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“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. Something most people took for granted. But she’d grown up moving from town to town, the rhythm of her days defined by the carnival where her grandfather 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 making goat cheese and goat-milk soap. She sold goat milk and goat fertilizer. There were natural caves where she could age her cheese. This was her home and she wasn’t giving it up for anything.
But she might have to give it up for somebody. Glen. Who’d sold a part of what he didn’t own to a woman with a very angry son.
* * *
RAFE PULLED IN NEXT TO HIS mother’s car and parked. The ranch looked worse than he’d remembered—the fence lines more theory than substance, the house sagging and 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 impossible color movie makers loved and songwriters sang about. In the distance, the Sierra Nevada mountains rose toward heaven. When he was a kid, he’d stared at those mountains, willing himself 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 mother stepped out. May Stryker might 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 from her, although, according to his mother, his personality came from his father. May was a softhearted nurturer who wanted to take care of the world. Rafe would rest a lot easier when he’d conquered it.
“You came,” May said, crossing to him and smiling. “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 a marshmallow roast. “Mom, what’s going on? You weren’t very clear in your message.” What he meant was she hadn’t explained how she’d gotten in this situation in the first place.
All she’d said was that she’d bought a ranch, and that the man was now telling her 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,” his mother said, moving toward him. “Glen and I have been talking and…”
“Glen?”
The smile widened. “The man who sold me the ranch.” She gave a little laugh. “Apparently he had a friend who was sick and—”
“I’ve heard this part,” he said, interrupting.
“From who?”
“Heidi.”
“Oh, you met her. Isn’t she wonderful? She raises goats 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 come all the way out here, but I have everything 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 document, the front door opened again and an older man stepped out. He was taller than May, with white hair and sparkling blue eyes. He winked at May, gave Rafe a charming smile and hurried forward.
“There you are,” the man said, holding out his hand as he approached. “Glen Simpson. Nice to meet you. I understand there’s been a mix-up with your lovely mother here, but I want to assure you, we’re going to 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 older man admitted. “But we’ll get it. Or work out something with 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 from his mother and Glen. Before pushing the number, he loosened his tie. Then he hit speed dial.
“I told you not to go there,” a familiar voice said by way of greeting.
“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.”
“Lucky me.”
“How bad is it?”
Rafe looked around at the familiar acres of land. He’d grown up here, at least until he was fifteen. He’d worked his ass off here, had gone hungry here.
“It’s bad. I need you to drive over,” Rafe said. He’d filled Dante in on what he knew before he’d left town that morning. “There’s no money to pay her back and, from what I can tell, the old man isn’t the owner of the ranch.”
Dante snorted. “Did he think she wouldn’t notice she wasn’t getting a ranch after paying two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and agreeing to a schedule to pay the rest?”
“Apparently.”
“I’ve never been to Fool’s Gold,” Dante said.
“Everyone’s luck goes bad eventually.”
Dante chuckled. “Your mother loves the town.”
“My mother also believes there are space aliens in Area 51.”
“That’s why I like her so much. Did I tell you signing documents without reading them would get you into trouble? Did you listen?”
Rafe tightened his grip on the phone. “This is you helping?”
“In my own way. I’ll call the local police and have…” There was the sound of rustling papers.
“…Glen Simpson picked up. He’ll be in custody before I hit town. I should be there by six. Between now and then, don’t do anything I’ll regret.”
Not a promise Rafe was willing to make, he thought as he hung up. He turned, only to find his mother rushing toward him.
“Rafe! You’re not arresting Glen.”
The old guy looked less charming and more pale. As Rafe watched, he swallowed and started backing toward the house.
“Mom, this guy took money from you by making you think you were buying a ranch. He doesn’t own the ranch, so he stole your money and he has no way to pay it back.”
May’s mouth twisted. “If you’re going to make it sound like that—”
He cut her off. “It is like that.”
“I don’t understand why you have to be this way.”
He glanced back at the house, expecting to see Glen slinking inside. But the old guy had only made it as far as the porch. Maybe he was going to try and bluff his way out. Rafe didn’t mind a good fight, but he preferred a more formidable opponent.
His gaze moved from the building to the yard. There were flowers—different from the ones his mother had planted, but just as colorful. A big sign offered goat milk, goat cheese and goat manure for sale. He fleetingly hoped they were kept in separate containers and on different parts of the property.
Speaking of goats, he could see a couple beyond the fence by the house. There was a big horse by the barn. No steers, he thought, remembering having to deal with them when he was a kid.
There had been good times here, he admitted to himself. Moments when he’d had fun with his brothers and sister. While his father had taught him and Shane to ride, Rafe had been the one to teach Clay and later Evangeline. Rafe had stepped into his father’s shoes after the man had died. Or he’d tried—after all, he’d been only eight. He could still remember how long it had taken to realize his daddy was never coming home again and that it was now all up to him.
The woman—Heidi—jogged up to the house, the goat trotting at her side like a well-trained dog.
“Glen, are you all right?” she asked, slightly out of breath. “What’s going on?”
“It’s going to be fine,” Glen told her, looking calm for a man about to go to jail.
“It’s not fine,” May said firmly. “My son is being difficult.”
“Not much of a surprise,” Heidi muttered, turning to him. “I know you’re angry, but we can come to terms. If you’d just listen and be reasonable.”
“Good luck,” May said with a sigh. “Rafe doesn’t believe in being reasonable.”
He shrugged. “Everyone has a flaw.”
“You think this is funny?” Heidi demanded, her green eyes snapping with outrage and fear. “We’re talking about my family.”
“And mine.”
A car pulled in behind his. Rafe saw the city seal for Fool’s Gold and a sign, Fool’s Gold Police.
A woman in her forties got out. She wore a uniform and sunglasses. The name tag read Police Chief Barns. Rafe was impressed. Dante hadn’t just made calls, he’d gone to the top.
Still clutching the goat, Heidi moved toward the woman. Heidi smiled, although her lips trembled, and despite his annoyance at her and the situation, he acknowledged she looked as innocent as a milkmaid. He glanced at the goat. Make that a goat maid.
“Police Chief Barns, I’m Heidi Simpson.”
“I know who you are.” The police chief pulled a smartphone out of her pocket and scrolled through the screen. “I’m looking for Rafe Stryker.”
“That’s me.” Rafe moved toward her. “Thank you for coming out here personally.”
“Your lawyer insisted.” The police chief didn’t sound pleased about the fact. “So, what’s going on?”
“Glen Simpson claimed to be selling the Castle Ranch to my mother for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He took her money and gave her fraudulent documents to sign. He doesn’t have ownership of the land, never opened escrow and has spent the money. Despite his claims of wanting to work things out, he has no way of paying her back.”
May made a soft, distressed sound in the back of her throat. “My son is clear on the facts, but he’s leaving out an important point.”
“Which is?” Chief Barns asked.
“That there’s no need for this to involve you and the law.”
“I’d like to agree with you, ma’am, but your son here has filed an official complaint. I don’t suppose you can tell me that he has no legal claim on any of this? Am I getting my hopes up here for nothing?”
“I signed the documents, as well,” Rafe told her. Which was his own damn fault. “My mother may believe in Mr. Simpson’s innate goodness, but I do not.”
“He’s not a bad man,” Heidi insisted.
The police chief turned to Glen. “You have anything to say about this?”
Glen looked up at the sky for a moment and back at Chief Barns. “Nope.”
“Then I’m going to have to take you in.”
“You can’t.” Heidi physically moved between the chief and her grandfather, the goat still at her side. “Please don’t. My grandfather isn’t a young man. It’s jail. He could die in there.”
“It’s not Alcatraz,” Rafe told her. “It’s a city jail in a small town. Not exactly hard time.”
“You know this from personal experience?” Heidi asked.
“No.”
“Then stay out of it.” Heidi’s eyes filled with tears as she returned her attention to the police chief. “There has to be something you can do.”
“You’ll need to talk to the judge,” Chief Barns said, her voice surprisingly kind. “Your friend here is right. It’s not a bad jail. He’ll be fine.”
“I’m not her friend.”
“He’s not my friend.”
Heidi and Rafe looked at each other.
“Can I kick him?” Heidi asked the police chief. “Just once, but really hard?”
“Maybe later.”
Rafe knew better than to protest. The way the two women were glaring at him, getting off with a single kick would be a light sentence.
