Page 63 of The Cowboy’s Reckoning

Jordan spread his hands in an inviting gesture.

The broker tightened his jaw then blurted, “The LLC is R. F. Weston.”

R. F. Weston?

Jordan felt like the air had just left his body, but he managed to casually push off the desk. “There. Was that so hard?”

Connery pulled a sharp breath in through his nose. “Get out of my office or I’m calling the cops.”

“Yeah. I don’t think so,” Jordan said. “I want a meeting.”

“What?” Connery pulled his chin to his chest.

“I want to meet face-to-face. Tell the rep.” The or else was implied.

“I can’t promise that will happen.”

“Try,” Jordan said before nudging Burke and the two of them headed toward the door.

“I’m contacting my lawyer,” Connery said to their backs. “Make any of these claims public and you’ll regret it.”

Jordan lifted a hand before turning the corner into the hallway.

After striding past the stunned-looking assistant and pushing through the tinted glass exit door, he and Burke walked side by side to the truck.

“Damn. That was good,” Burke said as if he’d just enjoyed a big steak dinner. “How’d you know about Whitney?”

“Guessed.” He’d tossed out the name on a hunch and hit paydirt.

“Good guess. You totally caught him off guard.” Burke beamed. “Am I forgiven for the big trailer escape now? You got your name, and you wouldn’t have done that without me.”

“Yes,” Jordan said honestly. “Totally forgiven.”

Chapter Thirteen

Lil held up her phone as she climbed the steps into Jordan’s trailer. “Maya texted back. R. F. Weston LLC has a manager listed, no members. She says that it might be a single-owner LLC or multimember. There’s no way to tell from public records because they only have to list the manager, no one else.” Lil settled on the sofa beside him. “Do you think Connery is going to follow through with setting up a meeting?”

“I think he will. My concern is whether the other party will agree.”

“What will you do if they don’t?”

“If we can’t swing the mortgage in time, then we let them buy Jim Reed’s property and keep the Willow Creek.” The words were clipped. Matter-of-fact.

“What about Wade?” she asked softly.

“He’ll be okay. Not happy, but okay.”

“And you?” Because she didn’t believe for a second that he was okay with losing the Reed property.

“This isn’t how I’d hoped things would play out.”

“You wanted to sell this place.”

He brushed his fingers through her hair and she leaned against him, loving the security she felt being close to him.

“It seemed like a good way to not have to deal with the past. To take the money and invest it in something that had nothing to do with Carl Jordan.” He dropped his head back against the sofa cushion. “I don’t remember a lot about being four, except that my mother wasn’t there anymore, and someone kindly explained that she wasn’t coming back.”

Lil closed her eyes as she inhaled his scent. Who did that to a little kid?