A Woman's Touch (8 page)

„Becky?“ Kyle glanced back over his shoulder, scowling at her as he realized she wasn’t trailing obediently after him.

She swallowed. „Coming, Kyle.“ She picked up her purse and closed the office door behind her.

„I salvaged the Jamison deal this afternoon,“ were the only words he offered on the drive back to his high-rise condominium.

„Congratulations.“ Rebecca didn’t try to break the silence that descended after that. Time enough to tell him her news later. He parked the Porsche in the garage. He still said nothing as they headed for the elevator.

„Sit down,“ Kyle instructed as he followed her into the condo. „I’ll get us both a drink. We’re going to need it.“

„Why?“

„I have a story to tell you,“ he said. „And you’re not going to like it. Just remember the advice you gave me earlier today about listening to explanations, okay?“ He paused for a moment in the kitchen doorway. „And remember something else, too, Becky.“

„What?“ she asked, aware of a cold chill somewhere in the vicinity of her stomach.

„Remember that whatever else happens, you and I are involved and that’s not going to change. We’ll get through this together.“

„I know all about the news you got from the lawyers this afternoon.“ Kyle stood at the window, drink in hand, staring broodingly out toward the mountains. „Congratulations.“

„You don’t sound all that thrilled for me,“ Rebecca remarked quietly. She clutched her glass of wine and waited for the ax to fall. She could almost hear it swishing through the air above her head.

„I’m not. It complicates matters. On the other hand, if it hadn’t been for that land you inherited from Alice Cork, I would never have met you.“

Rebecca took a deep breath. „How do you know about Alice Cork and the land?“

„It’s a long story.“

„Once upon a time…?“ she prompted dryly.

„Right. Once upon a time.“ He paused, apparently searching for words. „Once upon a time there were two men and two ranches divided by one very valuable strip of land. The land in the middle was called Harmony Valley. It was badly named, to say the least. There has never been any harmony connected with that damned valley.“

„Who owned Harmony Valley?“

„Each of the owners of the two ranches wanted it right from the start, but a man named Macintosh actually got it first.“

„And who owns the ranches that border it?“ Rebecca asked with a strong sense of foreboding.

„The Ballards own Clear Advantage ranch, which borders one side of the valley.“

„Clear Advantage?“ Rebecca stared at Kyle’s back. „Any connection with Clear Advantage Development Company?“ The firm was one of Flaming Luck’s arch competitors.

„There’s a connection, all right. The same kind of connection that exists between Flaming Luck Enterprises and Flaming Luck ranch. I own both. Glen Ballard owns the Clear Advantage and the development company he’s built. He named his company after the family land, just as I did. Our ranches both border Harmony Valley. The Ballards and the Stockbridges have been feuding over that damned valley for three generations.“

Rebecca got a queasy sensation in her stomach. „Feuding?“

Kyle turned to face her. His green-and-gold eyes were riveting in their intensity. „It started with a woman and a piece of land, and it looks like it’s going to end that way.“

Rebecca set down her glass with a very deliberate movement and clasped her hands in her lap. „You’d better tell me about it.“

Kyle hesitated and then began to recite the tale with the fluency of someone who has heard the story many times since childhood. „The Ballards and the Stockbridges both wanted Harmony Valley. Originally because of the water.

Later because of the mining potential. Macintosh, the original owner of Harmony Valley, wouldn’t sell to either the Ballards or the Stockbridges. From all accounts he was a tough old bastard. Things got nasty. Threats were made.

Shots were fired.“

„That sounds like something right out of the Old West.“

Kyle gave her an odd look. „It was the Old West. At any rate, Macintosh finally offered a solution. He was dying and he had a daughter. She wasn’t very pretty, I’m told, and she had no suitors. Macintosh wanted her safely married off to either a Stockbridge or a Ballard. Whichever family accepted her as a bride got the land.“

„That poor woman,“ Rebecca exclaimed in sympathy.

„She would have been rich, regardless of which side she chose.“

„She would have been used.“

„I hate to break this to you, Becky,“ Kyle said harshly, „but the fact is, people have frequently married for land.“

„Go on with your story.“

„Well, needless to say, the Macintosh woman was courted by both sides. She eventually chose a Stockbridge. The Ballards were furious and things got increasingly violent as the wedding approached. Cattle got rustled, men got into fights in town and waylaid in the mountains. Inevitably a few folks got killed. Both sides were arming themselves for all-out warfare when the Macintosh woman finally realized just why she was being married.“

„You mean she didn’t know? She honestly thought this ancestor of yours loved her?“

Kyle shrugged. „She was a young thing. Her father hadn’t bothered to tell her the truth, figuring she’d be happier not knowing just why she was suddenly being courted by the two most eligible men for miles around. But it didn’t take long for her to figure things out. And when she did, she was furious.“

„She was hurt,“ Rebecca interjected fiercely.

„Whatever. At any rate, she kept her mouth shut and insisted on delaying the wedding as long as possible. Her father finally died. The day after the funeral, she called off the wedding. She now owned Harmony Valley free and clear, and she announced she wasn’t going to marry anyone with the last name of Ballard or Stockbridge.“

Rebecca looked up, absurdly pleased by the unknown woman’s fortitude. „Good for her.“

Kyle glared at her. „She started a feud that’s still going on.“

„She didn’t start it. She was a victim of it. What happened next?“

„The Macintosh woman finally married. She chose an outsider, someone from Denver. His name was Cork.“

„Someone who loved her, I hope.“

„Probably someone who wanted Harmony Valley,“ Kyle said grimly. „Good grazing land and a year-round water supply. However, he cared enough about the Macintosh woman and her land to respect her wishes. He refused to sell, no matter how much the Ballards and the Stockbridges offered.“

„Or threatened?“

„Probably. But Cork and his wife held out against both families. They eventually had children. Two died in infancy.

The third, a daughter, lived to inherit the land.“

„And promptly found herself overwhelmed by threats and offers of marriage from the next generation of Ballards and Stockbridges, I presume?“

Kyle nodded, his eyes shadowed. „All of which she refused at first. Her mother had taught her well, it seems. But she eventually got herself seduced by a Ballard. The Ballard charm is legendary in that part of the mountains.

According to the story, she thought she was in love and that this particular Ballard was different. When she found out she was pregnant, she accepted his offer of marriage.“

„What happened?“ Rebecca realized she was becoming strangely fascinated by the bizarre tale.

„Shortly before the wedding she discovered the Ballard she was about to marry had a mistress, one he did not intend to give up after the wedding.“

„So he was just marrying the Cork woman for Harmony Valley,“ Rebecca concluded sadly.

„You don’t have to get emotionally involved in all this,“ Kyle said sharply. „It’s ancient history.“

„History, they say, has a way of repeating itself. What happened to the Cork woman?“

„She followed in her mother’s footsteps. She called off the wedding at the last minute.“

„Even though she was pregnant? In that day and age, that took guts,“ Rebecca said with admiration.

„Ballard was furious from all reports. Claimed he was the father of her child and she had to marry him. But she refused to admit the baby was his. Said it could just as easily be a Stockbridge bastard which, according to my father, was an outright lie. As it turned out, her pregnancy was a moot point. She miscarried shortly afterward and spent the next forty years of her life alone in Harmony Valley. Her name was Alice.“

„My Alice Cork?“ Rebecca asked swiftly. „The one I’m supposedly related to?“

„One and the same. She was one stubborn old lady. I’ll tell you that much. Wouldn’t give an inch. When Dad died and I took over the ranch, I went to see her about Harmony Valley. She wouldn’t let me in the front door. The only satisfaction I had was that she was even less hospitable to Ballards. Three months ago she died.“

„And left the land to me?“ Rebecca shook her head in bewilderment. „But I never knew her. According to the lawyer, the relationship is very distant.“

„Which explains why it took so long for the lawyers to find you.“ Kyle took a swallow of his drink. „Then again, lawyers are inclined to move slowly. I knew they wouldn’t give the hunt for you top priority. After all, the client was dead and the firm was busy with more pressing matters. I, on the other hand, hired the best private investigation firm money can buy as soon as I saw the terms of the will.“

„How did you happen to see the will?“

Kyle sighed. „Alice Cork instructed her lawyer to publish the whole damned thing in the newspaper that serves the community she’d lived in all her life. Her idea of a joke, no doubt. She wanted to be sure everyone in town knew the Stockbridges and the Ballards had been beaten once again by a woman. Anyway, I told the investigation firm there would be a bonus in it if they turned you up before the lawyers did.“

Rebecca’s hands tightened into a fierce knot. „You always move fast when you’ve got your goal in sight. I’ve worked with you long enough to know that.“

Kyle’s mouth thinned. „The end of the story is that I found you first. I got lucky. Stockbridges are known for their luck in, uh, certain areas. It turned out you were right here in Denver, working for a firm that I knew was about to be bought out. It was a simple matter to get an introduction through Carstairs. I’ve known him for years. And when I told him I could use an administrative assistant like you, he fell all over himself recommending you. He was concerned about your future after the buy-out.“

Rebecca inhaled slowly. „And I, knowing my job was in serious jeopardy because of the buyout, couldn’t get over how lucky I was to run into you when I did. I was so grateful to you that I decided I’d make the best executive assistant you’d ever had.“

„I’ve never had an executive assistant before,“ Kyle pointed out wryly.

„True. So I fulfilled my end of the bargain, didn’t I? I was the best assistant you’ve ever had. Tell me, Kyle, when did you decide to seduce me?“

His eyes narrowed dangerously. „I didn’t set out to seduce you, Becky. In fact, I wasn’t sure what to do with you at first. The chief priority had been to find you, but once I’d accomplished that I wasn’t sure how to handle you. You weren’t quite what I was expecting.“

„What were you expecting?“

„I don’t know.“ Kyle moved restlessly. „You just took me by surprise, that’s all. I’d hoped to find someone I could do business with, but the minute I met you I no longer wanted to do business with you.“

„You expect me to believe that now? After hearing your family’s history?“

He gave her a fierce, slanting glance. „Damn it, Becky, I didn’t expect the attraction between us. I wasn’t prepared for it. I decided to stall. I kept telling myself the lawyers would take months to find you, and in the meantime I could get to know you. I took things one step at a time. You needed a job. I was in a position to give you one.“

„Figuring I’d be so grateful later I’d let you have the land at whatever price you chose to offer?“

Kyle looked down at the contents of his glass. When he looked up again, his eyes were blazingly honest. „It occurred to me that you might return the favor I’d done for you by listening to my offer for the land before you listened to Ballard’s.“

„Then I can definitely expect an offer from Ballard?“ she asked coolly.

„You can bet Glen Ballard will be right on the lawyer’s heels. He’s always hanging around in the wings, waiting to steal the prize someone else has found.“

Rebecca was shaken by the bitterness in the words. Her eyes widened. „I take it you’ve been through this sort of situation before with Ballard?“

„One or twice.“

„When? Over business issues?“ She was consumed with curiosity now. She’d never seen that look in Kyle’s eyes before. It frightened her.

„Never mind, Becky. It’s not important now. Right now all I want to do is get everything on the table between us. I realize this whole situation must seem a little confusing to you. I’m sure you’ve got some questions.“

Rebecca shook her head slowly in amazement. „Trust you to try to make it all sound like a minor business arrangement that needs to be clarified. I’ve only got one real question for you, Kyle.“

„Ask,“ he invited magnanimously. There was a certain amount of speculation in his gaze, as if he were fairly certain he had things under control now.

„What made you think you could get away with doing this to me?“

He stared at her. „What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything to you except make love to you.“

„You haven’t made love to me,“ she said with soft scorn. „You’ve used me. You’re no better than your ancestors.

You tried to seduce me in the hopes of getting me to turn over the land without a fuss.“

Kyle took a step forward. „Becky, that’s not true. When you’ve had a chance to settle down, you’ll realize that. I’m warning you. Don’t make a lot of accusations now that you’ll have to eat later. I’ve told you the truth about the way it happened. Our relationship now has nothing to do with Harmony Valley.“