It Took a Rumor (6 page)

He lifted the shotgun like his dad had shown him with his pellet gun. This was heavier, though. He tucked the butt into the hollow of his shoulder, held a steady aim, and fired. The very next moment he was flat on his back, ears ringing and shoulder aching. No one came to get him, though, and after he lay there for some time, he rose, gathered the gun, and headed back home. He managed to reload the shotgun and replace it without anyone seeing.

But at dinner, somehow, his father knew; Jake could see it in his eyes. He forced every bite of his beef stew down his throat, each bite pushing the last one further down. The food soured in his stomach and as everyone left the table, Jake knew he was supposed to stay. He sat and waited for Gideon to speak. “Well?” Gideon finally said.

Jake burst into tears and confessed everything.
 

That was the one and only time Jake had deceived his father, until the other night at dinner—until Gideon had turned to each of his sons to ask if they’d slept with Ivy Turner.

That was three days ago and the lie weighed heavily on Jake. The only reason he didn’t spill the truth, though, was that he was pretty sure his actions with Ivy ten days ago hadn’t been the cause of the rumors. He’d listened to, and read, the gossip. Several people had mentioned a hotel and late nights. Jake and Ivy had been in a field in the middle of the day, so why were the rumors about a hotel?
 

No, it had to be something else.
 

After his shower, he settled into his recliner in front of his big screen television. He’d bought it himself, that way if his brothers ever got wives and moved out, there’d be no dispute as to who got the TV. In fact, most of the things in the home he’d bought himself. For that very reason. It didn’t occur to him that maybe his brothers were mooching off him. But he did want to establish ownership in the event any of those losers actually found a woman and moved on.

He found ESPN just as Gideon stormed in the front door. Jake’s heart honest-to-God stopped beating. But when Gideon’s rage-filled eyes landed on him, Jake knew the rage wasn’t for him.
 

“Where’s your brother?” Gideon snarled.

Jake stood and looked around. Which brother? “Umm…”

Boone came from down the hall, just then, freshly showered, shirtless and in his pajama pants. Jake glanced at Gideon and saw that the anger wasn’t for Boone, either. “Hey, Pop,” Boone said.

“Where’s Dallas?”

Jake answered. “In his room. What’s going…”

Gideon stormed past him, down the hall, and came back frog-marching Dallas into the living room. “Jesus, Dad, what’s going on?” Dallas asked.
 

Gideon shoved him away. “What were you doing at the Turner’s earlier today?”

Jake’s attention narrowed to Dallas. What
had
his brother been doing at the Turner’s earlier that day?

“Dad, what are you talking about?” Dallas asked.

“Someone saw you there, and now it’s all over town that the mystery’s all but solved as to which one of my sons Turner is using his daughter to lure away.”

“I…I didn’t…it wasn’t…”

“Spit it out, boy!”

Dallas drew himself up and cast an imploring glance at Jake. Unfortunately for him, Jake had zero sympathy, just then, and a whole lot of suspicion. When no one spoke up, Jake said, “Maybe he’s trying to make a deal. A sly deal behind our backs. Is that it, Dallas? You want out and you’re gonna throw us to the wolves to do it?”

Gideon stepped menacingly toward Dallas.

“No!” Dallas said. “Honest, Pop, I’d never do something like that. It’s just, I thought maybe I could help get her and her old man off our backs, that’s all.”

It was a stupid excuse. The Turner’s weren’t ‘on their backs’ to speak of. They’d merely renewed their yearly offer to buy out the Deathridge ranch. So Dallas was covering something up, but Jake couldn’t figure what it would be.

Cody arrived, just then, back from one of his evening walks. A little later than usual. He froze as soon as he hit the wall of tension in the room. “What’s going on?”

“Dallas, here, is just about to explain why he paid a visit to the Turners today,” Gideon said.

Cody remained silent and edged toward the hallway, likely leaving room for Dallas in case he needed a fast getaway out the back door.
 

“It’s just like I said, Pop. I was just trying to get her to back off.”

“Why is it you think she’d listen to you? You ain’t ever been friends with her that I can recall.”

“Well, you see, it’s just…” Dallas looked around the room, meeting the eyes of all his brothers. Jake glared at him and waited, certain whatever came out of his mouth next would be a lie. Dallas rolled his shoulders back, looked his dad dead in the eyes, and said, “Ivy and I have been sleeping together.”

For a moment there was silence. At least for everyone else there was silence. For Jake there was the roar of blood rushing to his ears. “That’s a damn lie,” he said in a harsh whisper.

Dallas slumped, putting on an act of penitence. “We didn’t mean it to happen. It didn’t have anything to do with business. It’s just, we got to shooting pool at the bar one night and…things just sort of happened. Our mistake was meeting at that damn hotel.”

Boone snorted.

Jake glared at his youngest brother, then at Dallas.

“How come you’re just now fessing up?” Gideon asked.

Dallas shrugged and hung his head. “It’s just, I really like her. I didn’t want what we have cheapened by all this gossip. I just thought maybe we could keep our relationship a secret, that’s all.”

Jake’s emotions were strangling him. There was no way Dallas was telling the truth, but having to stand there and listen to Ivy’s honor get besmirched by his asshole brother was almost more than he could take. What was worse, Gideon seemed to be buying into it.

“Son, you can’t trust a woman,” Gideon said, putting his hand on Dallas’ shoulder. “You may think she’s falling in love with you, but the timing’s just a little too coincidental. I’m betting she’s using your feelings for her to worm her way into this family. You can’t let that happen.”

Dallas shook his head. “I’m sure she’s not like that.”

“We all like to think that. But trust me, she’s not after anything but our ranch. Promise me you’ll keep your distance from now on?”

After a long, heartfelt moment of silence, during which Dallas pressed his fingertips against his closed eyes and sniffed a couple of times, he at last nodded. “I promise, Pop. Anything for the family.”

Gideon slapped him on the back before turning to Jake. “I want you to meet with her again. I talked to the bank. They’ll give us a loan to buy that Hampton property from them.”

For a moment, Jake’s anger at Dallas vanished in the wake of his surprise. “You want me to offer to buy a thousand acres from the Turners?”

“Well, yeah. Only makes sense. It’s inconvenient to them, since they can’t get their cattle there without going over the highway. They can’t grow their ranch this direction since we ain’t selling. This way we solve their problem, and we grow our operation. It’s win-win.”

Jake shuffled his feet. “You sure you aren’t just pouring salt in the wound? Goading them?”

“What did you just say to me?”

Jake stood up straight, fighting the inherent urge to duck his head and take his licks. He was going to inherit this ranch one day, he had a right to some say in how it was run. “Take offense if you want, but I never heard you talk about buying that property before. Or grow our operation. Seems you could’ve done it back when it was for sale.”

Gideon squared his shoulders to Jake. Boone, Cody, and Dallas all took steps backward. “Now I don’t take to my own boy questioning how I run my business.”

Jake fought back the urge to roll his eyes.
 

“So,” Gideon continued, “You’re gonna meet with Ivy tomorrow, like you did last week, in a coffee shop, out in the open so no one can accuse you of sneaking around.” He shot a reproving look at Dallas. “And make that offer.”

“And what if they take it? You’re prepared to go into debt? Hell, Pop, that land’s worth more than our property and business put together. You wanna borrow against what you already own outright?”

“I don’t see how it’s any of your concern.”

“It’s my damn livelihood, Pop. And guess who’s gonna be paying off the majority of that debt? Me, that’s who.”

Then Gideon did the same thing he did every time he was backed into the corner. He pointed at the door and said, “You don’t like how I run things, there’s the door.”

Jake had never called his bluff, and he wasn’t about to start now. Still, it pissed him off. Seemed like an abuse of power. Rather than listen to his grown son who might possibly have some useful ideas, Gideon continued to bully his way through life.
 

Still, what could he do? Nothing, that’s what. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll meet with her tomorrow.” He turned to Dallas. “You want me to convey your undying love, Romeo?”

Dallas glared at him in response. Jake wanted to punch him. But he’d done that earlier in the day and it hadn’t made him feel any better.
 

After Gideon left, Jake started to close the distance between himself and Dallas, only to have Cody block him. “Let’s not ruin our nice new carpet,” Cody said.

“You’re lying,” Jake said to Dallas.

Dallas dropped the act and was grinning now. “It ain’t no lie. Me and Ivy’s in true love.”

“Cut the shit, Dallas,” Cody said.

“I know for a fact you ain’t been meeting her in no hotel,” Boone chimed in.
 

All faces turned toward Boone. “How you figure?” Cody asked.

Boone suddenly went pale. He hitched a shoulder. “I just know, that’s all. Ivy ain’t like that. She’s a lady.”

Jake, who had seen first-hand how deliciously unladylike Ivy could be, nodded his agreement. “That’s right. She’s a lady. So don’t go making this worse for her.”

“I’ll just tell her the secret’s out,” Dallas said. “She’ll be relieved.”

Dallas and Boone retired to their rooms. Jake collapsed in his recliner and Cody fell onto the couch. “Where were you off to, this evening?” Jake asked, even as he switched on the TV.

“Just walking. Nowhere in particular.”

“You were out a little later than usual is all.”

Cody shrugged.
 

“You think Dallas is telling the truth?” Jake asked.

“Nope. No way.”

Jake felt a little better. Of all his brothers, Cody was the one he respected most. Mainly because he was quiet and did his work. “Why you reckon he’d lie about that?”

“Probably because he’s hiding a worse secret.”

Jake mulled on that for a while. But he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering to Ivy. What was she doing? Did she ever think about him? Was it usual for her to hookup the way she had with him?

Ten Days Ago

The diner sat right on Main Street across from the historic City Hall building. A few years back the town had gotten a historic grant from the state, and what had once been a run down brick building with a sagging green awning, now looked like a French café with little iron tables and chairs on the sidewalk out front and a hand-carved wooden sign that read, “River Front Diner, est. 1953.”
 

Inside, the floors were tiled and the tables covered in vintage Formica. There was a table for two directly in front of the large window that overlooked the street. This was where Ivy sat, across from Jake Deathridge. She’d dressed in her usual business attire, a pencil skirt and button-down blouse. Her dark blond hair was pulled back in a loose bun at the base of her neck. She could have worn her contacts, but she felt the glasses made her look more professional. Jake, the eldest Deathridge, was clearly not as concerned about his appearance. He looked fresh off the farm in muddy boots, torn jeans, and a t-shirt. He’d taken off his stetson and hung it on the corner of his chair. He’d ordered a tall stack of pancakes, three fried eggs, two slices of bacon, a side of sausage…and was on his third cup of coffee. He ate heartily to the point that Ivy wondered if he realized she was still in the room.

She nibbled at the vegetarian omelet she’d ordered and sipped her coffee. “So,” she said, continuing the speech she’d been giving him for the past ten minutes, “I really think if we could help our fathers communicate, both our families would benefit.”

Jake didn’t even glance up at her. She’d explained to him the benefits of selling his land; how they would be hired on to help work it and they wouldn’t have to give up the house; how Gideon and Clara could retire. She’d even told him the exact offer…a substantial sum that reflected the full value of their property. He hadn’t reacted at all.

When the waitress came by to offer more coffee, however, he smiled brightly, held out his cup, and thanked her. As soon as she was gone, it was back to the business of eating.

Ivy sucked in a breath, very close to abandoning professional decorum. “Mr. Deathridge, I—”

“Are you done?” he asked, sitting back in his chair at last, hitting her with dark, suddenly intense eyes.

She found herself closing her mouth and stiffening her spine. “I suppose so.”

“Good, then I can tell you what I could’ve told you before we even sat down. We ain’t selling.”

She wanted to bang her head on the table in frustration. “We’re just here to discuss the possibility.”

“Listen, honey, there is nothing…nothing…you have to offer that will tempt us to sell. This ain’t about money to us, it’s about family. So I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time—”

“Oh, you are?” she asked, her temper hanging on for dear life. “Why exactly did you sit there and let me go through the whole spiel if you weren’t even going to participate in the discussion.”

His lip quirked up at the corner. “Seemed like you were really into it.”

Her temper slipped even further, now hanging off the ledge by only four fingertips…three…two…

She grabbed her purse and started thumbing through for her credit card. As the waitress walked past, Ivy signaled her for the check. She couldn’t even look at the cocky cowboy across the table from her, though she felt his eyes on her, laughing at her.