Montana Hearts (18 page)

“I do not want you going over there and getting yourself hurt,” her father said, raising his voice.

“I am not going to get hurt,” she insisted, giving her horse an affectionate pat.

“Someone had a gun on you. What if he'd pulled the trigger? Or what if someone knocked into him and the gun went off by accident? What then?”

“Then we wouldn't be having this conversation,” Sammy Jo said, narrowing her gaze. “How did you hear about that?”

Her father's expression hardened. “Doesn't matter. What does matter is that you were in danger.”

Tango snorted, echoing her own reaction. “You know who threatened me?” she demanded. “It was your friend Harley Bennett, the guy you tried to fix me up with for a date. Is that the kind of man you want me to marry?”

“No,” her father said, his tone sharp. “I was wrong about him.”

“Then maybe,” Sammy Jo said, pressing her advantage, “you could also be wrong about Luke.”

“He's not the man for you either,” her father stormed.

“Because he's a Collins?”

“Yes.
No.
He's . . . he's . . . far too assertive.”

“Yes,” Sammy Jo said, and smiled, thinking of the way Luke had transformed back into his former self both inside and out over the last few weeks. “And I'm glad he is. Luke is the one who saved me from the rustlers that night.”

“He wouldn't have had to if you weren't there,” her father pointed out.

“I've been helping the Collinses keep an eye on their ranch to keep the rustlers from stealing any more cows.”

“Don't you have enough to worry about with your job at the horse camp?”

“I love the Collinses and will do whatever I can to help them.”

Her father scowled. “You
think
you're in love with Luke.”

“I know I am. And you had no right to tell him about my inheritance.”

“Of course I did. The guy is only pretending interest in you. Do you think I bought that little act he did when he came over for dinner, pulling you onto his lap and calling you ‘sweetheart'?”

Sammy Jo flushed. “He may have gone a little overboard.”

“He'd do whatever it takes to get his hands on those building permits.”

“He'd never hurt me.”

“Then why does he allow you to come over into a hostile environment?”

“Now I think
you
'
re
the one who's going overboard. I'd hardly call Collins Country Cabins hostile territory. They're dealing with some nightly theft, but no one's come to any harm.”

“Except
you
.”

“Dad, I'm fine. Really.”

“Well, I'm
not
fine with this at all. I'm concerned for your safety.”

Sammy Jo rolled her eyes. “Look—­”

“Let me finish,” her father said, holding up his hand. “I'll make you another deal. You stay away from the Collinses and avoid all contact with them, and I'll make sure their cabins pass their final inspection.”

“Using your job to manipulate ­people is wrong,” Sammy Jo spat. “Especially when you use it to try to manipulate
me
. Is this why Mom left? Did you try to manipulate her, too?”

Her father's eyes widened. “Don't you dare try to twist this conversation around. You may hate me right now, but I have to do what I think is best. Now do we have a deal or not?”

“Stay away from the Collinses?” Sammy Jo asked, glaring at him. “For how long?”

“Six months.”

She gasped. “Never in a million years would I agree to something so outrageous as that!”

His expression darkened. “If you do not agree, then you'll have to go live with your mother in Wyoming.”

He
'
d kick her out?
Her eyes stung and with an inward groan she tried to hold back the tears she knew would follow. Tears would be a sign of weakness and her father would think he could overtake the conversation and win.

“I make enough money to rent my own place,” she retorted. It was true. Although there weren't any rentals in Fox Creek, which meant she'd have to find a place miles away from the town—­and ­people—­she loved. Not to mention, she'd need to find a stall for her horse, which would cost almost as much as her rent, and pay for utilities, insurance, food, medical, and other costs.

Her spirits plummeted. She'd taken the job at Happy Trails Horse Camp because she loved it, not because it brought in a whole lot of income. If she moved out, she'd need to find a better-­paying job. And the thought of leaving the girls she worked with filled her with dread.

“You can't afford to move out,” her father taunted, as if reading her thoughts.

She raised her chin, determined to remain strong. “I can live with the Collinses. I'm sure they'd love to have me and if I'm right there it will be even easier for me to help keep watch at night.”

“Everyone knows the Collinses are on the brink of bankruptcy and possible foreclosure. If they don't have the cabins available to host the incoming wedding party, they won't have enough money to keep their place. Then you'll all be out of a home. Do you want to be responsible for that? Knowing that if you'd just agree to stay away for a few months you could save them?”

“I
do
hate you!” she shouted. “How could you do this to me?”

“Because
I
love you, whether you believe it or not. And I'll do everything within my power to protect you.”

A hot tear fell down over Sammy Jo's left cheek. She swiped it away but more followed until, unable to keep up with them, she gave up. “If I
do
agree to your ‘
deal
' what happens after six months? I can resume my relationship with the Collinses with no further interference from you?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“And I can date Luke?”

He hesitated, then said, “Yes. If he still wants you.”

Of course Luke would still want me. Why wouldn
'
t he?
And they could still talk on the phone, and text, even though Luke had an aversion to cell phones and text messages. But he could learn. And they could Skype, see each other through their laptops. Military families were often forced to separate for months at a time, sometimes even years. Surely she and Luke could handle being apart for six months. She'd have to miss Ryan and Bree's engagement party but she could still be in the wedding early next summer.

“If you love the Collinses as much as you say you do,” her father taunted, “you'll sacrifice your own desires and do what's best for them.”

At the moment she thought her father was a monster, but considering her choices, she knew he was right. Without the final inspection approval on the cabins, the Collinses' ranch would fail. If the wedding party pulled out, there's no way they'd be able to fill the empty cabins in time to recoup the money they needed. Bree had told her how desperate they were. The guest ranch was barely surviving week to week.

Her stomach twisted tight at the thought of losing six months with Luke. But if the Collinses lost the ranch and he moved on . . . maybe even back to Florida . . . well, it was possible she could lose him either way.

Just agree and then sneak over at night to see him.
The thought had merit. After all, why should she keep her word to a man who would put her in a position like this in the first place?

“Okay,” she said through gritted teeth. “I'll accept your deal. But you better have your inspector friend run out to reverse his decision and give the Collinses approval for occupancy
this afternoon
. And you better not say another word against Luke or any of the Collinses in my presence
ever
again. Especially when Luke and I start dating at the end of January, six months from
today
.”

Her father held her gaze and gave her a nod. “And if you break your promise to me and I find out that you've seen any of the Collinses behind my back, I want you to remember who still holds the ownership papers on Tango.”

Sammy Jo's heart lurched violently in her chest and she shook her head, unwilling to grasp what he was implying. He couldn't possibly mean to take away her baby. Not the one who'd comforted her most year after year when she felt no one else was around.
No way
.

“After you turned eighteen, we talked about transferring the horse into your name but we never got around to it. Tango still belongs to me, and if you defy me and break this deal, I
will
sell him.”

Sammy Jo looped her arms protectively around her beloved barrel racer's neck and gasped. “You
wouldn
't
!”

L
UKE STARED AT
his cell phone, his hate for text messages growing stronger with each incoming text. The thing was pure evil. In fact, a demon must have gained possession of Sammy Jo's phone because she would
never
type in the words scrawled across his screen.

She couldn't see him anymore? Not for six months? What kind of nonsense was that? There had rarely been a day in the past or since his return home two months before that they hadn't seen each other.

Maybe her father wrote it.

Yeah, that was it. Her father must have picked up her phone and decided to kick him while he was down, as if the blow of failing the cabin inspection hadn't been enough.

Then that afternoon the building inspector showed up out of the blue and tore down the failed inspection notice. Without even remeasuring, the man put up a new sign that granted them approval for occupancy . . . and it was even signed.

Luke's family had been as dumbfounded as he, but while they celebrated, he looked across the property line to the Macphersons' house, a sick ache tormenting his gut. No doubt Andrew Macpherson had a hand in this somehow, and after rereading the texts he had a pretty good idea
why
.

He could see what must have happened as clearly as if he'd been present, and his chest tightened, pinching his heart, as his mind reeled again and again around one dreaded question.

Sammy Jo, what have you done?

Later that night, Luke drove the gator over the fields to the Macphersons' backyard and tossed a ­couple pebbles against Sammy Jo's bedroom window to draw her attention. Usually she left her window open, but tonight it was cooler than it had been in a long time. He bent down to pick up a few more stones when the glass pane lifted and Sammy Jo stuck her head out.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her soft whisper full of alarm. “I told you I can't see you.”

“Or what?” Luke asked, careful to keep his voice low. “Your father will send the inspector back out to revoke our cabin approval again?”

“No,” she told him, and she glanced behind her as if to make sure they were alone. “My father threatened to sell my horse.”

“Of all the low, dirty, rotten things—­” Luke broke off before he said something that would sink him down to her father's level. “I'm not going to let him take your horse and I'm not going to let him keep me from seeing you either.”

Sammy Jo dropped her elbows down on the window ledge and cupped her cheeks with her hands. “I've tried to reason with him. But he won't listen. I guess I'm not as persuasive as I thought because this is one fight I don't think I can win.”

He leaned forward and brushed his mouth across hers with a quick kiss. “Yes, you can.”

“How?”

Luke handed over the video disc in his hands. “Our surveillance tape caught your father on our property the other night. He's with the rustlers. Your father has been the one trying to sabotage our ranch all along.”

“No.” Sammy Jo shook her head. “You must be mistaken. My father might have manipulated your permits, but he would never do something like that. He'd never steal anyone's cows, or light their hay on fire, or steal money, or . . .”

“Have me beat up?” Luke asked.

Sammy Jo shook her head again. “He wouldn't.”

Luke took her hands in his and gave them a slight squeeze. “There's no doubt it's him in the video. He was speaking to Harley and a ­couple of the others before we chased them away.”

“Did you hear what they said?” she asked.

“No.”

“Well, then, maybe . . . maybe my father was trying to stop them.”

“Doubt it. In fact, the way your father bent down in a huddle with the others, it looked like he was the quarterback in charge.”

Sammy Jo held his gaze and remained silent a moment. Then she drew in a deep breath and asked, “So what do we do? Threaten my father with the tape and see if he'll sign over the papers for my horse?”

“No. I need to take the video to the sheriff.”

Her eyes widened. “But if found guilty, my father could be
arrested
!”

Luke nodded. “That's true.”

“You
can't
!” she exclaimed, her whisper harsh. “Not without talking to him first. His ways may be unfair and he may have let this feud with your family get him in over his head, but he's not a bad man, Luke.”

“We'll let the authorities make that decision,” he said, softening his tone.

Sammy Jo pulled her hands away from his. “No. Don't do this. You can't. No matter how mad I am at him right now, he's
still
my father.”

“And he's still guilty of trespassing on our land,” Luke argued, “and consorting with cattle rustlers.”

“I can't lose him,” Sammy Jo warned.

“And I can't let my family lose our ranch,” Luke said, trying to get her to understand. “If we don't take action now, who knows if the rustlers will come back tonight? We need to stop this, once and for all.”