Outlaw Marriage. Laurie Paige
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attorney, you can truly advise your father as to its value and if it’s worth another year of wrangling over.”
His tone as much as his words challenged her legal expertise. She stiffened in resentment.
But her next thought was that she wanted to see the ranch, not so much because of the case but because it was part of her history. The Baxter roots in Montana went back as far as the Kincaid roots did. Somehow her family had lost its heritage.
Somehow? She knew the “how” of that loss. Jeremiah Kincaid and his lying, cheating ways.
“What time shall I pick you up on Friday?” Collin asked, smoothly diverting her thoughts from the past.
“Pick me up?” she asked, puzzled. Had she lost track of the conversation?
“The old Baxter spread is a substantial piece of land. We’ll need a couple of days to see it all. The weekend would be a good time for me. You can stay over at the ranch house. We have plenty of room.”
He leaned back in the chair, as if sure that she would fall in with his plan, which would put her right in the middle of the Kincaid compound and the multiple relatives who now lived there as if it were already theirs.
“What arrogance,” she said, keeping her voice soft, amused. “My father doesn’t jump to your bidding. Neither do I. This lawsuit isn’t going to be disposed of at the whim of the current Kincaid family. We’re willing to pay top dollar for the Baxter place, which rightfully belongs to my family. Will the court believe the trustees are acting in Jennifer McCallum’s best interest to sell for less?”
“If Jordan can pull that much money together. It seems to me he’s spread pretty thin, what with all the developing he’s doing south of town, plus, the fancy new headquarters building.”
Collin’s manner was coolly sardonic now, but edged with the Kincaid fury that was as well known as their legendary charm. She was angry, too. She didn’t appreciate his trying to manipulate her into doing as he wanted, nor his casting doubts on her father’s business acumen.
“My father has more than enough resources to handle the ranch sale, which has nothing to do with Baxter Development Corporation.”
Unable to finish the meal, she laid her fork down and stood. Collin, polite as usual, immediately got to his feet, tall and intimidating.
“You Kincaids stick together like flies on honey, but you won’t win this case,” she informed him heatedly.
“Don’t take that to the bank quite yet,” he advised with an amused glance at the gaping faces around them.
A couple of ranchers chuckled openly while several of the local residents grinned behind their hands. Hope was the outsider, and she was acutely aware of that fact.
“I wouldn’t think of it. I’ll see you in court,” she said, flashing him a breezy smile and answering the challenge in his eyes with a confident lift of her chin.
She walked out of the quaint café, aware of multiple stares as she did, and especially that of Collin Kincaid’s.
Collin remained at the table, his face impassive as he observed her departure.
Outside, she spotted another employee of the corporation and got a ride to her office. There, she closed her door and paced restlessly to and fro, aware of a trembling deep inside her. She felt she’d braved the lion in his den and had gotten out alive—but not unscathed.
Sighing, she calmed herself and admitted she’d blown the meeting, walking out in a huff that way. As if emotion ever solved anything. She was more angry with herself than with Collin. It was his job to persuade her to see things his way just as it was hers to see that things were settled in her father’s favor.
Oh, what tangled webs…
Sitting at the desk, she pressed her forehand against her hands and wished this whole thing was over. She was so tired of the Baxter ranch and her father’s obsession—
Biting back the rest of the disloyal thought, she rubbed her temples where a headache pinged insistently. She removed the folder from her briefcase and again studied the facts in minute detail. Yes, they definitely had a case.
She wondered if she could get the venue changed to Great Falls or Billings. She would have to show a higher court that the local judge could be prejudiced in favor of the Kincaids. If she lost, though, the case would go that much harder for her side.
Before she could think this through, the door opened. Only her father would dare intrude without an announcement. She looked up and met his eyes.
“Good afternoon, Father.”
“What’s this I hear about you having lunch with the Kincaid grandson?”
Her father refused to recognize any of the bastard grandsons, so for him there was only one—Collin, the legal heir to Garrett Kincaid’s holdings.
“I thought I told you I had a meeting with Collin today.” She knew she had. She was also pretty sure she knew who had mentioned the luncheon to her dad. Kurt Peters curried her father’s favor in every way he could.
“What did he say?”
She considered how much to tell him, not just the facts, but the nuances of the meeting. “They’re tired of wrangling over the land. They’ll ask the trustees to sell us the remainder of the Baxter land for the price they offered it to Garrett Kincaid.”
Her father’s face darkened dangerously. “They’ll sell all the Baxter land to me.”
“Jackson Hawk is representing the reservation. Collin said their plans are too far along to stop. I’ve spoken with Hawk prior to this. The tribal elders refuse to give up the land and will press their own suit if need be.”
“Have they started building?” he demanded.
“I don’t know. Legally, it doesn’t matter to our case. By buying land without a clear title, they aren’t entitled to any special consideration. However, their suit will complicate things for us.”
Her father sat on the corner of her desk, another perk only he was allowed. “Those blasted Indians. We need to check on what they’re doing. I have to fly to New York tomorrow on that bank merger since I’m on the board of directors. You’ll have to go out there.”
Surprised at this announcement, she said, “Collin invited me to spend the weekend at the Kincaid place. He thought I should look the Baxter land over. That sounds like a case of ‘Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly,’ doesn’t it?” She smiled in ironic amusement.
Instead of seeing the humor in the idea of her being at the Kincaid compound, surrounded by their opponents and those loyal to them, her father slapped his hand on his thigh and chortled.
“Good,” he said. “Perfect. When do you go?”
Her jaw nearly sagged at his elation. “I turned him down. Why would I fall in with his plans?”
“Why? To see what’s going on. You can check on the reservation doings at the same time since the land adjoins the Kincaid place.” He gave her a derisive glare. “Where’s your head, girl? You might be able to come up with something we’ve overlooked or know nothing about. We need to know any weakness in their case or if they have any surprises up their sleeves.”
“We’ve already gone into disclosure,” she reminded him.
“I’m not talking about legal stuff,” he interrupted, silencing her in his usual impatient manner. “We need to look for chinks in the family armor. Or among the ranch hands. Not everyone out there thinks the Kincaids are God’s gift to Montana. Someone working on the ranch might have information we can use.”
She remained silent, every instinct within her advising that this was the wrong thing to do.
“Call the grandson and tell him you accept.”
She