Page 51 of River Legacy
“If this is about my engagement to Holden,” she began but stopped as if she must have seen his expression. “I was hoping you wouldn’t try to fight me on this, CJ. You know I’ve always loved him.”
He lifted a brow. “Maybe not always, but then again, as they say, hate and love are kindred spirits.”
“I don’t believe that’s what they say, but you’re right. I did tell myself that I hated him. He’d hurt me, and you, of all people, know that it is easier to hurt people back than to forgive.”
He ignored that. She wanted to believe that they were the same. Maybe they were, except she wanted to change. He didn’t. Which meant she had no ideawhat he was truly capable of. But she would soon enough. “He’ll hurt you again, but I really didn’t get you out here to talk about Holden McKenna.”
He moved a few feet from her, impatient to get this settled, but hating that he’d had to move up his plan because of her. Hearing about Wendell Forester trying to buy the ranch had set the fuse. The engagement and upcoming wedding had lit the flame. There was no stopping it now. He had to move quickly, something he hadn’t wanted to do. He’d hoped to lull his mother into thinking he really had changed.
Instead, she’d forced this. She had only herself to blame. Now she was about to see her son for what he truly was, what he’d always been. She’d spent years believing she’d made him this way. Maybe. But he could have been born like this. They would never know.
He met her gaze. “We have a problem.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Please don’t try to stop me from marrying Holden.”
As if he really cared. He just couldn’t allow her to marry anyone until he got what he wanted. “It’s your funeral. No, that’s only one of the problems, Mother.”
She instantly looked wary. “CJ, we had a deal.”
“Yeah, about that. I’m changing the terms, and you’re not going to like them. You’re going to sign the Stafford Ranch over to me, lock, stock and barrel.”
“What?That’s ridiculous. I’m not going to do that.” She started to turn back to her vehicle as ifto leave. He knew how stubborn she could be. He was a lot like her. “If you don’t, I’m going to have to kill them all.”
She froze. He could see her gathering her strength and fighting to control her temper. That was something else they had in common. She was just better at controlling her fury and channeling it.
After a moment, she turned to face him. All the color had drained from her face, and yet she stood tall, determination and an even stronger emotion burning in her gaze. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve never made it a secret that I wanted the ranch to myself.”
“No, you never have. You don’t care at all about your brothers and sisters, especially Ryder and Brand who have been working the ranch by themselves with you and me gone. You would just take it from them?”
He said nothing, and she stared at him as if finally seeing him. From the disgusted look on her face, she didn’t like what she saw as she made up her mind. Would he actually do it? Or was he just bluffing?
Come on, Mother, which is it?
When she spoke, her voice was tight with pain. “You would kill them.”
CJ nodded and smiled. “Only if you forced me to.”
She breathed, her nostrils flaring. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll have you sent back to prison?”
“I wasn’t planning to kill them myself. I can do it just as easily from behind bars.”
She seemed to stagger under the weight of his words. “I didn’t make you like this.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he said with a chuckle. “It doesn’t matter. All that does matter is that you realize I’m dead serious. Brand’s recent so-called accident?” He smiled and saw her cringe. “Oh, I bet you haven’t even heard about the fire out at Oakley’s new house. Don’t worry. She’s okay, and so is the house. Those were just warnings about how easily it could happen. Don’t make me do it, Mother. I think you now know I won’t hesitate to destroy them all to get what I want.”
“I won’t sign the ranch over to you,” she said emphatically.
He laughed. “Oh, I think you will. I didn’t want to do this, but you’ve left me no choice. If you don’t sign the papers I’ve brought, I’m going to kill Holden first.”
“CJ! No!” Her cry died on her lips as she stared at him. But the look on her face told him everything he needed to know. She hadn’t taken him seriously until this moment. She hadn’t really understood how much he hated Holden. Now she knew. He wouldn’t hesitate to have him killed. In fact, he planned to kill him before he left the country with all the money from selling the ranch, once it was his. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. She wanted to believe he loved the ranch the way she did. She thought he was just greedy and selfish. Surely she didn’t still believe that somewhere inside him there was good?
“As a matter of fact,” he said, glancing at his watch, “if I don’t make a call within the next seven minutes, Holden will be dead.” He looked up at her. “Your choice, Mother. But understand... he’ll only be the first if you don’t sign these papers.”
Chapter Seventeen
Charlotte stared at her son. If it had been anyone but CJ, she would have called his bluff, but her son wasn’t bluffing. She’d finally realized what he was capable of when he’d shot his sister and then later hired two men to kill Oakley if she got in his way. His sister had been trying to keep him from drilling on the ranch. Like now, he’d wanted the money it would bring. He hadn’t given a thought to what it might do to the ranch the rest of the family loved.
