Page 25 of River Legacy
It surprised her that she hadn’t even missed her phone, let alone social media. She reminded herself that it had only been a day. She’d probably feel differently by the end of the weekend. She had to keep reminding herself that this was temporary.
She thought about how patient and kind Ryder had been, given his brother was cursing in the truck bed behind them. She could laugh now, but if it hadn’t been for Ryder, she would have been too nervous and given up.
As she raced up the stairs and started to go into Tilly’s room, she heard footsteps coming down the hallway behind her. She turned, expecting to see one of the household staff. But the moment she saw the man’s face, she knew he had to be a Stafford. He was tall, blond, green-eyed and looked enough like Ryder and Brand that he had to be their brother CJ.
“Who are you?” he demanded as he gave her the once-over through hooded eyes. “And what are you doing in Tilly’s bedroom?”
Victoria couldn’t believe that she was actually face-to-face with the infamous CJ Stafford. But Ryder had said she wouldn’t be seeing him because he was on parole and not allowed to come to the ranch. Apparently, CJ hadn’t gotten the memo.
“I’m Victoria Forester,” she said as she sized him up. “And you’re CJ Stafford. I heard they let you out of the slammer.”
He cocked his head at her. “You seem to know a lot about my business. Again, what are you doing going into my sister’s bedroom?”
“I’m a guest of Ryder’s.”
“Really?” he asked, looking amused. “Good for Ryder. Apparently, everyone gets a run of this house but me. You his girlfriend?”
She couldn’t help herself. “Fiancée, for the weekend.”
His eyes widened. “You saidForester. Any relation to Wendell Forester?”
“He’s my father.”
“No kidding? I tried to contact him a while back about the ranch. I was curious what it was worth on the open market.”
“That’s probably how the Stafford Ranch came on his radar, then,” Victoria said. “Your brother will be delighted to hear that. My father’s been trying to buy the ranch ever since.”
All the color had bled from CJ’s face. “Buy it? Is Ryder thinking about selling it? The ranch isn’t for sale, is it?” He sounded scared and upset.
“I would say definitely not.” She saw the change in him immediately. He let out a breath, looking relieved.
“So you’re Ryder’s fiancée.” He raised an eyebrow. “I guess I underestimated him. Your father must be very pleased.”
She shook her head. “It’s just for the weekend.”
“Wise, since you look like someone who isn’t cut out for ranch life.” With that, he turned and headedback down the hallway to what she assumed was a back stairway before she could tell him otherwise. She could now drive a large truck with a stick shift, she wanted to call after him.
She watched him go, thinking about what he’d told her. Ryder would be furious and not just about CJ being on the ranch. After contacting her father, he’d put the ranch in jeopardy, since Wendell Forester always got what he wanted, one way or another.
Victoria shuddered at the thought, remembering that he wanted her married to the man of his choice. She was surprised, now that she thought about it, that she hadn’t heard anything from him. That didn’t bode well, but maybe more surprising she hadn’t heard from Claude, she thought as she went into Tilly’s room and locked the door, suddenly not feeling as safe as she had before meeting CJ.
Her father wasn’t going to give up on the Stafford Ranch or marrying her off to Claude. She hated to think that the two men might be together plotting against her.
Chapter Eight
Wendell felt his blood run cold. There was no mistake, he was being followed. He sped up, took the next right down a side street, then took the next left. The driver of the vehicle stayed right with him. For a moment, he didn’t know what to do.
His first instinct in the old days would have been to stop and storm back there and demand to know what was going on. But times had changed, he’d changed. He wasn’t that cocky young man who had nothing to lose. He was Wendell Forester, a billionaire with a daughter and a whole hell of a lot to lose.
He had no idea where to find the police department or he might have headed there. Instead, he tried to stay where there was traffic and plenty of people. The last thing he needed was to get caught on a dead-end street away from everything.
His cell phone rang. He hoped it wasn’t that fool Claude. It wasn’t. All he saw was the name Stafford, and he quickly picked up, terrified that whoever was behind him wasn’t working alone and that someone had his daughter.
Why had he insisted she meet him in Billings? He’d never thought he might put her in dangerbecause he felt safe away from Dallas, away from the death threats. Yet one had been slipped under his door. Now he feared that whoever had threatened him had taken his daughter to get back at him.
He answered the call.
“Wendell Forester, right?” said a male voice on the line. “This is CJ Stafford. We spoke almost a year ago about my ranch.”
