CHAPTER 48
Cal
“Follow me, sailor.”
I hate it when she calls me that. Especially now that I don’t think it’s a term of affection—just a condescending insult. But I follow her down the steps of the deck and out into the central ranch road. She’s heading north toward the rest of the houses.
“Do you mind telling me where we’re going, unless this is supposed to be a surprise?”
“Just try to keep up.”
I laugh at that but walk behind her, doing my sincere best not to look at her ass in those jeans.
That would be wrong on all levels since I don’t like her or trust her.
And she despises me, for good reason. Because of all of the above, I’m never taking her to my bed again.
Which means staring at her ass is pointless.
I look anyway. Because I’m a monster.
“Move faster,” she says. “And stop staring at my ass.”
She makes a sharp left at Evander’s drive, then marches up the steps, stomps across his porch, and bangs on his door like she’s trying to bore a hole clear through. “Open up, grump!” She keeps pounding, bam, bam, bam!
“For fuck’s sake, Victoria. Are you nuts? We don’t lock our doors around here.” I reach around her and open the door. She screams.
“Hey!”
I push her behind me. Evander’s standing there with a firearm pointed at our faces, eyes calm and deadly. “Holy fuckin’ shit, man! Put that thing away!”
He replaces the safety on his weapon and shoves the revolver into the waistband of his pants. That’s when I notice that he's barefoot, balancing on his good leg, and wearing nothing but a Navy T-shirt and threadbare pajama bottoms.
“Put some pants on, Evander.”
“Ever hear of calling ahead?” He bunny hops to his bedroom, holding up his pants so they don’t fall to his ankles. “It’s not like I was expecting to entertain this evening!” He slams the door.
Victoria makes herself right at home, walking through the living room and sliding into a dining room chair.
She immediately sets up her laptop and places a fresh legal pad and pen to her right.
I have absolutely no idea what is about to go down or why she’s decided it needs to take place in Evander’s dining room.
I don’t bother to ask, since she probably won’t tell me.
Evander hops his way back to the dining room and falls into a chair across from Victoria. “What’s up?” He notices the laptop and looks at me.
“I got no idea, man.”
“First thing, you should call your brothers and ask them to join us.” Victoria waits for someone to make a move. “Go on. Call them.”
“But not Jamie?”
“Not right now.”
“Ooo-kay.” I start making calls. Declan and Special K are on their way, but Finn says he has to take Jasmine to Phyllis first and will get there as soon as possible.
“Coffee?” Evander asks her.
“Maybe later.”
Only then do I realize how frazzled Victoria looks—more disheveled and stressed than I’ve ever seen her. Her eyes are like big, shiny green marbles. Her hair is as unruly and wild as a banshee’s. Her shirt is untucked and wrinkled.
She leans forward in her chair and takes a big breath. “Evander, you handle all the contracts and business dealings with the ranch, correct?”
“Yeah, Cal and I do.”
She glances at me, like she forgot I was standing next to her. “Right. Anyway, the first thing I need to see is the contract I negotiated on your behalf. And if possible, I’d like a hard copy.”
“Sure thing.” Evander hops off and is gone for no more than two minutes. They’re minutes in which Victoria pretends I don’t exist. He returns and puts the contract on the table next to her.
As she reads, her jaw clenches. Her hand trembles. But all she says is, “Thank you, Evander. This explains quite a bit.” She flashes her eyes at me before she continues. “I’d like to start by asking a few questions. My first is, when did you all move away?”
Evander props his broken leg on a nearby chair. “You want dates?”
“Yes. For college or the Naval Academy or the actual Navy—wherever you all went when you finished high school, when did you start leaving the ranch?” She grabs her pen and holds it above the pad of paper.
“Uh, well, I was the first to go,” I say. “That was nearly twenty years ago.”
“And then the rest followed, with about two years in between,” Evander says. “So it was Cal, then Finn, me, Declan, and Special K.”
“Got it.” She’s writing this down, for some reason. “And you moved back here, as a group, about two years ago, you said?”
“Yeah.” Evander looks at me with an expression that says What the fuck is this about? All I can do is shrug.
“And when was your most recent valuation on Yosemite Ranch?”
Evander glances up at the ceiling, thinking.
“Two years ago, for insurance purposes. Each of us was either building a new home or renovating an existing structure. At the same time, we were making all kinds of capital improvements to barns, paddocks, bunkhouses, outbuildings, equipment, supplies, and everything else you can think of. We acquired a lot of very expensive cattle stock and horses at that time, too. Plus, we moved the StellaR Tech executive operations here.”
“Got it. Would you say that the valuations on the books right now are accurate and up-to-date?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. Now, if you don’t mind me asking—”
“Hey,” Evander cuts her off. “If you tell me exactly what it is you’re looking for, this will be a lot easier.”
She nods. “I understand, but first, I need the big picture. When I have a better lay of the land and know where we should drill down, I’ll let you know.”
“Roger that,” Evander says.
“So, when did Jamie first start having money troubles? I mean, when did it start becoming a struggle for him to stay on top of things here at the ranch?”
I step back from the table, not sure why this is important. It’s sure as hell not easy to talk about, for any of us. But I answer her question because I’ve got the feeling that she’s poking at something very specific. “Probably right after our mom died. I was fifteen.”
Victoria bites her bottom lip and nods. “I don’t mean to pry, but I promise, it’s important. Was your mom involved in business operations?”
“Yeah, she was. Far more so than Dad, actually.”
“So when she died…”
“Arlo stepped in to help my dad,” I say. “I don’t know what we would have done without him.”
“I see. And the money troubles continued, right?”
Evander and I lock eyes. We both nod.
“And when did the ranch fall on seriously hard times?”
“Right around when Cal left,” Evander says.
“All right. Thank you for answering my questions. So, here’s what I’m going to need.
” She begins writing her list on the legal pad as she speaks.
“I want everything you’ve got on ranch operations for the last twenty years—any land leases, loan or mortgage records, bank statements, operating records, monthly balance sheets, profit and loss statements, tax records, and all valuations going back as far as possible, if that’s not too much trouble. ”
Evander stares at me; then we both bust out laughing.
“Anything else you need, Miss Backlund?” I ask. “Glitter markers? A pint of blood? Balloon animals?”
“What’s going on?” Declan walks in, Special K behind him. They make their way to the dining room. Declan’s grinning while Special K looks like he could spit nails.
“I’m here!” Finn runs in, out of breath. “What are we doing?”
“Well,” Evander says, shaking his head. “Victoria’s just asked me to pull together damn near every financial and accounting record from Yosemite Ranch history.”
“Just the last twenty years or so,” she says, correcting him.
“Cool.” Special K turns toward the door. “I’m leaving.”
Declan stops him. “We’re all staying.” He turns to Victoria. “What’s going on?”
She drapes an arm over the back of her chair and smiles.
“Cal thinks I screwed with your BLM lease as a way to devalue Sulfur Springs so my company could steal it from you. So I figured I’d show you why that’s completely inaccurate.
” She glares at me. “I’m not here to clear my name, though, because I don’t owe a damn thing to anyone.
I’m doing this because I’m leaving as soon as possible—”
She’s leaving…
“—and before I go, I feel obligated to share what I suspect is happening right under your noses, and how your family legacy is in danger.”
Except for Special K’s hard breathing, it stays silent for several long seconds. I feel Declan and Finn glaring at the back of my head. Evander’s mouth is unhinged.
“Shiiiit.” That’s Declan.
Evander looks at me, stunned. “So, should I—?”
“Get her everything she wants,” I tell him. “And if you don’t got it, go get it.”