The Secret Truth at Dare Ranch (19 page)

She
tried to scoot around him and walk away but Mitch grasped her upper arms to
hold her in place. Lexie turned her face away. He shook her gently. Her chin
came up and she speared him with raw hurt glittering in her eyes. "Don't
you see? It doesn't matter what he thinks. Mason's gone, Lexie," he said
with deliberate harshness in his voice. "But the old man might as well
still be living in this house. You've never let him go or the influence he had
over your life. It's time you did...and the ranch along with him."

She
jerked from his arms. "Don’t you understand? I can't," she rasped in
an emotionally laden voice.

She
walked quickly from the kitchen leaving Mitch alone. He understood all too well.
She would fight up until the bitter end. Now was his chance. So what was
stopping him? Why didn't he just go to the phone, call the bank and finish it?

Because
he was too afraid, scared down to his soul that he would lose Lexie and Dani
and the life they had begun to build together. He went out into the hall to get
his coat. There was only one thing to do. Make a
new
deal.

Chapter Eleven

Lexie
lifted an old photograph of her and Parker from the box of pictures she'd pulled
from the top shelf in her closet. She smiled remembering when it had been taken.
Parker smiled back at her from the photo, his hair mussed by the breeze, his
eyes glinted with the familiar spark of mischief.

Her
heart ached as she looked at his face. Why did he have to die? He was such a
good person and so full of life. She glanced about the room at the familiar
pieces of furniture, the faded wallpaper she hadn't been able to replace.

She'd
given herself some time to grow used to the idea of losing the ranch. Lexie
looked back at the picture. How would she ever become accustomed to living in a
strange house on a new patch of land without memories like the one she held in
her hand surrounding her?

Mitch's
words from a few weeks before resonated with truth. Could he be right? Why
couldn't she just accept defeat and move on? One thing for sure, now she had no
choice.

Her
thirty days were almost up. Mitch and Dani had spent a great deal of time
together over the last month and she had continued training horses and biding
time. Mitch had taken them both to Chimney Rock's Fall Carnival.

They'd
screamed in excitement and fear together as they'd braved the wild roller
coaster, eaten tons of junk food and through it all Lexie had discovered once again
how to have fun. She couldn't help smiling in spite of all that had happened. It
had been nice to have someone to lean on and forget her troubles with at least for
a while. But the most frightening thing of all was that she'd grown even closer
to Mitch during that time and fallen even more in love with him. He'd been
charming, caring and funny. He'd helped her on the ranch when she'd needed it
despite the fact that she knew he still wanted the land. As if by tacit
agreement, they hadn't talked that much about it. They talked more about old
times and Dani of course.  

She
placed the photo in the box, put the lid back on and thought about all the
memories the box contained. At least until the deadline the house, the land and
everything in it were still hers. She would think of them that way until the
last hour of the last minute of the last day when she and Dani would climb in
the truck and drive over the cattle guard for the final time.

She'd
taken a kind of inventory of the house. She'd walked around the house, making
lists, jotting down notes trying to decide what to keep and what to sell. After
a few days, Lexie had come to the decision that most everything they had would need
to be sold. Their next house would be smaller for sure and they wouldn't need
half of this stuff.

She
and Dani could buy new as money allowed. How would she keep Dani from the hurt
she was going to feel? She knew that she couldn't. Her little girl would be
hurt and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Late
morning sun streamed through the den windows. She listened to the wind buffet
the house and moan about the eaves in a gentle murmur. It was a comforting
sound, a sound that spelled...home. Unexpected tears sprang to her eyes and she
blinked them back.

Today
was an ordinary Friday, she thought, and yet in a few hours the ranch, the
house and all of the ranch's equipment would be put on the auction block. Outside
a blanket of blue draped the sky. She'd taken a meatloaf out of the freezer and
set it on the counter to thaw. She would make mashed potatoes to go with it--Dani's
favorite. They would both need some comfort food after today.

The
bank had contacted an auction house over in Alamosa and arranged for them to
conduct the sale. She listened to the voices of the men who'd arrived earlier to
move the furniture outside. Having the furniture outside would make it easier
for the buyers to examine it and place their bids. At least she wouldn't have
people from all over the county tromping through the house.

Lexie
taped a red tag on her father’s large, maple desk in the study. She tied one
around an antique clock that had belonged to her mother. Lexie sighed and
squared her shoulders against the tide of emotions that assailed her. She had
to be strong. For Dani's sake and for hers or they would never make it through
this. They needed to move forward with confidence and hope for the new life
they wanted to build.

Think
of the positive, she thought. It was a good thing that she no longer had loan
payments hanging over her head. Wasn't it? Who was she kidding? She would take
back those payments in a second if she could have the ranch back. She sighed
and tried to feel relief.

"Hold
everything, boys.”

Harlen
Fielding's voice echoed down the main hall from the front of the house. Toby
started barking, jumped from his perch on the sofa and dashed out of the room.

"Stop
moving furniture. Bring everything back in. Auction's been called off,"
Harlen continued.

Harlen's
statement was followed by a series of groans from the movers. Lexie stopped in
her tracks. Her heart picked up rhythm and her pulse leaped in disbelief. Could
it be true? Relief that she'd been trying to find over not worrying anymore
about her loan flooded through her. Lexie clasped her hands together and held
them beneath her chin. She closed her eyes and smiled.
Thank you, Lord.

Lexie
opened her eyes and blinked back tears of joy. Harlen must have been able to
convince the board to give her an extension. She tossed the stack of tags onto
her father's desk and walked briskly down the hall to the foyer. Toby danced at
Harlen's feet begging for some attention. Harlen leaned over, patted him on the
head then straightened. A grin split his face.

With
a spring in her step, Lexie hurried over to him and laid her hand on his arm. "Harlen,
thank you for talking to the board. I'm so grateful.” She heard the sound of
her voice as emotion thickened her words but she didn't care. "How did you
convince them to give me an extension? You were so adamant the other day that
they wouldn't change their minds."

Harlen
shook his head. "No, Lexie, I didn't talk to the board.” He strolled over
to a table in the foyer and picked up a large, manila envelope. He handed it to
her and said, "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you, Lexie, and relieved
that we don't have to foreclose after all. Mitch and the Brookfield Foundation
satisfied the loan."

His
words struck her like a hot needle through the heart. "What?" she
said barely managing to croak out the word.

One
of the movers, dressed in dusty overalls shuffled over. He slid a worn cap from
his head and slapped it against his thigh. "Are we still going to get paid,
Mr. Fielding? We were promised a day's wages."

Harlen
patted his shoulder. "Your wages will be covered," he assured him. The
man nodded and smiled before he walked outside followed by the other men.

Mitch
bought the ranch.

Lexie
couldn't believe it. Hurt flooded through her in a jagged, hot stream. How
could he?

She
gripped Harlen's arm as shock rolled through her. "When did this happen?” 

Harlen
smiled at her obviously misinterpreting her words for happiness rather than
shock and disbelief. "The majority of the land is gone but you get to keep
the house plus fifty acres. So there's good news all around," he said with
excitement. He gestured toward the front door. "Don't worry about the
furniture. The men will move everything back inside.”

He
reached out and pumped her hand. "Again I'm so happy for you, Lexie.” He
tipped his hat. "Call on Mavis sometime. She'd love to see you. And give
Dani a hug for me.” With those last words, he strolled through the door into
the bright, fall sunshine.

Lexie
stood in the hallway stunned down to her bones. Everything seemed enhanced
somehow by the shocking news. Sounds like the ticking of a clock and the soft
click of Toby's claws on the wood floor grew louder, more pronounced. She felt
every nuance of the wood beneath her feet. She heard the intense thumping of
the pulse in her ears, the voices of the men outside and the distant call of a
bird. He had congratulated her as if she'd just been told she'd won the lottery.

The
ranch that she and Dani called home, the land she loved with every fiber in her
body was gone and with it any chance of healing the past between her and her
father. "This can't be true," she said to herself. "It can't
be."

Anger
rolled through the shock.

Mitch
bought the land behind my back.

Lexie
sucked in a breath to fight the lump of emotion swelling in her throat and
clenched her hands into fists. Her breath shuddered out in a rough spasm of
sound. "That dirty, low down, scheming jerk," she murmured in a harsh
whisper. "He's damn well got some explaining to do.” Lexie pitched the
envelope onto the side table and stomped out of the house.

Chapter Twelve

By
the time Lexie reached Judson's house she had managed by sheer will and
determination to beat back her tears and let her anger steam through. The
garage door stood open and Mitch's head popped up when she swung the car into
the driveway. With a snap of her wrist, Lexie cut the engine and slammed out of
the truck. She strode to the edge of the garage. Mitch stood up and smiled at
her. Her heart turned over despite the pain and fury she felt.

He
wore an old, grey sweat shirt with the University of Colorado logo on it and
jeans that were worn white at the knees. Grease covered his hands and tools lay
scattered on the cement floor of the garage where he'd been repairing his dad's
lawn mower. He pulled off his baseball cap, raked a hand through his hair. "Hi,
what are you doing here? Not that I mind," he said with a small shrug of
one shoulder.

Lexie
smiled back but she didn't put any warmth behind it. His smile faded. "What's
wrong?

Every
muscle in her body grew taut. She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. "How
can you even ask? You betrayed me. How could you? Even when you helped build
the new barn and helped me save those cows in the river...you still planned to
take the ranch. Didn't you?”  Her voice grew higher in pitch with each word.

Mitch
slapped his hat down onto the floor of the garage. "Damn it, Harlen said
he would wait until this afternoon.”

Lexie
waved a hand through the air then let her arm drop to her side. "I'm
standing there putting tags on furniture when Harlen bursts in all smiles and
grins congratulating me. He says, 'Oh yeah, Mitch and the Brookfield Foundation
have taken care of everything.” She flicked her gaze to his. "You took
care of it all right."

"Lexie,
you need to understand that what I did was for you, for Dani and for
Parker."

She
made a sound of disgust. "Spare me your excuses. You went behind my back!"

Mitch
held his hands out to the side. "I know that and I'm sorry.” He paced a
few steps then turned toward her again. "But you have the house and fifty
acres. You can still train horses and live on the land that your love.” He held
out a hand with his palm upward. "Think about it, Lex. You and Dani won't
have to move," he said as if that resolved everything. "Your debts
have been paid. You can start fresh.” He shook his head and laughed without
mirth. "I honestly don't understand why you aren't happy about this?"

Disbelief
ripped through her. She lay a hand in the middle of her chest and felt the mad
thumping of her own heart. "Happy!  You must be joking!  Mitch, I've lost the
majority of the land. It's gone. Forever."

He
started toward her and she held up a hand. "Don't, it's over between us.” Even
as she said the words, her heart ripped in two. "Whatever we had...whatever
we started together...is over.” A cold expression of hurt and anger settled on
his handsome face. So finally the tables had turned. She'd hurt him, she'd
really hurt him. Then why didn't she feel some sense of satisfaction, some dim
feeling that she'd been compensated however remotely for the loss of her land?