Page 45 of River Legacy
“Are you watching the ranch? Anything happening?”
Claude thought about mentioning Victoria and wasn’t sure why he didn’t. “A cowboy just rode off. I think it was—” He’d been about to say Ryder when he saw him come out of the barn with Victoria. “It wasn’t Ryder. Another brother?”
“Brand. Where was he headed?”
“He just rode north out across the pasture.”
“Good,” CJ said. “You’re doing great. Let me know when he comes back.” He disconnected, apparently only interested in Ryder’s brother.
Claude, though, was more interested in Victoria as he zoomed in on her as the cowboy led her toward the house.
Ryder stepped into the living room, then turned to face her. Clearly, he didn’t think this would take long so he didn’t bother to offer her a seat. “What are you doing back here?” he asked again, as if still having trouble believing that she’d had the gall to return after the damning things Claude had told him—and she hadn’t denied them.
Now that she was here, she had no idea how to reach Ryder. She could tell by the set of his shoulders and the rigid way he stood that he was angry and hurt and didn’t trust her. But if he would give her even half a chance and a little time, she would prove herself to him.
The problem was, she didn’t know how much time they had. How much time she had before he threw her off the ranch. Or worse, her father got hold of the ranch.
“It’s not over,” she said quickly, realizing that she could be talking about her feelings for him. “I’m not sure why Claude said the things he did to you, but he is still working for my father. Which means they have a new plan of attack, and I think your brother CJ might be involved.”
She could see that even the mention of CJ and her father in business together upset him.
“Your father is not getting the ranch no matter who he is teamed up with,” Ryder said.
“You don’t want to underestimate him,” Victoria said. “I think it will come down to how desperate your brother might be to gain control of the ranch and whether or not his real interest is the ranch—or what it’s worth in cash.” She saw that she’d struck a nerve. “You said he wasn’t supposed to come out to the ranch and yet I met him upstairs. Clearly, he doesn’t play by the rules—and neither does my father.”
“Sneaking onto the ranch is one thing. Getting control of it?” Ryder shook his head, but she could tell he was worried. He knew his brother better than she did, but she suspected if he was anything like her father, this ranch would soon be up for grabs and her father would be waiting with the cash.
“You said CJ is your mother’s favorite. Also let’s not forget that our parents know each other.”
“My mother would never make a deal to sell the ranch,” he said emphatically, but she got the feeling he was trying to convince himself more than her. Hadn’t he said that Charlotte had left for months and had only recently returned? Maybe her interest in the ranch had waned.
“It might depend on what kind of leverage my father has,” she said.
Ryder stared at her in horror. “Are you saying he might have something on my mother that he could blackmail her into selling him the ranch?”
She could only shrug. “All I know is that he has found a way to get the ranch that doesn’t involveme or you.” Victoria saw his expression and felt her heart break. “I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t approached you at the airport—”
“Propositioned me, you mean?” he said, but there wasn’t a lot of bite to his words.
“That too,” she agreed. “My father already wanted your ranch, but once I got involved, I might have made it worse. That’s why I came back here today. I couldn’t just leave. I know my father. He’s angry at me right now, but I might be able to reason with him and get him to back off.”
“By agreeing to marry Claude or some other fool he picks for you?” Ryder was already shaking his head. “No way. This is my battle. I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself for—”
The front door flew open, and Brand stumbled in, his hand over the left side of his chest, blood oozing between his fingers. “I rode out to check that fence we heard was down. Someone took a potshot at me.”
At the hospital, Ryder paced the floor of the waiting room, anxious to hear about Brand’s condition. He’d been agitated before Brand had stumbled in bleeding and telling them he’d been shot.
Now Ryder was incensed. He’d called the sheriff, who was on his way. Sheriff Stuart Layton had been at a wreck over by Broadus.
“Who would do this?” Ryder demanded as he paced, not that he expected Vicky to have theanswers. But it was damned suspicious since she was the one who’d warned him her father wasn’t going to stop—no matter what he had to do.
“My father wouldn’t shoot anyone,” she told him as if she knew what he was thinking.
“What about Claude?”
“I doubt he’s ever fired a gun in his life,” she said. Their gazes met, both thinking the same thing. “Your brother?”
He swore and pulled out his phone. CJ’s phone went straight to voice mail. He called his mother. “Where is CJ?”
