SEVENTEEN

Avery never actually slept. Sleep only happened to children and people who could push everything bad out of their heads. Since Avery was no longer a child and the bad had more or less consumed her, now sleep completely eluded her. The good thing was she replaced sleep with shrewd research, precise planning, and an entirely new mindset.

It amazed her how the universe handed over the exact information she needed as soon as she decided to step into her big girl shoes.

Since she wasn’t going to join her dad and Chuck in their obvious cover-up and swindle, she needed to figure out how to beat them at their own game. Why she’d never done a basic search on her mother’s records still mystified her. It was as if she’d been living in an acceptance fog for her entire adult life. Whatever lies her dad had dictated about her mom, she’d accepted as truth. Whatever stories Chuck had weaved, she’d mindlessly believed.

She’d done some basic research during the night using her laptop and a powerful search program from her law office. Apparently, they’d already reinstated her employment status, so once again she had access to all the firm’s tools.

Avery learned that once her mom had been admitted to Bell House, her dad went ahead and developed her mom’s substantial estate. Pamela had inherited the estate from her parents, Tess and Gary Harding, when they’d died in a boating accident the previous year. Avery’s dad soon began leasing parcels of that land to Chuck, which, as it turned out, her dad had no right to do without her mom’s consent. According to all the documents Avery could locate, that consent never happened, and couldn’t happen until Avery’s thirtieth birthday. Any sale or lease of the land could only take place if both Pamela and Avery agreed. Otherwise, the majority of the land, including the parcel that contained Chuck’s main ranch house, remained in a trust for Avery. There had been a clause in the original will that kept all of her mom’s inheritance solely under her mom’s name. No part of it could ever be granted to her husband without both Pamela’s written consent, and Avery’s, once she turned thirty years old.

What had already transpired between her dad and Chuck Starr had been shady to downright illegal, and bright and early the next morning Avery received copies of the documentation to prove it, thanks to a mortgage broker she’d become friends with during one of her more complicated divorce cases.

She’d studied the settlement papers her dad had wanted her to mindlessly sign, which would give him full ownership of her mom’s land. Somehow, he’d gotten her mom to sign the documents. Avery knew that any honorable judge would have ruled in Avery’s favor even if she had signed the documents and then contested them.

Her dad was a powerful attorney, but he must have forgotten that his daughter was one of the best family attorneys in Phoenix. Before the day was over, she’d file the proper paperwork with the court and her dad and Chuck would be served. She had both him and Chuck by the short hairs and she loved it.

“The tables have turned, Dad,” she’d told him during their phone call. “I’m only doing what I think is best for Mom.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm, mimicking his misplaced loyalty. “She’ll need money for quality care for the rest of her life, I’m assuming, and I believe, as her daughter, I’m better qualified to manage her care, which will take money. And Chuck’s so-called land actually still belongs to my mom and me. You and Chuck had no right to develop it without proper consent, and I can prove it.”

“If you go through with this, Avery, I’ll lose everything I’ve ever worked for,” he said, his voice loud and aggressive. She’d only heard him raise his voice one or two times in her entire life. He’d always been cool and calculating. Apparently, he had an undercurrent going on that Avery had never been allowed to see . . . until now.

“You should have thought of that before you decided to lie to me for the past twenty years. And remember, Dad, if I don’t know all your secrets now, I will very soon. I was taught by the best.”

Her dad had trained her to go for the jugular in all her cases. This was now just another case to her. Nothing more. And, for her mother’s sake, she intended to win.

“Avery, wait. I’m your dad. We can work this out.”

“The time for working it out is over. Now it’s all about my mom, and I’ll make damn sure you and Chuck will never ever be able to go anywhere near her again. And in case you’re wondering about you and me, we’re over.”

“Chuck is a powerful man, Avery. You don’t want to cross him.”

“Believe me, Dad. When this is all over, Chuck will regret ever having crossed my mom. And please don’t try to contact me or Mom during this process or I’ll have to turn you in for attempting to coerce the plaintiff.”

“Wait . . . Avery, don’t . . .”

She disconnected, and even though it tore part of her heart out, she found strength in the fact that she was moving forward . . . exactly like her dad had taught her. Only this time she would do it without him.

The days of her lying dog of a father and Chuck Starr running her mom’s life were over. She had no idea how this would affect her own life, but she was ready and eager to find out. Her mom had prepared her for life-changing moments like this, and Avery planned to make her mom proud.

“And after that, Mama?”

“The world is yours.”

She peeked out of her bedroom window when she heard some voices and watched Chuck drive away with a small suitcase, so she knew that except for Kaya, who had arrived about an hour earlier, she was alone and could roam the house freely, and even get back into Chuck’s study if she needed to. He would be gone for at least two days. Exactly the time she needed to execute the rest of her plan, but she needed Machala and Reese to be part of it.

“You won’t believe what I found,” Machala said into Avery’s ear. Avery had called her earlier for some help. She figured she might have some insider way of expediting any and all of the documents that concerned her mom that were filed at the County Recorder’s Office where Machala had once worked.

“What? And please tell me it has something to do with the illegal lease of my mom’s land,” Avery told her.

“No, but I think it might have a lot to do with why your poor mom was admitted to Bell House twenty years ago.”

Avery held her breath, anticipating the worst news ever about her mom’s condition.

“Lay it on me.”

“Were you aware that your mom filed for a divorce against your dad?”

“When?”

As soon as Machala read the date, Avery realized it was only two weeks before her tenth birthday. If she were to speculate with unbiased reasoning, she would have no choice but to come to the conclusion that her dad, and probably Chuck, too, had had Pamela Templeton committed so they could ensure that Pamela’s land would not, and could not be taken away from them.

“No,” Avery said, feeling sick to her stomach, “my dad conveniently never mentioned it, and unfortunately, up until recently, I would have never thought to look for it.”

“It was difficult to find, but a lot of people in this town owe my mom favors, and some of them work in high places. I just called in a favor or two and, well, I hope it helps.”

“It clears up a lot of things, and gives me exactly the ammunition I need to get my life, and hopefully my mom’s life, back on course.”

“So, it’s true then? Your mom is at Bell House?”

“Yes, and has been for the last twenty years.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for what seemed like a long time. Then she heard a voice she hadn’t heard in a very long time. “This is Sweet Sally, Machala’s mom. I just want to say, your mom was a sweet and beautiful woman, and she’s been waiting a long time for her little Hot Tamale to bring her home. Promise me you will.”

“I promise,” Avery said as her voice caught in her throat, but the words came out with more resolve than she’d ever felt for any other cause in her entire life.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER, once Avery said her good-byes to Sweet Sally, and thanked Machala for all her hard work, she filled a travel mug with coffee from the fresh pot in the kitchen, pinched one of Kaya’s banana muffins, jumped into her car and drove off to the Cooper Ranch, practicing her pitch to Reese as she drove. She even brought the partnership agreement to tear up in front of him so he would know once and for all that she was on his side. She knew that if Reese and his mom signed, the Cooper Ranch and whatever was under it would become part of Circle Starr Enterprises, and sure as there were stars in the night sky, Chuck would eventually find a way to force Reese out and take over everything as his own.

She refused to let that happen, not now. Not after she now realized that Chuck and her dad were evil men. Her stomach was still queasy from the realization, and part of her wished with all her heart it wasn’t true, but reality and countless court cases taught her that anything was possible, especially where money was concerned.

She’d called Reese several times, but he never answered. She figured something must have happened between when she’d said goodnight to him last night and this morning . . . something that most certainly had to do with Chuck.

When she pulled up in front of the Cooper ranch house, Reese was just coming out of the barn, pulling off work gloves, as if this was just another workday on his ranch. He looked unkempt, as if he hadn’t slept either. His hair stuck out in all directions from under his hat, he hadn’t shaved, and he wore the exact same clothes he’d worn the previous day. She wondered if he’d even been to bed.

He led a beautiful bay horse out of the barn alongside of him. The scowl on his face told her that something dreadful had happened.

“You didn’t answer my calls,” she said as she approached him.

“Didn’t want to,” he said as he continued to walk his horse toward the corral beside the barn.

“Why not? What’s wrong, Reese?” He acted as though she wasn’t there.

“Not ready to talk about it. Still trying to settle it in my mind.”

“I have to know, Reese. It’s important. I imagine it has something to do with Chuck.”

He walked the horse into the corral where two other horses already stood pulling at bales of green hay. Once the majestic animal was safely inside, he closed the gate and headed up to the house.

“I told you, I’m not ready to talk about this.”

She hated the way he was treating her, with a dismissive attitude that tore her apart. She’d fallen in love with him, and couldn’t bear it if they parted over something that Chuck had done.

“Reese, please don’t walk away from me, don’t dismiss me like I’m a child. Something bad has happened and together . . .”

He turned to her. “There is no together. At least not that I can see. You lied to me and I don’t take kindly to liars, no matter who they are.”

“I never lied to you, Reese. This is all Chuck’s fault. All of it. Please. You have to believe me. We have to work together. My mother’s life depends on it.”

That stopped him cold as his gaze caught hers. A deep sorrow shadowed his eyes making her believe he’d had about as much sleep as she had . . . none. At least she now knew he still cared.

“What the hell, Avery? I’ve fallen in love with you, and you betrayed me. How am I supposed to deal with that?”

Avery’s heart shattered. Reese had revealed his true feelings for her while also telling her that he felt betrayed. She didn’t know how this could have happened, but she desperately needed to change his mind.

“Oh, Reese . . . I love you too. You have to believe me. I don’t know why you’re so angry this morning, but if you keep it inside and you don’t tell me, I can’t fix it. Please. Chuck is threatening to do something bad to my mom if I don’t get you and your mom to sign the partnership agreement. He left on a short business trip, but he’ll be back tomorrow. We don’t have much time. He’s everything you said he was, Reese. I know that now. I didn’t want to believe it. I loved him, probably more than my own father. I would never want you to sign the agreement knowing what I know now, and I’m happy your instincts kept you skeptical. I brought the agreement with me.” She pulled it out of her bag. “We can burn it for all I care. Let’s work together, Reese. We can do anything together. We can save your ranch and get my mom free from Chuck and my dad. But neither one of us can do it on our own. We have power together. I’m sure of it, Reese. I love you, and I’m begging you to believe me.”

He walked in close to her and stared into her eyes. “Just tell me one thing. And everything depends on your answer. Exactly when did you learn what’s under my land?”

She blinked a couple times, the sun stinging her already tearful eyes. “I have no idea what’s under your land, but I can guess. Oil? Gas? Is that what this is all about? You think I knew something that I’ve kept from you. Is that it?”

“Yes.”

She took in a breath and slowly let it out, knowing that their future together depended on him trusting what she was about to say. She stared right into those emerald eyes of his. “You said you love me, Reese. If you do, you’ll believe me when I tell you that I would never, ever do anything to hurt you or your family and I certainly never conspired with Chuck. I have no idea what’s under your land because out of all the reports and paperwork I delivered to him, never once did he tell me what they contained. Nor did I ever look at them. Through all of this, I genuinely thought I was helping you and Chuck form a bond. I never for one moment believed there was anything more to it. But now I know you were right about him, Reese. Your dad was right. Machala… hell, this entire town is right. Chuck is an evil man with only one thing on his mind… greed. And he will do anything to get what he wants. He told me as much last night. Still, I’m standing in front of you, vulnerable as all hell, telling you that if we work together we can stop both of them. I think I know how we can do it. All I need now is for you to trust me, to believe in those dreams you had about me, that I’m your soul mate, because if you do, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish together.”

His eyes watered as he continued to stare at her, as if he could see into her very soul. Then, slowly, through all the doubt, she caught a change in him. It was right there in those beautiful green eyes of his. It began gradually at first, but then grew like a flower in spring bursting through the frozen earth.

Acceptance.

He reached out and slipped his hand around hers. At once she felt the love and warmth of his touch. “Are you here to corrupt me, Avery Templeton?”

She gazed down at their clasped hands remembering those very words from his dad’s memorial. Then slowly she looked back into his eyes and said, “If that’s what it takes to help get you through this, then yes. Otherwise, I’m here to love you, Reese Harrington Cooper. I’m your dream girl.”

“I’ve been waiting for you my entire life. What took you so long?”

“I kept trying to do the right thing.”

“And now?”

“Now I only do what’s bad for me . . . really bad.”

“My kind of woman.”

“My kind of man,” she said just as his mouth came down hard on hers, and in that moment she knew the whole world was now hers.