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Rafe was unrew up here, Ms Simpson My mother was the housekeeper The oldAt tihon because he promised to leave her the ranch when he died”
Heidi didn’t like this story She just knew it had a bad ending
“Like your grandfather, he lied When he finally died, the ranch went to distant relatives back east” His dark eyes turned into lasers that see untold punish to screw my mother out of this ranch twice”
Oh, no! It orse than she’d irandfather would never hurt anyone He’s a great guy”
“He’s the man who stole two hundred and fifty thousand dollars fro Now, oat”
Unable to think of what else to say, Heidi stepped to the side of the road Athena trotted along with her Rafe got in his car and drove away The only thing ry departure was a cloud of dust However, the road was paved and wellin Fool’s Gold
She waited until he’d gone past, then turned toward the ranch and started to run Athena kept up easily, for once not insisting on extending her time of freedom
“Did you hear that?” Heidi asked, her athletic shoes pounding on the pavement “That man is really mad at us”
Athena trotted along, apparently unconcerned about Glen’s fate
“You’ll be sorry if we have to sell you to pay back May Stryker,” Heidi muttered, then wished she hadn’t
All her life she’d only wanted one thing A home A real home with a roof and a foundation, hooked up to sewer and water and electricity Sorown upfrom town to town, the rhythrandfather worked
When she’d found the Castle Ranch, she’d fallen instantly and madly in love With the land, the old house and especially the nearby town of Fool’s Gold She had a herd of eight goats, uncounted feral cows and nearly a thousand acres of land She’d started a business oat oat fertilizer There were natural caves where she could age her cheese This was her ho
But she ive it up for somebody Glen Who’d sold a part of what he didn’t own to a wory son
RAFE PULLED IN NEXT TO HIS mother’s car and parked The ranch looked worse than he’d remembered—the fence linesand in need of paint He could think of a thousand places he would rather be than here Leaving wasn’t an option Not until he got this mess cleaned up
He climbed out of his car and looked around The sky was blue—typical for California That i about In the distance, the Sierra Nevada mountains rose toward heaven When he was a kid, he’d stared at thosehimself to be on the other side Anywhere that wasn’t here would have been better At fifteen, he’d been trapped Funny how all these years later he was back and just as stuck
The front door to the house opened and his ht have been in her mid-fifties, but she was still beautiful, with shiny black hair that fell to her shoulders and a tall, lithe build Rafe had inherited his height and coloring fro to his mother, his personality came from his father May was a softhearted nurturer anted to take care of the world Rafe would rest a lot easier when he’d conquered it
“You ca “I knew you would Oh, Rafe, isn’t it wonderful to be back?”
Sure, he thought grimly Maybe later they could stop by hell for aon? You weren’t very clear in your otten in this situation in the first place
All she’d said was that she’d bought a ranch, and that theher she couldn’t have it Mostly because he didn’t own it Fraud before noon Or grand theft Either way, it was going to be a long day
“Everything is fine,” hisand…”
“Glen?”
The save a little laugh “Apparently he had a friend as sick and—”
“I’ve heard this part,” he said, interrupting
“From who?”
“Heidi”
“Oh, you oats here on the ranch They’ve been here nearly a year, and they’re just wonderful people Glen is Heidi’s
grandfather She lost her parents when she was little and he raised her” May sighed “They’re a wonderful family”
He didn’t like the sound of that “Mother,” he began
She shook her head “I’m not one of your unruly clients, Rafe You can’t intimidate me I’m sorry I called you and asked you to co under control”
“I doubt that”
Both eyebrows rose “Excuse me?”
“You’re not the only one involved I signed the paperwork, too Remember?”
“You can unsign it I’ll take care of this Now, go back to San Francisco”
Before he could explain there was no “unsigning” a legal docuain and an older man stepped out He was taller than May, hite hair and sparkling blue eyes He winked at May, gave Rafe a char smile and hurried forward
“There you are,” theout his hand as he approached “Glen Simpson Nice to meet you I understand there’s been a mix-up with your lovelyto work it all out”
Rafe doubted that “You have the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars you stole from her?”
“Rafe!”
He ignored his mother and continued to stare at Glen
“Ah, not exactly,” the olderwith May There’s no reason for any of this to be difficult, don’t you agree?”
“No” Rafe drew his phone out of his shirt pocket and turned away fro the number, he loosened his tie Then he hit speed dial
“I told you not to go there,” a fa
“I pay you for legal counsel,” Rafe muttered “Not to say, ‘I told you so’”
Dante Jefferson, his lawyer and business partner, chuckled “You get the ‘I told you so’ for free”