Page 79 of Cowboys Next Door

The new couple exchanges a glance, both of them reddening as Rose titters, but I find my gaze lingering on my lover, the mention of a honeymoon tickling the recesses of my mind.

When this is all over and done, I’m taking Rose out of here.

“I love young people in love,” Katherine pipes in, a note of sadness lacing her voice. “It reminds me of my early days with Jake.”

Eli clears his throat lightly, and Craig grins, as if he recognizes that we have all wandered far off track. “As I was saying… These letters of eminent domain are extremely suspect. They don’t state what the land will be used for or what government agency is involved.”

Sera and Rose nod knowingly. “Told you,” they chorus. Relief is thick in Rose’s voice, and her calm is infectious.

“Does that mean they lied? That it’s all nonsense?” I ask hopefully.

“Probably,” Craig replies. “Coupled with the fact that they approached every single lawyer from Bozeman to Helena to ensure that the ranchers would all conflict out… yeah, these guys are scum. But experienced scum. This isn’t the first time they’ve done this.”

He hesitates before glancing at Rose, who settles back between me and Eli, fiddling with her hands. Immediately, I reach out to touch her long fingers, and she clings to me eagerly, grateful for the touch.

“I can only do so much here,” Craig confesses, “and if Galor finds out that I’m moonlighting out here, it will be a breach of contract and a violation of my NDA.”

He’s speaking in terms I don’t understand again, but Rose is quick to jump in here and take the lead.

“And I appreciate everything you’ve risked to be here, Craig,” she tells him sincerely. “You have no idea.”

Again, Craig steals a look at his girlfriend and shrugs. “Well, it’s kind of hard to say no to Sera,” he sighs dramatically, and Sera swats him playfully.

“Don’t listen to him. It took nothing to convince him. He can’t wait for his contract to be over at Galor. Those guys are such assholes.”

“You’re only saying that because I’m not there anymore,” Rose jokes. Her face turns serious as she fixes her eyes back on Craig. “But you’ve given us everything we need to arm ourselves against MVP now,” she says, gesturing at the spread of paperwork in front of her. “And honestly, we don’t need a lawyer if they’re playing dirty, do we?”

“Not really,” Craig agrees, beaming. “Of course, I’m not condoning any illegal activity. I wouldn’t, and I don’t. I’m here as a friend, not in an official capacity to give you legal advice.”

“No, of course not,” Rose replies. “But we just need to fight on their level.”

“Can’t we call around the different levels of government and find out if there are plans for the land here?” I suggest, and Craig snaps his manicured fingers and points at me.

“Already did that,” he replies with a grin. “But that’s the kind of thinking we need here. You are already getting into the right frame of mind.”

“And?!” Eli and I sit forward.

“No one has any deals with MVP to build anything out here.”

Silence falls over the table as the news settles in.

“A-are you sure?” Rose gasps.

“I’ve checked with the Montana Department of Transportation, the department of Defense, and the FAA—although I found it very difficult to believe that an airport was coming this way without everyone hearing about it. No federal government agency has any plans.”

“What about the state?” Rose presses.

Craig shakes his head. “I checked on that, too. Nothing is in the works.”

“Oh, my God…” Katherine breathes as I suck air through my teeth, both of us having the same thought at the same time.

“They conned those ranchers into selling their land under those pretenses!” I explode.

“And those people will have an excellent class action lawsuit if they decide to file,” Sera says. “I hope they do.”

“In the meantime, MVP owns that land!” Eli cries, realizing what it means for our area. “They’ll start putting in shopping malls or condos—whatever the hell they like!”

“Those ranchers should get to work right away filing that lawsuit, but it will take years,” Craig concedes.

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