Page 84 of The Cowboy’s Reckoning

Lil and Jordan followed Meg to the house as his brothers drove away. Lil stopped short of the door. Then she walked into his arms and squeezed him tight. When she let go, she didn’t look at him. Instead, she said, “I’ll get you some blankets.”

*

Lil woke the next morning to a tap on her door. It had been a hellishly long night, made only slightly better by Jordan’s presence. If he hadn’t offered to stay, she would have asked.

When she cracked the door, she was surprised to see Jordan and not Meg in the hall. She opened the door wider, but he stayed put in the hall.

“I heard from Libby. Do you care if she stops by?”

“Here?”

“If you agree. If not, then I’ll come up with another place.”

“Here is fine.” Lil gripped the door frame. “Does she know what happened?”

“You’re not going to believe this—she was Connery’s phone call from jail. She knows and she’s upset.”

“This should be good,” Lil said.

Shortly after noon that day, a sedan drove into the ranch and parked near the front gate leading to the house. He and Meg and Lil had already consumed a pot of coffee during the wait, and another was brewing.

Libby Weston was not alone. A man in his fifties, dressed in jeans and a tailored wool jacket, took her arm as they walked together toward the door.

“Lawyer?” Meg asked.

“That’d be my guess,” Jordan said as Lil went to the door. Libby stepped into the kitchen looking very much like a woman who was about to run a board meeting, until she met Jordan’s gaze and he realized that she was nervous. Well, she was in enemy territory.

“Good morning, Jordan. This is my associate Greg Connery.”

“Related to—”

“Yes,” she said, unbuttoning her coat.

“Lillian McAllen,” he pointed to Lil. “Megan McAllen.” He used their full names since this appeared to be a formal meeting.

After introductions, Meg poured coffee and the five of them took seats at the big oak table.

“Have you been here before?” Lil asked.

Libby shook her head, then pulled her cup closer to her. “We lived in Washington State when my father bought the place in the 1970s.” She glanced at her associate, who merely nodded. “He was thinking getaway hotel at the time, something along the lines of what Sun Valley, Idaho had been in the thirties and forties, then decided it was too much for him. He made a decent profit when Carl bought it, so that worked out.” She focused on her coffee cup. “I met Carl when he bought the property. Dad wanted me to oversee the sale because he was out of the country, so I did. We fell in love.” She brought her gaze up to meet Jordan’s. “No. I did not know about you or his affair with your mother until the reading of the will.”

Jordan didn’t press for more. “Why did Con—Jess call you last night?”

She sniffed. “He thought I would bail him out.” She looked at Greg and it was obvious to Jordan that it was more than a casual glance from an associate.

These two knew one another well. Maybe too well, which might have led to Carl wanting to have some posthumous revenge.

“My half-brother Jess and I went into partnership with Libby to develop this property under the assumption that Libby would inherit her father’s former ranch and that she could choose not to renew the conservancy, thus linking the properties,” Greg said. “We had investors provide predevelopment funding with the understanding that they would receive their money back if the project didn’t progress as planned.” A sour look crossed his face. “Jess was careless with the funds.”

“Embezzlement?” Meg asked.

“We are not putting a name to anything,” Libby said. “But given the circumstances, I thought it was best if there are no secrets about what led to this unfortunate series of events.”

“Libby and I had no clue as to what was going on,” Greg added. “That’s why we’re here. Transparency. Long story short, I’m suing my brother.”

“I’m glad you’re going the legal route,” Lil muttered.

Libby’s chin went up. “We don’t shoot cows, Ms. McAllen.”