Kentucky Heat by Fern Michaels Page A

their lawyer wanted to sit down and work something out. Are you saying that offer is off the table?”
    â€œIt was never on the table, Nealy. It was just something Valentine Mitchell said in passing. Let me remind you, Valentine Mitchell is the legendary Valentine Mitchell. The one who used to make the headlines once a month. The Colemans of Texas were her biggest clients, and she let the world know it. They dragged her out of retirement to handle all of this. The Colemans never okayed the deal. They want SunStar Farms, and they want those horses. It’s the only thing that can save them if you prevail and take Sunbridge. We need to get our ducks in a row here, Nealy.”
    Nealy leaned forward, eyeing the lawyer narrowly. “What horses are you talking about, Clem?”
    Clem stared at Nealy over the rim of her coffe cup, then slowly lowered it to its saucer. Her facial expression was that of someone no longer sure of her position. “For starters,” she said, keeping her eyes on Nealy, “the horse you rode to victory in the Belmont. I can’t remember its name. And all the other horses at SunStar.”
    Nealy felt her body grow still. “My brothers don’t own any horses. The day I left for New York to ride in the Belmont, my brothers sold off all the horses. Every single one. They’re just being boarded at SunStar Farms. Guess no one told you that, huh?”
    â€œNo, I guess no one did,” Clem snapped, pulling a legal pad and pen out of her briefcase. “Do you want to tell me how that happened? If it’s true, it’s a good thing for you, but it is something I should have known about. I think you just won this case.”
    Nealy smiled.
    â€œI need the particulars,” Clem said, pen poised to write.
    â€œThat’s easy enough. Metaxas bought the horses. My brothers filed the papers the day after the Belmont, before there was any lawsuit. It was all legal. I didn’t know anything about it till after the race. I think he paid a whopping five bucks for each horse, so there is no money in the coffers for the Colemans to take. And, Clem, read my lips, they aren’t taking my brothers’ house, either. It will be over my dead body. You need to call your opposing counsel and tell them that. I suggest you do it now, so I know what’s going on. We don’t have a lot of time if we’re going to court.”
    Clem scribbled on the legal pad and then threw her pen down on the table. “If you have any more little surprises you haven’t shared with me, now is the time, Nealy. You’re taking this all very well, so that tells me there are other surprises.” Her face was stony cold, her eyes narrowed slits.
    Nealy fiddled with her spoon. “I have one more,” she said quietly. Clem crossed one shapely leg over the other and sat back. “Not to change the subject, but what does a pair of shoes like that cost?”
    â€œFive hundred and sixty dollars,” Clem replied without blinking an eye. “What’s the other surprise, Nealy?”
    â€œI bought up all of Riley Coleman’s loans. I paid two points above what the bank was charging. They couldn’t wait to take my money. I did it over the phone, wired the money to cover all the loans, and got the papers the next day by overnight mail. It didn’t even take twenty-four hours. I can boot Riley Coleman’s ass out of Sunbridge in minutes. I know how the game works. I might look stupid, Clem, but I’m not. I take care of my own.”
    â€œAnd you would do that?” Clem asked tightly. “Boot him out?”
    â€œIn a heartbeat. Now, where do we stand?”
    Clem picked up Nealy’s pencil, which had rolled across the table, and snapped it in two. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. It’s raining in Texas. Actually, it’s been raining for ten straight days. Their drought is over. The Japanese stock market is healthy