Читать книгу: «The Rancher's Spittin' Image»

One

The three women stood, shoulders almost touching, staring up at the portrait of their father that had hung over the fireplace in the den of their family home for over twenty years. Pictured astride his horse, the aptly named Satan, Lucas McCloud seemed a man born to a saddle. The artist had captured him leaning forward slightly with his forearm braced casually atop the saddle horn and the bridle’s leather reins gathered loosely in his opposite hand.

Set against a panorama of blue Texas sky and the rocky hills and green meadows that made up the Double-Cross Heart Ranch, both rider and horse appeared indomitable. One could almost feel the stallion’s wildness captured by the artist’s brush. Standing on a slab of limestone that jutted from a high ridge, with his ears cocked forward, his head held high, the horse met the viewer’s gaze with an arrogance, a ripple of muscled strength, a compelling dominance that equaled that of the man on his back.

And no one was more aware of these traits than the three women who stood staring up at the portrait. They’d stood just so every year on this same date for eleven years, to mourn as well as honor the man pictured above them.

Yet anyone who saw them together would never dream the three were sisters, that they shared the same parents, the same pool of genes. The daughters of Lucas McCloud were as different in personality as they were in looks.

Mandy, the oldest, stood to the left of the portrait, her hands molded around a mug of steaming coffee. An almost fragile look disguised a deep inner strength and a will that matched that of the man who’d spawned her. Thick auburn hair brushed her slim shoulders, a testament to her femininity, while a denim work shirt and faded jeans, her standard wear, hid her soft curves. Her chin was tipped high, almost in defiance, with only the slight tremble in her lips giving her emotions away as she stared up at the painting of her father.

Samantha, or Sam as her family called her—a much more fitting name for the tomboy of the family—stood in the middle, the tips of her fingers tucked rigidly into the front pockets of her faded jeans. Raven-black hair, scraped back in a ponytail, hung almost to the middle of her back. Though tears burned behind her eyes, her lips remained pressed together, showing no emotion as she stared at the man who’d dominated her life until his death.

Merideth held the position at the right, her long graceful fingers wound negligently around a crystal wineglass. Taller than the others by two inches, Merideth was often mistaken as the oldest...but one look at the pouty lips, the bored expression, quickly gave away her position of honor as the baby of the family. Her sisters, the McCloud housekeeper and everyone else who came in contact with Merideth had succeeded in spoiling her rotten after her mother’s untimely death in a car accident by giving in to her fits of temper, her unending demands. Lucas was the only one who’d had the grit to stand firm against her, refusing to give her what she truly wanted most...a one-way ticket away from the confines of the Double-Cross Heart Ranch.

With a sigh, Merideth turned away from the portrait, tucking a stray lock of blond hair behind her ear. “Well, I for one am glad he’s gone.”

Horrified, Mandy wheeled to stare at her. “Merideth!”

Merideth shrugged as she sank fluidly onto the leather sofa, drawing one slender foot beneath her. She pushed out her lower lip and jutted her chin in the famous pout that had earned her the nickname “the woman America most loves to hate” from Soap Opera Digest. “Well, it’s the truth,” she said disagreeably. “He was mean and domineering and controlled our lives until the day he died.” She lifted her gaze, meeting Mandy’s shocked one with one of defiance. “You, of all people, can attest to that.”

Though her cheeks reddened with heat, Mandy tightened her grip on her mug and managed to keep her tone even. “He was our father,” she returned. “He loved us—in his way. Besides,” she added emphatically, “it was his wealth that enabled all of us to achieve our dreams. You should at least be grateful for that.”

Merideth dipped her chin, peering at Mandy from beneath one neatly arched brow. “Our dreams?” she repeated, drilling Mandy with a look that had sent stage directors and makeup artists alike running for cover.

“Back off, Merideth,” Sam warned as she, too, turned away from the portrait.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” she exclaimed in annoyance, shifting her gaze to Sam. “It’s true and you know it. You were able to go to veterinary school, which Daddy would never have allowed if he’d lived, and I bought a ticket to New York and the means to live as high as I want while I do what I’ve always wanted to do, act. But what did Mandy get? Hmmm?” she quizzed pointedly as she turned to Mandy for an answer.

“I got the ranch,” Mandy murmured, turning away.

“We all got the ranch,” Merideth reminded her. “But you were the only one who wanted to continue to live here and run the place. What I want to know is what Daddy’s wealth bought you. Was it able to buy you your dreams?”

Mandy felt the tension build in her back as Merideth’s words stabbed into old wounds still unhealed. “I have the money. I’ve just never chosen to spend it... until now.”

Merideth immediately sat up, dropping her foot to the floor and scooting to the edge of the sofa. “Now?” she repeated, then quickly shook her head, shoving out a hand to stop Mandy before she could reply. “Oh, puh-l-e-e-ease tell me you’re not going to buy some new exotic breed of cattle to run, or build some new monstrosity of a barn on the Double-Cross?”

Mandy turned back, glancing first at Sam, then Merideth. “No. I’m going to buy the Circle Bar.”

Merideth bolted to her feet while Sam’s eyes widened in shock. Both women were more than familiar with the Circle Bar, the ranch that bordered their own, and with the feud that had raged between the two for four generations.

It was Sam who found her tongue first. “You’re going to buy the Circle Bar? B-but why?” she stammered.

“Because I’ve heard that it might be for sale,” Mandy replied, lifting her chin, praying her two sisters would leave it at that. But she should have known better. Merideth, especially, would never accept such a vague response.

“Reason enough if you had a need for it...which you don’t.” Merideth narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “So what’s the real reason behind your interest in the Circle Bar? Do you think that it will bring Jes—”

“No!” Mandy all but shouted to keep Merideth from fully saying the name out loud. “I’m buying it for Jaime. He has a right to some portion of his heritage.”

The quietest and at times the most softhearted of the three, Sam moved to Mandy’s side, draping a sympathetic arm over her sister’s shoulder. “Jaime doesn’t need the Circle Bar,” she comforted. “He’s got you and the Double-Cross. He doesn’t need anything from the Barristers.”

Though she understood Sam’s reasoning and appreciated the show of support, Mandy stepped from beneath her sister’s arm, tightening her fingers around the ceramic mug. “I think he does...or will, at the very least. I can’t give him his father, but I can give him a link with his past.”

Merideth lifted her hands heavenward, then dropped them limply to her sides in frustration. “It’s a good thing Daddy’s gone because if he heard you talking such nonsense, he’d lock you in your room for the rest of your life!”

Mandy turned her eyes on Merideth, meeting her sister’s gaze steadily. “But that’s just it. Daddy is gone. He can’t stop me from doing what I want anymore.” She set her mug on the desk, then rounded it, dropping onto the sofa next to Merideth. “There’ve been rumors since Wade Barrister’s death that the Circle Bar might be put up for sale. If anyone deserves to own it, Jaime does.”

“Whether that’s true or not is irrelevant,” Merideth argued. “You know as well as I do that Margo Barrister would never sell the Circle Bar to a McCloud.”

A sly smile turned up the corner of Mandy’s mouth. “She’ll never know until it’s too late.”

Merideth reared back, looking at Mandy askance. “And how in the world do you think you can buy the ranch without Margo being the wiser? After all, she is Wade’s widow.”

“I’ve already thought all this out. I’m going to talk to my lawyer tomorrow. I’m going to request that he set up a dummy corporation, one that can’t possibly be traced back to me. The corporation will buy the property, then, when Jaime’s of age, I’ll change the deed to his name. He’ll have an inheritance of sorts. Something that no one can deny him.”

Merideth, who prided herself on her ability to work a situation to her favor, acknowledged Mandy’s cleverness with a spattering of applause, then rubbed her palms together with glee. “Margo will be furious!”

Mandy’s smile broadened. “Yes, she will won’t she?”

Merideth fell back against the sofa, hooting at the ceiling. “Oh, I hope I’m there to see her face when she finds out the news. The old biddy. It’ll serve her right for all her wicked ways.”

Sam didn’t accept the news with the same enthusiasm. She, too, crossed to the sofa and sank down next to Mandy, concern for her sister wrinkling her forehead. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Sometimes it’s best to let the past alone. You might be borrowing trouble if you go through with this. Margo won’t take something like this lying down.”

Mandy slipped her hand into Sam’s and squeezed. “But it will be too late for her to do anything about it. The land will be mine by then. The damage will already be done.”

Merideth sat up and stretched her hand across Mandy’s lap to add hers to those of her sisters. “Well, I for one stand behind you. I may not agree with your reasons for buying the Circle Bar, but I certainly respect your right to do what you want with the money Daddy left you. In fact, I think it’s rather like poetic justice, don’t you?” She glanced up at the portrait of her father and smiled. “In fact, darling Daddy is probably turning over in his grave right now.”

Mandy stepped from her lawyer’s office and paused just outside the door. She released her pent-up breath in a long shuddery sigh. She’d done it. She’d set the wheels in motion. She’d signed all the papers required to set up the dummy corporation and she’d given her lawyer power of attorney to act on her behalf. Now the wait began.

She caught her lower lip between her teeth as the implications behind her actions set in. Had she done the right thing? she worried silently. Was she in fact borrowing trouble as Sam had suggested? She gave herself a firm shake and made herself take that first step toward the bank of elevators at the end of the long hall and the journey home to the Double-Cross.

No, she told herself firmly. Jaime deserved the Circle Bar. He’d been denied enough in his short life. He was due an inheritance, a part of his heritage denied by the illegitimacy of his birth.

Caught up in thoughts of the trouble that might lie ahead, Mandy unconsciously glanced up as the elevator dinged its arrival. She froze on that spot of carpet, a good thirty feet from the elevator door as she watched a man step through the opening. He turned immediately to the left without glancing her way...but not before she caught a glimpse of his face; of that strong profile shadowed by a black Stetson; of that quirk of mouth and long purposeful stride that defied anyone who was of a mind to challenge him.

Jesse.

Oh, God! she cried silently, tightening her hands into fists at her sides. What was he doing here? And why now?

His step slowed and his shoulders veered slightly as if he was going to turn. Mandy sucked in a sharp breath and quickly ducked down a hallway on her right. Flattening herself against the wall, she listened, holding her breath, but her heartbeat thrummed in her ears, drowning out all other sounds. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying that he would go on in the way he’d started and that she could escape unseen.

Hands hot and damp against the cool walls, she waited, listening, silently praying for what seemed like an eternity against the sound of his approach. Five minutes passed, each second like a silent bomb exploding within her head. Knowing she couldn’t hide there forever, weak with fear, she eased down the wall and braved a quick look down the hall.

Empty.

She sagged back against the wall in relief. Then, with an effort, she pushed herself upright and ducked around the corner, running away from the elevator and toward the stairwell at the end of the hall.

Tearing down ten flights of stairs at high speed was nothing compared to her fear of exposure.

“You’re sure it was him?”

Mandy whirled, flattening her hands on her father’s desk, her green eyes wild as she met Merideth’s doubtful look. “Yes, I’m sure! He stood less than thirty feet away.”

Sam stepped behind the desk and looped an arm around Mandy’s shoulders. “It could be only coincidental that he’s returned,” she murmured soothingly. “It may have nothing to do with Jaime at all.”

“I don’t care why he’s back,” Mandy wailed, refusing to be comforted. “I’ve got to protect my son.”

Sam shared a look with Merideth, and Merideth came from the opposite side of the desk to tuck her hand through the bend at Mandy’s elbow. For all her selfishness, Merideth was a McCloud and together she and Sam, as they always had in the past, formed a solid wall of support around their sister. “He can’t hurt Jaime, Mandy,” she insisted, her voice filled with a conviction that Mandy didn’t share. “We won’t let him. Besides, Jesse doesn’t even know he fathered a son.”

Mandy lifted her head and turned tear-filled eyes to Merideth. “But what if he finds out? What if he tries to take Jaime away from me?”

Merideth fought back a shudder, refusing to give in to the fear that Mandy’s questions drew. She’d learned well from her father that a show of fear was a sign of weakness...and Merideth McCloud had used that lesson well, always displaying an impenetrable confidence that had served her well as she fought her way through the ranks of ambitious actors to capture one of the leading roles on a daytime soap opera.

Mandy had learned that lesson, too, but at the moment was too shaken to remember it. Merideth knew it was up to her to give her the slap she needed to remind her. “So what are you going to do?” she asked in disgust. She knew she sounded harsh, but in her mind, the situation called for it. “Just hand Jaime over to him without putting up a fight?”

Mandy whirled, her expression one of shock. “Of course not!”

“Then quit thinking about what might happen and focus on the facts. Jaime is your son. You gave birth to him, you raised him alone without help from Jesse or anyone else. Jesse had no place in his life other than planting a seed.”

“But what if he takes me to court? What if he tries to establish his parental rights?”

Merideth tossed up her hands in frustration. “And what judge in the country would settle those rights on him?” She grabbed Mandy’s hands and squeezed them between her own. “He’s your son, Mandy. Not Jesse’s.”

Mandy clung to the lifeline Merideth offered. “I know that. I do. But if he finds out—?”

Merideth squeezed her hands, silencing her. “Come back to New York with me. You and Jaime can stay with me until the dust settles and we see what Jesse’s intentions are.”

Slowly Mandy squared her shoulders, pulling her hands from Merideth’s. “No. That would be running from trouble. And no McCloud ever runs from trouble.”

Tossing back her head, Merideth laughed, the melodious sound filling what once had been Lucas McCloud’s office. “That’s my girl! I knew you had it in you.”

Mandy frowned, eyeing Merideth suspiciously, realizing too late that Merideth’s taunts were all an act to make her sister see reason. “You’re a brat, you know that, don’t you?” Mandy grumbled. “You always were.”

Merideth fluffed her hair with a playful, self-satisfied grin. “That’s what they tell me,” she said proudly and moved to flop down on the leather sofa that faced the desk.

Mandy continued to frown at Merideth, but Merideth merely folded her hands behind her head and preened, proud of her accomplishment. She crossed her bare feet at the ankles, wiggling toes painted a garish red before adding, “And don’t worry. I’ll stick around for a while just in case you need reminding that you’re a McCloud.”

Mandy’s brows shot up. “You can’t do that. You’ve got to get back to New York and your job!”

Merideth lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “It’ll be there when I get back,” she replied, confident of her importance to the soap opera she starred in.

“You don’t need to stay,” Sam interjected, stepping forward to hook a hip on the corner of the desk. “I’ll be here as backup if Mandy needs me.”

Merideth arched a brow, turning her gaze on Sam. Slowly, her lips curved in a proud smile. “I’d forgotten that the newly graduated and highly competent Dr. Samantha McCloud was setting up her veterinary practice on the Double-Cross.” She lifted her hands, diamonds glittering, and let them drop. “Well, then I guess my services aren’t needed.” She turned to Mandy. “You’ll be in good hands with Sam to look out for you and I’m only a telephone call away.” Lazily she stood, stretching her arms above her head with catlike grace before moving to gather her two sisters into a loose embrace. After hugging them both, she stepped back and thrust out a hand, palm up. “One for all and all for one,” she challenged. “The Three Musketeers.”