Page 20 of Christmas with the Cowboy
“Is my dad around?”
“In his study,” Dawn said as if that were a no-brainer.
“Great. Thanks.” Trenna headed across the polished oak floor toward the door on the far side of the massive room, which had once been the center of activity when the place had been a lodge that wealthy folk escaped to in the 1930s. The huge stone fireplace was cold, but in the winter, it would have been a gathering place for hunters and vacationers.
Trenna tapped on the oak door and, when no sound came from the other side, cracked it open.
“I’ll bring you two some coffee,” Dawn called from across the room.
“Thanks.” Trenna pushed the door open. “Dad?”
Carter Hunt swiveled in his chair. “Trenna Rose. What a surprise.”
“Yes.” She stepped inside her dad’s lair, feeling at a slight disadvantage as always. And as always, she disregarded the feeling. Carter had keen instincts, and she wasn’t about to give him an edge.
A shadow crossed her father’s still handsome face as he regarded her. “Is something wrong? A problem with the cottage?”
“No. The neighbors.”
“What did they do?”
“What didyoudo?” She voiced the question mildly, and knew from the shift in her dad’s expression that he understood what she was referring to.
“Nothing that concerns you.”
She gave a slow nod. “For the record, I sent Jay and Evan home from their mission. I guess they’ve yet to check in?”
“You did what?” His tone was as deceptively mild as hers had been, but she sensed the steel behind the words.
“It appears that there’s a dispute over the boundary there, and things were getting out of hand.”
“How so?”
“I’d say that your men were close to being charged with assault. You can check the cameras, if you like.” Her father had game cameras everywhere. “Or check YouTube. Henry Still Smoking videoed everything.”
If the fact that the near assault had been recorded bothered Carter, he showed no outward signs.
“This is none of your concern, Trenna.”
“I disagree,” she said shortly. “I have to live in this community, and to be quite frank, the Kellers are more popular than the Hunts.”
“More popular until someone needs a donation.”
“Do you like buying community support?”
“I like doing what needs to be done.”
“Don’t take the Kellers’ land.”
“I’ve been using that land for grazing for years. They never made a move to stop me. The time limit has been met. It’s mine.”
“So they get punished for being good neighbors?”
“The law is on my side.”
“You assume. Nothing has been formally decided, right?” The fence was the first step in her dad’s attempt to commandeer property he’d used but never purchased. Had he thought that the Kellers would simply roll over and say, “Fine. You fenced it. You can keep it.”?
“This doesn’t concern you, Trenna.”
