
Last night, she’d been half asleep so hadn’t noticed the room Ryder had given her. She did recall him saying something about it being his older sister Tilly’s before she married a cowboy from the next ranch.
Now she took in the room from the wonderfully large, comfortable bed and its intricate patchwork quilt to the pale shade of rose on the walls and the white trim. It was definitely female decor including the chair by the window with the rose-colored cushions and the light green-and-white-leafed wallpaper in the bathroom. It was lovely. Ryder’s sister Tilly had good taste.
After showering, she considered the clothing she’d been wearing before opening the closet. Hadn’t Ryder mentioned that she could borrow some clothes from the closet? She and Tilly seemed to be about the same size, she noted. The jeans fit perfectly, the boots were a little large and the Western shirt was a little tight across the bust, but she doubted anyone would care. She thought of Ryder, knowing that she would make a play for him before the weekend was over. Her friends would expect details. She certainly couldn’t go home without something tantalizing to tell them about a real-life Montana cowboy.
She tried not to think about what would happen after this weekend as she went looking for him. Her father would be upset and would probably cut her off financially. He’d been threatening to for some time. She told herself that she’d cross that bridge when she came to it, since she really didn’t think he’d do it.
Whatever he did, she wouldn’t marry anyone she didn’t love. If push came to shove, she’d be forced to get a better-paying job. She loved teaching art to her young students at the nonprofit community arts center. It was why her father had never taken her career seriously.
With a sigh, she knew it was time to do what Ryder had suggested. She needed to be honest with her father and make him listen for once. Otherwise, he might abduct her and force her to the altar with someone like Claude. She shuddered at the thought.
But for now, she felt safe. She planned to enjoy herself, knowing that her father would be having a fit and Claude would be beside himself—if they were still in Billings. They could have taken the jet and left. She wondered if she’d even hear from either of them or if her father’s attorney would be contacting her instead to give her Wendell Forester’s latest ultimatum.
As she left the room she realized that she had no idea where she was going. Tilly’s room was on the second floor so Ryder had carried her upstairs last night. But then where had he gone? Apparently to another part of the house.
“This room has a great view of the cottonwoods along the Powder River, a view I’ve always loved,” she recalled him saying.
Anything else he might have said she couldn’t remember. She had curled up in the big bed and fallen back to sleep. But she remembered the look on his face before she’d closed her eyes. He wanted her to like the place—temporarily, of course. Then she would be gone. She had the feeling that would be the last he’d ever want to hear from her—or her father. Not that she could blame him.
