SEVEN

 

 

Reese had about ten minutes left until the government offices closed, so he hustled over there while trying his best to push the conversation he’d just had with Avery out of his mind.

The woman infuriated him like no other, and brought out the worst in him. He couldn’t remember losing his temper like that, ever. This whole thing with Chuck Starr being his biological dad had him spinning. It didn’t help that he was still grieving for his own dad, the man who raised him, who was there whenever he needed him and most importantly when he didn’t think he needed him. There wasn’t another man in the entire world who Reese admired more. He only wished he’d said it to him more often, told him how much he loved him, made him understand how much he was admired not only for his advice and compassion, but for his understanding heart whenever Reese needed a little reassuring.

To think he’d never see him again, never feel his dad’s strong arms around him, never shoot the bull with him over a football game or a rodeo or even a TV show, was almost too much for Reese to bear. He’d learned how to hold back the tears over most things, but this one tore at his very core and left him quivering whenever he was alone at night.

He’d heard his sister crying and his mom, too, and he and his brothers had shed some tears at the hospital when their dad took his last breath, but Reese thought he had this. Thought he could control his emotions. Thought that losing his dad was simply part of the circle of life. He hoped that would quell the hurt, but nothing seemed to matter. Nothing could fix the broken part of his heart.

And never had it been so apparent as when he’d lost it with Avery.

He’d been so mad over the whole Chuck thing that if Chuck had been in the room, he may have walked right over to him and punched the son of a bitch right in his damn smug nose.

The County Recorder’s Office lay directly ahead of him, and if he didn’t calm down, there was no telling what he’d say to the poor sap who worked behind the counter, especially if he gave Reese any attitude about searching for any studies his dad may have filed.

Reese grabbed the metal doorknob, tried to get his breathing under control and pushed the door open. At once the fluorescent overhead lights flooded the room, along with his sour mood with the reality of the moment. He told himself to calm the hell down and try to be civil, no matter what kind of crap might be slung in his direction.

There were no lines, so he walked right up to a young man behind the counter.

“Can I help you?” the young man with the blond hair and blond eyebrows asked. He looked to be in his early twenties, wore a genuine smile, a sky blue shirt, a dark blue necktie, and a name tag that read, Hank Starnes. His hair was parted on the side and slicked down with some type of gel. He looked ready to help.

At least Reese hoped he would.

“Yes, I’d like to know a couple things, and I’m hoping you can help me. First, I’d like to know if the Cooper Ranch owns its mineral rights and I’d like to know what geological studies my deceased father ran on our land. Will that be a problem?”

“Depends. First tell me your father’s name, and then show me some I.D. that proves you’re his son.”

Those words “his son” conjured up bile in Reese’s throat causing him to cough. Hank immediately pushed a small bottle of water at him. “Maybe this will help, sir,” he said, smiling.

Reese drank down the water, then pulled out his driver’s license from his wallet and slid it to Hank.

So far, so good.

“That’s perfect, Mr. Cooper. This will take a bit of time, but if you’ll take a seat, I’ll see what we have and print anything I find for you.”

“But you’re closing in five minutes.”

“No worries. Just don’t leave or you won’t be able to get back inside. The doors will be locked promptly at five.”

Reese located the sitting area next to a water cooler and took a seat. He figured he might be there for a while, so he picked up a magazine off the stack on the small end table next to him. And wouldn’t you know, Chuck Starr was on the cover. His home and his ranch were featured inside Arizona Today.

Reese chuckled and tossed the magazine back on the table and decided to pace instead. He didn’t make it all the way across the room when Hank called his name.

Hank slid a pile of papers about two inches thick across to him. “It seems your dad had asked for a few different geological studies. I think he even employed a private company for some seismic testing. We won’t have those results. All the other results haven’t come back yet, but almost everything he surveyed for are in these documents. I couldn’t get access to some of the documents. I don’t know why. Also, the paperwork on the mineral rights is in this stack as well. Sorry I couldn’t get everything for you, but try again in a few weeks. For now, I hope this helps,” Hank said with a friendly smile.

“Thanks, I’m sure it will,” Reese said as calmly as possible. He’d hit the mother-load and knew it. Hank had been more than helpful, probably too helpful and if someone with authority found out about it, Reese hoped that person wouldn’t come down on Hank too hard.

As Reese walked out, he fanned through the documents, but couldn’t at first glance make out what his dad was looking for. He wondered if his mom knew anything about all these studies, and if she did, Reese wanted to know why she kept it from him.

They hadn’t said more than good morning or good night since the memorial, but maybe it was time to break the silence.

 

 

IF REESE WANTED to talk to his mom, he would have to do it at the annual Spring Fling in town, a true barn dance that celebrated all things spring. After that, according to Shiloh, she would be spending a few days with her sister, Janet, in Phoenix, a town Reese had no use for . . . way too big, and way too expensive.

“Do you still remember how to dance?” Shiloh asked as they stood in the doorway of the community center, a center that had seen better days. The floor was still in relatively good shape, but other than that, the roof leaked, several windows were cracked, and the heating system was on its last legs. The air conditioning still worked well enough, but they didn’t really need it tonight. The weather had cooperated and hovered at a steady sixty-five, the perfect temperature for a dance.

Still, with all of that going on with the building itself, tonight the place held most of the residents and their kids, plus most of the residents from the surrounding ranches. Real down home country music bounced off the walls, and the entire place was decorated with an abundance of spring flowers perched in well-worn cowboy boots, hats and wrapped around old ropes.

“To answer your question, I don’t dance anymore. I’ve got more important things to do with my time. The only reason I drove out here tonight is to ask Mom a couple questions. That’s if I can get her alone for a few minutes, and once that happens, I’ll be heading back home.”

Reese had driven over, and Shiloh had hitched a ride. She looked great in a pretty, soft yellow dress that Reese had never seen before, and big silver jewelry that she’d designed and made, no doubt. She even wore polished cowgirl brown boots, a real rarity for her . . . the polished part, not the boots. Shiloh rarely wore regular shoes, even with her best dresses, but she mostly never bothered to spit-shine them, at least not like they were tonight. He had a feeling she was meeting someone special.

“Then you’ll have to hitch a ride with someone, ’cause you’re not leaving me here without any wheels to get back home.”

“Somehow, with the way you look, I thought you’d be meeting up with someone.”

“I thought so too, but it doesn’t look as if he’s here.”

“Are you going to tell me who the lucky guy is?”

“No. I don’t want you saying anything to him. It’s tough enough to find a single guy in this town who isn’t already dating someone or already married. I don’t need you or any of my brothers running shotgun for me by giving him the third degree like you guys did to my last three boyfriends.”

Shiloh had a way of picking guys who either had no visible means of income, were on their way out of town or who were simply in it for the sex and nothing else. It wasn’t as if Reese and his brothers didn’t admire Shiloh in all other aspects of her life; she knew what she wanted and stuck with it. Plus, she was a better cowboy, when she wanted to be, than they were. But her ability to pick a decent guy wasn’t in her makeup, never had been even when she was a kid. Reese hoped that one day the right guy would come along for her, but unfortunately, he didn’t see that happening any time soon.

“They were all losers.”

“Maybe so, but they were my losers and I wanted to be the one to break up with them on my own terms, not because one of my meddling brothers scared them away.”

“I get it, but it might be a good idea to date someone with an actual income this time.”

“Why? You don’t have two dollars to rub together and so far it looks as if you hooked the richest girl in town, who, by the way, is just passing through.”

Where Shiloh ever got that idea mystified him. Sure, maybe he and Avery may have attempted some kind of relationship, but he’d closed the lid on that idea earlier that very afternoon. Not that he didn’t wish he could do a rewind on that conversation, but the chances of that happening were slim to none. He was certain that Avery Templeton had much better things to do with her time, and much more suitable guys back in Phoenix to flirt with rather than some cowboy stuck on a declining ranch in the middle of Nowhere, Arizona.

“Me? You must have your facts crossed, little sister. I haven’t dated anyone in months, maybe even years.”

“Oh?” Shiloh said, as she turned and nodded towards someone on the crowded dance floor. “I think my facts are spot on, big brother. Now give me the keys to your truck.” And she held out her ring-clad hand. Shiloh wore a ring on almost every finger, rings she’d created. Reese had to admit, his sister was quite talented, and he hoped that one day she received the accolades she deserved.

Reese looked over the dance floor, and there, walking towards him, looking like a runway model for seductive feminism, was Avery Templeton, a vision of pure beauty.

He reached into his pants pocket, pulled out his keys, and gladly handed them to his sister without once looking at her.

“Try not to make a fool out of yourself, Reese,” Shiloh warned. “You already look a little spellbound.”

“That might not be possible.” Just seeing Avery again brought up all sorts of sinful thoughts. Her lovely dress caressed her body like rays of sunshine. Her bare legs appeared endless and her feet were wrapped in a perfect pair of light tan colored cowgirl boots. A goddess in boots sashayed towards him wearing a smile that melted his soul.

Spellbound? Oh yeah, he had it bad.

“Hi,” Avery said, once she stood in front of Reese.

“Hi,” Reese answered as everyone else in the large room faded away. They stood staring into each other’s eyes for a moment while Reese tried to think of something to say.

“I’m Shiloh,” his sister said, holding out her hand to Avery. “We spoke on the phone.”

At once Avery’s gaze left his and wandered in Shiloh’s direction. The two women briefly shook hands. “Avery Templeton. So nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

“This is great!” Avery said, gesturing to encompass the dance hall. “I didn’t know there were so many people in Wild Cross. This place is packed.”

“We may be a small town, but we love our dances.”

“I don’t remember the last time I went to a real country dance. I love it.” And she seemed to. Her face beamed with a bright smile as her body gently moved to the music.

“Well then you two should be out there on the floor enjoying yourselves,” Shiloh said as Reese stepped closer to Avery, anticipating the feel of her body next to his.

“I don’t dance,” Reese said, but as soon as Avery was close enough, he took her in his arms and twirled her out on the floor.

“Me neither,” Avery muttered once she nestled into his arms, her body touching his as a heat pulsed through him that could ignite the entire building with its force. He consciously put a few inches between them or he wouldn’t be able to think much less dance. She felt soft and warm, and her hair smelled like flowers. He wanted to gobble her up and never let her go.

“I thought you were angry at me,” she asked, her head on his shoulder, her breath tickling his neck.

“I am.”

“Then why are we dancing?” she whispered in his ear, the sensation sending sharp bolts of heat through his body causing it to react in ways it shouldn’t in public.

“I don’t dance.”

“Oh,” she said, following him perfectly, her body melting into his. “I forgot.”

He couldn’t help the chuckle in the back of his throat. “I just wanted to hold you in my arms,” he told her under the vibrant music that dominated everything around them.

“Is this how you deal with all the women you’re angry with?”

He loved when she teased him, taunted him with her logic.

“Only you.”

“I’d hate to see what the others get.”

He pulled her in tighter. The band, four men and one woman, all playing stringed instruments, strummed out a waltz, the woman warbling an old Loretta Lynn love song that Reese recognized from his youth.

“Mostly the cold shoulder,” he told her.

“Um,” she moaned, burying her head deeper into his shoulder. “Nothing cold going on here. Why am I so special?”

“Because whenever I’m around you, I forget what’s good for me.”

“And I fall into that ‘bad for you’ category?”

He couldn’t help but smile at their situation.

“In spades, Hot-T. In double spades.”

She leaned back and stared up at him, her face serious. “Reese, I want to apologize for the things I said this afternoon.”

At the moment, moving to the rhythm of the music, feeling her this close to him, he didn’t want to think of anything else besides what he felt right now.

“I was the one who overreacted. Maybe we should start all over again.”

She gave him a little nod and a hint of a smile tugged at her glossy full lips. “Want to try those beers again?”

“I have a better idea,” he said, then he gently brushed her lips with his, letting the thrill of it wash over them like hot rain.

“Let’s get out of here,” she told him, stopping the dance and taking his hand to lead him out of the building.

“I don’t have transportation,” he said, eager to follow.

“My car’s parked out back.”

“Lead the way,” he said, anticipating getting her alone, wanting her more than he’d wanted any other woman. His imagination took hold as they made their way off the dance floor when a familiar voice stopped him cold.

“Shiloh says you want to ask me something?” his mother said from behind him.

Reese stiffened. He’d forgotten all about his mother, the stack of papers waiting for him at home and everything that had to do with his miserable reality. All he wanted was to make love to Avery, but he knew that wouldn’t be happening . . . at least not yet.

He sheepishly gazed at Avery, who had turned to him, her beautiful red hair caressing her bare shoulders, her dress still moving from their dance, her face flushed from their soft kiss.

She let go of his hand, and the spell was immediately broken.

His mom came into focus in front of him. She looked gaunt, and tired, but adamant about confronting him. He had no choice but to talk to her, right there, and right now.

The band began playing a square dance with calls and suddenly Avery was whisked away by the group that seemed to form around her. Shiloh and two cowboys swung her out of his reach while his mom lead him to the back of the expansive hall and out an open doorway into a long hallway where the music strained to permeate the old cinderblock walls.

“If this has to do with Chuck Starr, I can tell you right now, you’ll have to start asking him the questions because I don’t know anything other than what I’ve already told you,” she said with a brevity to her voice that Reese recognized from her many reprimands when he was a kid.

Her demeanor was hostile, cold, and aloof, a side of his mom he’d rarely seen before. He wanted to give her a great big hug and tell her everything was going to be fine, that it was all going to work out, but he knew that was a lie.

His blissful mood sharply faded. He said, “What I want to ask has nothing to do with Chuck. It has to do with Dad.”

“Keeping the truth from you was my decision, not your dad’s.”

Her words only slid the knife deeper into his gut, causing him to want to distance himself even more from her . . . but he forced himself to stay. What he wanted to know was too important.

“Thanks for clarifying that, but that’s not my question. It has to do with Dad and the all the expensive studies he ran. Did you know what he was specifically looking for when he ran a search to see what’s under our land? I was able to get most of the paperwork today at the Recorder’s Office in town, but there’s a lot missing.”

She unfolded her arms. “Is that what this is all about? Mineral rights?”

“Yes. I think it’s important, or why would he have kept it from me? Did you know what he was looking for?”

“No. He never told me specifics, only that he was having some sort of study done. I don’t know what kind, but they were expensive.”

He stared at her for a moment, not believing her.

“That’s all I know,” she said, her voice louder this time. “Your dad started keeping secrets from me in the last year, hiding what he was doing, the books, our money, his health, lots of things. Heck, I didn’t even know he came close to selling the place to Chuck.”

Reese’s breath caught in his throat. “What? He would never . . . how do you know this?”

She folded her arms across her chest again. “Because I found an offer from Chuck that your dad had signed. It was dated about three weeks before he passed.”

His stomach tightened, and his eyes burned. He had a hard time absorbing his mom’s words and what they would mean if his dad had followed through.

“Are you sure he didn’t give any part of that document to Chuck?”

She nodded. “Yes, everything was still there. I found the original paperwork. Not a copy. Along with information about who owns the mineral rights under our land. From what I read, it isn’t always clear and straightforward. Sometimes the government retains the rights. Your dad didn’t know who owned them, and had started the ball rolling to find out.”

“But he didn’t tell you any of this?”

“No, and evidently he didn’t tell you either,” she said, her voice low and controlled. He knew this was taking a tremendous toll on his mom, and it was killing him to see her so downtrodden. He wished he could make everything good again, make her happy again, but he knew that was going to take both of them some time.

“But why not? Why was he keeping this from us? Hunter, Shiloh, and Chase knew, but not us. And why did he sign those papers for the land and then not give them back to Chuck?”

“Perhaps the only person who knows the answers to those questions is Chuck Starr. Maybe you should ask him. Obviously, there was something more going on between the two of them than your dad was willing to share.”

“More secrets. More lies. And what makes you think Chuck will tell me the truth?”

Her face flashed with anger. “Because now you know you’re his son,” she said then walked back into the dance, leaving Reese feeling as if the one man he loved more than anyone else in the entire world had just beaten him up and left him on the ground, bleeding.

 

 

AVERY WATCHED AS Reese walked through the back door and made his way over to her as she stood on the sidelines of the dance floor. His entire disposition had changed, and she knew the moment they had shared on the dance floor had disappeared. Whatever he and his mom had talked about had been enough to change everything.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said, taking her hand.

But she didn’t want it to be this way. She didn’t want his anger shadowing their night together.

She pulled back. “Hold on, cowboy. I’m not ready to leave just yet.”

“I am. It’s what you wanted isn’t it?”

“Not this way. Not while you’re angry.”

“Who says I’m angry?”

There was a break in the music and she could hear his breathing coming out in short bursts through his nose. His left hand was balled up in a fist and his jaw was clenched tight.

She sniggered. “You’re kidding, right? You look like you’re about to blow and you suddenly want me to follow you out of here for a night of passion? I’m thinking I might not be the girl for that party, but I’m sure there are plenty of other women who would jump at the chance for a night with brooding Reese Cooper.”

His fist slowly opened. “I am not brooding. It’s just that my dad . . . but I can’t even tell you about anything. You’re working for the enemy.”

His forehead furrowed, and his eyes smoldered with anger.

“I’m not working for anyone at the moment, other than maybe as a cheerleader for the band. They’re great. You might want to stay awhile and have some fun . . . you remember how to have fun, don’t you? You just let go of that chip you’ve been carrying around and everything else is easy.”

“I can’t trust you.”

The sound of fiddles filled the air, as everyone seemed to gravitate to the dance floor for the next high-octane tune. Heels stomped on the wooden floor, as hoots and whistles bounced off the walls around them.

“Maybe not, but you can dance with me.” She had to almost yell out to him.

He hesitated for a moment, then a tiny grin pulled up the corners of his perfect lips. “I don’t dance,” he said, as a wide grin lightened up his face.

And just then, an older woman with gray hair and a happy disposition grabbed his other hand and pushed him into some kind of crazy over and under loop move, giving brooding Reese no choice but to follow along with her snappy, happy feet.

Soon Avery joined in on the fun, and for the next couple of hours, Reese Cooper Jr. seemed to lose all his fight . . . at least for now.