Chapter 11
When Cal got home that evening, he went looking for Lillian. He ran into Nathan in the kitchen.
“Hey,” he said, glancing up from the dinner he was fixing. “How do you feel about spaghetti tonight? Later, I want us all to sit down and talk. We need to discuss this situation with the ranch. My father gave me some insight.”
“My grandfather gave me some insight, too, and he wants to see Mr. Bradley and remind him of their agreement. If he doesn’t get Lillian to back off, he will tell everyone something. He wouldn’t tell me what the big secret was, but he was not happy that Lillian was dragging this up.”
Nathan stood over the stove, frying the meat to go into the sauce bubbling on the next burner. A big pot of water was boiling for the noodles, and he had French bread buttered with what looked like a garlic spread on it, ready to go in the oven.
The man knew how to cook, and Cal always enjoyed when he prepared their dinner. But where was Lillian?
He wanted to tell her his grandfather wanted to see Paul and that there was something they were hiding. Something that would hurt her grandfather, so she should back off and let the past remain hidden.
“I spoke to my parents today. They were in Italy exploring Rome. My father said that years ago, there were rumors that the ranch was lost in a weekly poker game and that Paul Bradley was a drunk who liked women. The rumors were that Ronald decided to get even with Paul for having an affair with his wife. He’d always wanted the ranch, so he got him drunk, and the stupid man gambled away his family’s home. Ronald insisted that Paul and his family be out as soon as possible. After they left town, the rumors died, except for the one about Ronald and his wife. Not long after the supposed affair, she died.”
Cal stared at his friend. “Your father said that Paul was a drunk who lost the ranch in a poker game to my grandfather? That my grandmother died not long after that? Grandfather said she never lived here.”
If she had been alive, why had she never moved in with him? Where had she lived? His father and grandfather had not gotten along because of the drugs, but his grandfather and grandmother had lived in separate houses. She died not long after Grandpa obtained the ranch, but he’d never heard they weren’t living together.
“There is something not right here. As much as I hate to admit it, I think Lillian could be right in finding out what happened,” Nathan said, putting the bread into the oven.
Fear twirled through Cal. What if she could prove that her grandfather had been wronged by the man that he adored? Sure, he was a stubborn old cuss, but he’d taken him in when he had no place left to go. He’d raised him. Fed and clothed him and seemed like a good man, right up until the day of the accident that eventually put him in the nursing home.
“I can’t lose the ranch,” Cal said, fear gripping him. “It’s my life.”
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Nathan assured him.
“And I really like Lillian. How could I ever have a lasting relationship with her if our families are tearing us apart? This is worse than Emily’s father kidnapping her from our wedding.”
As much as he hated to admit it, he was glad now that it had happened, and yet, he wanted Lillian something fierce. Just thinking about her had him hard once again. There was an attraction between them that his heart was getting involved in. He loved to hear her laugh, the way she sounded when she came apart in his arms. The way she snuggled against him at night.
There were so many facets of her that he wanted to explore more, and yet how could he with them fighting for the ranch?
“We’re still investigating. Let’s wait and see what happens before we jump to any conclusions. In some ways, I’m glad we’re getting this resolved. After this, we’ll never have to question who owns the ranch again.”
Maybe so, but Cal was worried. As much as he loved and trusted his grandfather, he’d seen something in him today that triggered an alarm. That had him leaving the nursing home concerned that somehow the old man had done something wrong.
“How did your grandmother die?”
Strange, he didn’t know. His grandfather had only said she died but hadn’t told him how.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“I’ll look at the death certificate tomorrow and see what I find out,” Nathan said, putting the noodles in the boiling water. “I wish Lillian would come on. We need to eat, and then we need to talk.”
Cal sank down at the table. Just then, they heard the door open and shut.
“Is anyone home?” she called.
“In the kitchen,” Nathan called.
When she walked in, all Cal could do was stare at her and dream of taking her up to the bedroom, putting in the last butt plug, and taking her right there. Right now, before they talked, he was afraid that once they started telling what they had learned today, she would leave.
And he didn’t want her to go.
“Hey,” she said, walking into the room. “Something smells delicious.”
“We’re going to have spaghetti, and afterward, we’re going to talk,” Nathan said.
“Good. I’ve had a busy afternoon,” she said, setting her purse on the counter.
Cal wanted her to tell them now, but Nathan sent him a warning glance.
“Let’s wait until after we have dinner because I fear what everyone has learned today is going to be explosive, and then we won’t eat. So let’s have a nice dinner first.”
Oh, how Cal just wanted to carry her up the stairs and finish what they had done in the field this morning. Or start over and do it all over again. Instead, he settled for pulling her into his arms and layering his mouth over hers.
When he finally released her, she smiled up at him. “That was nice.”
“Nice is not the word I want you to use. I want the hear something more like that melted my panties away,” he said, gazing into her sapphire eyes.
“Well, they are a little damp, but I can’t think about that right now,” she said, stepping out of his arms.
Oh no, already he could see her distancing herself from them. And that was not what he wanted.
He pulled plates out of the cabinet and handed them each one.
While Cal was filling his plate, Nathan took Lillian in his arms.
His friend pulled her in tightly and kissed her deeply. Why was she the one that seemed perfect for the two of them? Why couldn’t she be someone who wasn’t trying to take the ranch from him?
When they finally released one another, Cal sat at the table.
“Darling, I missed you today. What did you do?” Nathan asked.
“We’ll talk later about what I did,” she said, and Cal immediately knew she’d gone to see her grandfather after Nathan had told her not to go alone.
He was so ready to paddle someone’s ass, and she’d gone against their wishes. Later, he would lay her over his lap and make her bottom pink. And then he would fuck her into tomorrow and hope and pray that somehow they could work this problem out between the three of them. He’d hope and pray they would all be together sooner or later, forever.
The thought stunned him. Was he falling for her? The woman who wanted to take away what he dearly loved?
Nathan opened a bottle of red wine and poured them each a glass. His friend liked to drink wine with dinner, but Cal wasn’t big into drinking. There were too many bad memories of what his parents did when they were bombed out of their minds.
He waved him away from his glass when it came his turn.
It was as if they were all dreading the upcoming conversation. They ate their spaghetti in silence.
“Very good,” Lillian said, glancing at them each nervously.
What was she nervous about? There were still so many questions, and Cal felt like his world was slowly being ripped apart.
His grandfather was his mentor. The man he respected and looked up to. What if he’d done some dastardly deed to get the property? What would Cal do?
When they finished dinner, they sat at the table, finishing their glasses of wine while Cal drank his water.
“Let’s all agree not to get angry,” Nathan said. “Everyone gets a turn to tell what they learned today, and then I want us all to go to the bedroom and have the best sex of our life.”
Lillian’s forehead drew together in a frown. “But what if we don’t feel like having sex? What if inside, we’re angry and don’t believe the other person.”
“Tonight is about us,” Nathan said. “Tomorrow, we’ll start to deal with the facts. But I don’t want this to separate us.”
With a sigh, she gazed at them. “Who’s going first?”
Nathan got up, tore a piece of paper in thirds, and wrote the numbers down. Carefully, he folded the papers, put them in a clean bowl, and took them to them.
“Ladies get to choose first,” he said, tossing the pieces of folded notes into the bowl.
Lillian reached in and grabbed one. “One.”
Cal reached into the bowl. “Three.”
“That means I’m number two,” Nathan said. “Your turn, Lillian. And we won’t interrupt you until you’re finished.”
For the next five minutes, she told them what her grandfather had said. Watching Cal’s face, she could tell he didn’t want to believe her.
“I have a photo of the signed document. It’s not legal. Especially if my grandfather was under the influence. I’m wondering if he was drugged because he said he only had one beer. Tomorrow I will speak to the owner of the bar and see what she’ll tell me. I’m also concerned about Cal’s grandmother. How did she die, Cal?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Nathan is going to pull the death certificate.”
She nodded. “Any questions?”
“Let’s hear what everyone has to say first,” Nathan said.
Nathan took the floor and told what his father had told him. Watching Lillian’s expressions, Cal could see that she disagreed with his father’s assessment of her grandfather. She didn’t believe he was a drunk. And yet, how else could a man lose possession of this ranch?
When he finished, he sighed. “Tomorrow, I’d like to go with you, Lillian, to speak to the bar owner. I’d also like to see if any other players from that poker game are still alive. And I’d like to talk to the sheriff at the time. Why didn’t he investigate your grandmother’s death?”
Cal knew he needed to find out what happened to his grandmother, Barbara. He’d never met the woman, and yet, his grandfather had never spoken ill of her that he could remember.
Everything he’d heard so far had not convinced him that his grandfather was lying. In fact, he really believed that it was Lillian’s grandfather who had not spoken the truth.
“Your turn, Cal,” Nathan said.
For the next five minutes, he told them what his grandfather had said. He ended on the ominous warning his grandfather had given him about telling Lillian’s grandfather’s secret.
“Did your grandfather mention a secret?” he asked Lillian.
“No,” she said. “He did say that by stopping to help your grandmother that day, your grandfather assumed they were having an affair. But that he loved my grandmother way too much and would never have cheated on her.”
Sitting at the kitchen table, they all stared at one another.
“We have three different stories. Now we need to find out which one is telling us the truth,” Lillian said.
Cal could almost see her lawyer brain working overtime.
“And are the people we speak to going to tell us the truth?” Nathan said.
“Or will this just tear us apart,” Cal said with a sigh.
Nathan jumped up from the table.
“And you, Lillian, were told not to go out to your grandfather’s place alone. That is a scary area, and I wanted to protect you in case something went wrong.”
“It was fine,” she said, getting up from the table. “The old woman next door came out again with a cigarette dangling from her lips. I’m moving Grandpa tomorrow if I can find him an apartment.”
Cal watched her carry her dirty dishes into the kitchen and load them in the dishwasher.
“He doesn’t have long to live. And I’m going to do my best to clear his name and bring my family back together before he dies.”
Stunned, Cal stared at her. How would he react if he knew his grandfather was dying and he wanted to clear his name and bring his family back together one last time before he died? He’d do precisely like Lillian was doing.
Damn. Something wasn’t right, and he knew it, and suddenly he was afraid that his grandfather might have done some evil of his own.