The Cowboy’s Justice (Naked Cowboys of Smoky Hill #4)

Chaptern Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

As Devlin introduced Portia to the rest of the horses and explained their habits and idiosyncrasies, she found it fascinating and asked him endless questions. By the time they left the paddocks he realized how much time had passed and he had to hurry into the barn to speak with Sammy.

“I can’t believe how long we’ve been out here,” Portia remarked, checking her watch. “And now I’m suddenly hungry. Why don’t I make us an early dinner?”

“You don’t strike me as a woman who’s spent much time in the kitchen.”

“We didn’t always have money. I used to help mom with our meals all the time. I still do when I visit.

“Great, so what can I expect?”

“I’ll have to see what’s in your refrigerator—assuming it’s okay for me to nose around in there,” she added with a sassy grin. “God forbid I lift the lid off something I’m not supposed to.”

“Be careful, young lady, or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and—”

“You’ll have to catch me first,” she exclaimed, cutting him off then bolted across the driveway to the house. But when she reached the porch and looked back, she saw him staring at her with his arms crossed.

Her heart skipped.

The moment seemed frozen in time.

But he abruptly turned and walked into the barn leaving her both exhilarated and titillated.

It was a seductive combination.

Loving the feeling she headed into the kitchen determined to cook up something sexy and scrumptious. Finding a surprising number of vegetables and a packet of hamburger meat, a few ideas came to mind. She was trying to decide when her phone rang. Lifting it from her pocket she was surprised to see it was her stock broker. Most of her investments were longterm and they rarely talked.

“Hey, Sharon,” she said, accepting the call. “This is a surprise. What’s up?”

“It’s this Power of Attorney you sent over. It’s been notarized, but the witness signature is illegible and it’s not clearly stated beneath the line.”

“Uh…but I didn’t send you anything, certainly not a Power of Attorney. Where did it come from?”

“Your lawyer’s office. To be honest I was a bit dumbfounded. I thought you would have contacted me directly.”

“Wait, do you mean it came from William Buckley?”

“It did. I’ve been trying to call him but he’s not in his office and I don’t have his cell phone. That’s why I’m calling you.”

“Sharon, I didn’t authorize this, and actually, I fired him a few hours ago. Oh, my gosh. This is crazy. What’s he attempting to do?”

“Are you sitting down?”

“I am now,” she replied, dropping into a chair at the kitchen table. “This Power of Attorney came with a request to sell a large number of your Rigid Rubber shares and have the funds transferred into an offshore account.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”

“I would have contacted you about this before finishing it up anyway. I would never continue with such a big transaction without speaking to you. I have to say, I’m shocked. I thought William Buckley was a whole lot smarter than this. What an idiot.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but how much are we talking about?”

“$2.5 million.”

“You can’t be serious. How the hell did he think he could get away with it?”

“Coincidentally, when I talked to one of my colleagues about this a few minutes ago, he said there are rumors flying around that William Buckley has been attending some pretty wild parties and spending money like he’s one of his wealthy clients. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure everything you have is secure. And just to be on the safe side you should call your bank and ask them to freeze your accounts.”

“I will, I’ll do that right away. Thanks so much for calling, Sharon. I owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything. Let me know if you need my help, whatever it might be.”

“I will, and I’m just so grateful.”

“Speak to you later, Portia.”

“Yes, I’ll call you soon.”

Staring at her phone Portia couldn’t believe what she’d just been told. It was despicable terrible betrayal, and before she could stop them tears spilled down her face. When her cell phone buzzed she barely heard it. Not only had William attempted to drug her, he’d tried to steal a huge amount of money. When it buzzed a second time she didn’t even hear it.

* * *

In the barn Devlin had texted Portia to let her know he’d been held up and would probably be at least another thirty minutes. When she didn’t respond he stepped outside and looked across at the house. Trying her a second time and still not receiving a reply he became concerned.

“I’ll be right back, Sammy,” he called over his shoulder as he hurried to the house. Entering the kitchen with Jethro and Jezebel running ahead, he found her at the table in tears.

“Darlin’…what’s wrong?” he asked urgently, quickly sitting down and taking her hand.

“It’s William. He just tried to steal a huge amount of money from me. I can’t believe it. I’ve known him for years.”

“How What did he do?”

“He sent a fake Power of Attorney to my broker ordering her to sell a bunch of shares, along with instructions to transfer the funds to an offshore account.”

“So that’s why he needed you to sign those papers. I knew there was somethin’ wrong.”

“But there was no Power of Attorney.”

“We’ll figure all this out, but the point is he didn’t get away with it.”

“I’m just so shocked. He has dozens of papers in his office with my signature. Why didn’t he just use one of them?”

“Now that’s a mystery, but when the authorities catch up with him you’ll find out.”

“Don’t you mean if they catch up with him?”

“Nope. Seems like he’s not playin’ with a full deck right now and he’s sure to make another mistake. When he does he’ll go down. In the meantime you’ll be safe here with me. And I know just how to get your mind off all this.”