Page 34 of All We Carry Home

“You assured us you’d handle this . . .”

“There’s an added complication.” Victor’s voice.

“We can arrange . . .”

“No, that’s not necessary.”

“. . . no choice.”

“I need more time.”

“No promises.”

My heart thumped and my fists clenched. Was this why he was pressuring Eva? Some sort of development planned for Birkstrom lands? I had every confidence that I was the added complication, which might have made matters worse.

I went back downstairs and hid my face from the view of the restaurant before slipping up to the front desk, where Betty looked up from reading a dime novel. I raised a hand to keep her from announcing my name and Victor hearing it.

“Who are those men meeting with Victor Merrick?” I asked.

“I’m afraid I don’t know.” She grew somber and shook her head. “They came in once before about three months ago.”

“Anyone else ever join them?” Did Keith know anything about this? As much as I despised the man, that flash of fear in his face earlier had seemed genuine. He cared about Eva.

Betty nodded, removed her glasses, and leaned forward conspiratorially. “Mr. Yardley, the bank manager.”

I slipped outside before the men paid their bill and left the restaurant, going to my truck a few yards down the street so I could follow them.

Victor came out alone and drove in the direction of his farm and Birkstrom Ranch. The other two didn’t come out after him, which meant they were either staying at the hotel or had left through a back door.

I drove back to the ranch, a million thoughts rolling around in my head. This wasn’t just Victor trying to beat Eva in the show ring or get her kicked out of the association. This was about stealing Eva’s home—a thousand-acre ranch—and the potential payout of that land.

Money and power.

I’d need to change my tactics accordingly to protect her.

Eight

Eva

“I’ll make that fellow wish he’d never messed with the likes of us,” Eddie said with a few added curses under his breath.

I leaned back in the wicker chair on Gramps’s porch as the light faded from the day. Annie and Peter were finishing up some beans and canned stew I’d rustled from the pantry while Warren had relayed everything he’d seen and overheard in town.

The stoic, unflappable captain ignored Eddie’s tirade and stomping around, causing the occasional creaking of a loose porch board. He waited for my reaction.

What could I possibly say?

I inhaled a long, shaky breath. “The Merricks and the Birkstroms have bickered for five generations, back to when this land was first settled. Lawsuits, petty theft, practical jokes gone wrong, but I didn’t think even Victor would go this far.”

Warren’s expression stayed neutral, except for a faint twitch at the corner of his jaw. He sat on the sun-worn wicker bench across from me, and though he spoke in a calm, measured tone, I saw the same fire broiling under his gaze that he’d had when he first arrived on the ranch and interrupted Victor cornering me.

“We can’t infer too much from that conversation you heard,” I said.

Eddie stopped beside me with his hands on his hips and a scowl across his weathered face. “Eva, you can’t be serious.”

My stomach roiled. I could believe it, but I didn’t want to. As I spoke, I was trying to convince myself as much as them. “The Merricks want the farm, yes.”

“Have they offered you cash directly?” Warren asked.