Page 41 of River Legacy
Which meant that even if he knew how she felt about Ryder, he would still take the ranch. Because she knew her father and how he operated, which was why he would be hard to stop if he thought he’d found another way to get what he wanted. Her hope was that if she could convince him otherwise, he might back off just this one time.
But first, she had to convince Ryder that she’d never been part of a scheme to steal his ranch and that he needed to be concerned about what her father was now up to. She feared it was dangerous.
Her breakfast came. After her worry about what her father was up to, she’d lost her appetite, but she made herself eat some of it. The breakfast was nothing like the one she’d had at the ranch. She thought of Ryder and Brand sitting around the table giving each other a hard time. She’d always wished for a sibling, never getting to experience what Ryderhad in spades. Did he know how lucky he was? She thought he just might.
By now, the brothers would have eaten and were probably out doing chores. She hoped the foal was doing well. She wondered what he would be like when he was grown. Brand had joked about naming the colt after her. The thought made her heart lift like a balloon. But the thought of never seeing him grow up pricked that bubble of joy, letting all the air out.
She pushed her plate away, only half-eaten. When the woman Ryder had called Penny came over, she gave her a credit card to pay for her bill.
“I’m sorry,” Penny said, returning quickly. “I ran it twice.” She shook her head and looked embarrassed.
“Just a moment,” Victoria said and checked her phone. Just as she suspected, there was a message from her father that readWhen you mess with the bull, you’re going to get the horns.
Putting her phone away, she checked to see how much cash she had and quickly paid her bill. On her way out of the café, she stopped at a bulletin board covered with posts offering babysitting, cleaning services, car repair and finally vehicles for sale.
She pulled off a number and made the call. Fortunately, the vehicle was still for sale and only a block away. The Montana summer day was so beautiful she enjoyed the walk. She’d never get over how blue the sky was out here. She thought of the nightsky she’d stood under after she and Ryder had returned from the bar last night. She’d never seen so many stars. She felt sad to think that she might not see another sky like that.
The faded red pickup sat out front of a small shop that was being run from the man’s garage.
“Hello?” she called as she approached.
A gray-haired man came out of the garage, shading his eyes. “You the lady who called about the pickup?” he asked as he stepped from the darkness of the garage, wiping his greasy hands on a rag. Somewhere in his late sixties, she saw he had the hood up on an older-model car he’d been working on.
“I am. Is this it?” she asked, stepping over to the red pickup.
“That’s her, but I don’t think she’s for you,” he said, taking in her dress and high heels before shaking his head.
She smiled. Did he think she was too proud to drive an old pickup? “Why?”
“It’s a stick shift.”
Victoria chuckled. “Not a problem. I can drive it. Mind if I start her up?”
“Help yourself. She runs like a top. Worked on her myself.”
The engine started at once and purred. “Sounds good,” she said. “I’m a little short of cash, though. What’s the best you could do on her?”
The man studied the ground and chewed at his cheek for a few moments before he shook his head. “She’s worth every dime I’m asking.”
Victoria looked around the clean cab. “She was yours?”
“Yep.”
“You took good care of her. She have a name?” she asked, knowing the pickup would.
“Mabel,” he said, ducking his head as if embarrassed.
“Mabel,” she repeated, liking the sound of it. Not only had she learned to drive, she now had her first automobile—if she could afford it.
“Named after my wife. She’s now deceased.”
“I’m so sorry.” She gripped the wheel, sensing that Mabel would have liked her having the old pickup. “I’d like to buy Mabel. I promise to take good care of her. Is there any chance you could throw in a tank of gas?”
CJ knew he was going to have to lean on some of his former friends in order to pull off his plan. Forester had said he would provide help, but CJ preferred to work with men he knew and could trust over the tycoon’s right-hand man, Claude Duvall. But Duvall might make the perfect fall guy if things went south.
“I thought I told you to never call me again,” Treyton McKenna snapped in answer to the call.
CJ laughed, unconcerned. If Treyton really hadn’t wanted to talk to him, his old rival wouldn’t have picked up. “You’re going to want to be in on this.”
