Page 9 of Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn 4)
And there it is, the reason he’s here.
Not me.
The land.
The ugly greed in his eyes made Lucy shudder. How had she not seen it earlier? On the surface, he was an attractive-enough man, but it didn’t take much to see who he really was.
In that moment of desperation, with her emotions in a tailspin, she considered his offer. Saying yes would free her from him, but it would also give him the water rights to the area. It would cripple any chance of the ranch ever being used for cattle in the future. It was also the place where her great-great-grandparents had built the first family home. There were memories on that land, even a small cemetery. It wasn’t an easy yes.
It would be so easy to leave.
Admit that I don’t belong here.
But who will I be then?
How far is that from becoming like Steven or my mother?
Lucy shook her head and said, “By tomorrow I’ll be able to pay you most of what I owe you. I should have the rest within six months. I’m sorry, but my answer is no.”
The calm man of a moment before fell away like a disguise, and his expression twisted in anger. “We could have done this amicably, but you’re dead set to make it ugly. If you don’t give that land to me, everything that happens after I walk out of here is on your head. You don’t want to cross me.”
“I’m not afraid of you, and you’re not getting my land. Now kindly get out of my house.”
Ted firmly placed his hat back on his head. “Oh, I will, but do you know how many of the men out there work for me? All of them. That is, they used to. I wonder how good you’ll feel about sitting in your house while you watch them lose theirs.”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“Consider it done—unless you’ve changed your mind. No? You’ve never been very bright, Lucy. I wonder how you’ll leave here when you lose—like your brother or like your mother?”
Lucy gasped at the ugliness of his words.
“I’ve heard enough,” a male voice said in a deadly tone.
Lucy swung around. David.
He was standing in the doorway beside Wyatt. They both looked angry to the point of violence.
“Who are you?” Ted demanded.
“Someone who can buy and sell your pathetic ass ten times over.” David took out a checkbook. “How much does she owe you? I know all about the contract she signed with you. I’m prepared to pay you what she owes right now. Then I’ll give you exactly two minutes to get your sorry self and your men off this property.”
“Or you’ll do what?” Ted snarled.
Lucy stood in paralyzed silence as the scene unfolded. She kept shaking her head, but none of the men in the room were paying attention to her. No. No. No.
This isn’t right.
If David pays off Ted, how has anything changed?
What have I proved about myself?
All I will have done is lose again.
David handed his phone to Wyatt. “I’ve never cared much for technology, but every phone now records video. Funny thing about the Internet. Once things get on there, they’re impossible to make disappear. I started recording as soon as we walked in and guessed where this was headed. The way I see it, the next part of the video can either include you graciously accepting a check from me to cover what Lucy owes, or it can be what justifies the beating I give you when you refuse. Your choice.”
“Two hundred fifty thousand,” Ted said, as if that would change David’s mind.
David wrote out a check and threw it at him. “Take it and get the hell out of here. Now.”
Ted looked from Lucy to David. He wanted to say something else, that much was obvious, but he glanced over at Wyatt, who was still filming, and pocketed the check. With a smile at the camera, he said, “I have my money, and I didn’t marry a cheating whore. In the end, I did win.”
In a flash, David closed the short distance between them and punched him full in the face. Ted fell to the floor, then scrambled back to his feet and wiped blood from his nose. “I don’t know who you are, but you’ll regret this.”
David shot Wyatt a signal to stop filming. Then he said, “Rule one of battle. Know your enemy and what they’re capable of. If I see you around Lucy again, I will kill you with my bare hands, and there isn’t a court in Texas that’ll convict me. Think about that when you consider tangling with me.”
“Fuck you. You can have her.” Ted stormed out, and the room fell silent.
David turned to Lucy and walked over to ask her if she was okay.
All the emotion that had been building in Lucy burst forth, and she slapped him.
David’s head snapped back, then he rubbed his cheek and shook his head in confusion. “What the hell was that for?”
Fighting back angry tears, Lucy said, “You had no right.”
He was still puffed up with adrenaline and too much testosterone. “He was threatening you.”
A part of Lucy acknowledged that, but fury was whipping through her. She hated herself for believing Ted again, even for a moment. She couldn’t understand why she’d simply stood there letting them discuss her fate as if she were no more capable of thinking for herself than the steers outside.
Instead of feeling freed from her debt, she felt like she’d been bought. Again. This time by a man who was looking so proud of himself, she wanted to smack him again. Even harder than before because part of her loved how he’d jumped to her defense. Maybe kick him once or twice for how gorgeous he looked as he did it, how she’d found herself both excited and furious with him at the same time.
I should have yelled for them to stop.
I should have told David to keep his money.
No wonder men keep taking over my life—I let them.
That ends now.
“I told you not to come.” Everything she should have told Ted she now said to David. “I don’t want your money. I don’t want to owe anyone anything. By tomorrow night you’ll have a check for most of it. I don’t know how, but I’ll pay you back the rest. Every last penny.”
“You don’t have to rush, Lucy. I did it because I care—”
“Don’t say it. Those are just words people throw around to try to control each other. I don’t want anything from you. And stop looking like you think I should thank you. All you did was make me hate myself more. Get out of my house.”
David looked across to Wyatt for support, but the older man walked over and said, “When a woman asks a gentleman to leave, he does. Come on.” He guided a reluctant-looking David out of the house.
Only after the door closed behind them did Lucy allow her tears to fall. She sank to her knees and wept into her hands. Her tears were those of anger and regret. Of all the times she’d imagined how she would feel if she ever saw David again, she’d never imagined she could hate him.
Or is it just me I hate?
Lucy wiped away her tears and stood. She was shaking from head to toe, but she forced herself to calm down. If I stay in here, it’s my fault no one thinks I can do this. My daddy raised me to be stronger.
She opened the door and stepped out onto her porch. Ted and his men were gone. Wyatt stood with the men he’d brought over, showing them David’s video. David was standing off to one side as if he were uncomfortable with what Wyatt was doing.
At her appearance, David took a step toward Lucy, then stopped and waited. One by one, the men turned and looked toward the porch. It was a pivotal moment, and Lucy knew it. They want to know what I’m made of. Am I victim or a fighter?
She raised her voice and used a tone she’d often heard her daddy use. “Well, what are all y’all waiting for? We’ve got cattle to load.”
And just like that the men went back to saddling up their horses and positioning the fencing.
Wyatt nodded his approval.
David held her gaze for a long, sad moment—long enough for Lucy to regret most of what she’d said to him, but that didn’t stop her from feeling that she could never be wit
h him until she was no longer in debt to him.
She looked away and walked over to join some men who were deciding which stock trailer to fill first. She asked what she could do to help, and was soon positioning the vehicles with precision. She might not know how to run the ranch, but she’d certainly done her share of work on it.
Wyatt came to stand beside the door of a truck she’d just parked. “Do you think you were a mite hard on your friend?”
