times.”
He seemed surprised by that. Did he think women were the only ones who were manipulative enough to come after someone for their money?
“Never married?” he asked.
“No. Thank goodness.”
“Well, be careful out there,” he told her.
“I’m trying.” Right now, she was really trying. “How long were you married?”
“One excruciatingly long year.”
“And the wound is still this raw? How long has it been?”
“Three years since she left. You’re going to ask if I loved her, right?”
Paige nodded. Yes, she thought she would have had the nerve.
“I think it was more that I loved the idea of her. A woman who could be happy here, share this kind of life with me and be happy. But mostly, I just felt like a damned fool in the end, and I really hate that feeling. That’s the part that still burns me up. I trusted her. I believed her completely, and I’m pretty sure she just wanted a rich husband and thought she could get me to give her everything she wanted. Even if it was a life far away from this ranch.”
“You don’t ever want to leave this place?”
“Not if I had my way.” He shrugged, then frowned and swore under his breath. “The thing is, I don’t own this land, and I doubt I ever will. Your family owns it. The lease runs out in thirty years. If I ever find another woman I can trust enough to marry, to have a family with, I might be able to raise my children on this ranch, but I could never pass it on to them. I won’t even be able to live my whole life here. The lease runs out when I turn sixty.”
“Oh.”
He said it like he’d rather cut off his right arm than leave this place.
She felt awful. She didn’t care a thing about the ranch or that her ancestors and his had been fighting for a hundred and fifty years. But she hadn’t thought much about the fact that the long-term lease her mother had offered as a gesture of goodwill would just give someone like Travis a chance to fall in love with the place even more before they had to give it up someday.
And it was one more reason for him to hate her family and her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, knowing it was totally inadequate, but needing to say it anyway. “Maybe…maybe my family would extend the lease.”
He shrugged, as if he’d absolutely hate even asking for anything from her family.
“Maybe they’d even sell the ranch to your family one day—”
“Don’t say that,” he told her, a hard edge in his voice that had her nearly flinching. “Not as a joke—”
“I wasn’t joking—”
“Not as just an offhand comment—”
“No. I mean…I’ve never talked to anyone about that, never heard anyone in my family talk about it. I just…it’s not like any of us has any interest in working a ranch.”
He glared at her, fury in those dark eyes of his. “Just in holding on to this one, if it means keeping me and my family from actually owning it.”
“No. I don’t…I don’t know. I’m just saying…Is this silly feud going to go on forever? Don’t we all have better things to do than keep up this fight? I don’t carewhat your grandfather did when he was young. Do you really care what mine did? It’s silly—”
“When it means I can work this ranch for most of my life, but never own it, then, yes, I care. I care very, very much.”
He got up and walked away, and she let him, not knowing what else she could say. If she could even make him believe she was truly sorry about what this stupid family feud had cost him…. Well, what did it even matter? It didn’t change things.
He still loved this ranch and would lose it.
Because of her family.
And she knew, if it weren’t for the Santa Magdalena Diamond, none of them would really give a damn about the ranch. Maybe her grandfather or her great-grandfather had, but she didn’t. Her mother didn’t. Her siblings…had any of them ever even been here? She didn’t even know.
So, if and when she found the diamond, could she talk them into
He seemed surprised by that. Did he think women were the only ones who were manipulative enough to come after someone for their money?
“Never married?” he asked.
“No. Thank goodness.”
“Well, be careful out there,” he told her.
“I’m trying.” Right now, she was really trying. “How long were you married?”
“One excruciatingly long year.”
“And the wound is still this raw? How long has it been?”
“Three years since she left. You’re going to ask if I loved her, right?”
Paige nodded. Yes, she thought she would have had the nerve.
“I think it was more that I loved the idea of her. A woman who could be happy here, share this kind of life with me and be happy. But mostly, I just felt like a damned fool in the end, and I really hate that feeling. That’s the part that still burns me up. I trusted her. I believed her completely, and I’m pretty sure she just wanted a rich husband and thought she could get me to give her everything she wanted. Even if it was a life far away from this ranch.”
“You don’t ever want to leave this place?”
“Not if I had my way.” He shrugged, then frowned and swore under his breath. “The thing is, I don’t own this land, and I doubt I ever will. Your family owns it. The lease runs out in thirty years. If I ever find another woman I can trust enough to marry, to have a family with, I might be able to raise my children on this ranch, but I could never pass it on to them. I won’t even be able to live my whole life here. The lease runs out when I turn sixty.”
“Oh.”
He said it like he’d rather cut off his right arm than leave this place.
She felt awful. She didn’t care a thing about the ranch or that her ancestors and his had been fighting for a hundred and fifty years. But she hadn’t thought much about the fact that the long-term lease her mother had offered as a gesture of goodwill would just give someone like Travis a chance to fall in love with the place even more before they had to give it up someday.
And it was one more reason for him to hate her family and her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, knowing it was totally inadequate, but needing to say it anyway. “Maybe…maybe my family would extend the lease.”
He shrugged, as if he’d absolutely hate even asking for anything from her family.
“Maybe they’d even sell the ranch to your family one day—”
“Don’t say that,” he told her, a hard edge in his voice that had her nearly flinching. “Not as a joke—”
“I wasn’t joking—”
“Not as just an offhand comment—”
“No. I mean…I’ve never talked to anyone about that, never heard anyone in my family talk about it. I just…it’s not like any of us has any interest in working a ranch.”
He glared at her, fury in those dark eyes of his. “Just in holding on to this one, if it means keeping me and my family from actually owning it.”
“No. I don’t…I don’t know. I’m just saying…Is this silly feud going to go on forever? Don’t we all have better things to do than keep up this fight? I don’t carewhat your grandfather did when he was young. Do you really care what mine did? It’s silly—”
“When it means I can work this ranch for most of my life, but never own it, then, yes, I care. I care very, very much.”
He got up and walked away, and she let him, not knowing what else she could say. If she could even make him believe she was truly sorry about what this stupid family feud had cost him…. Well, what did it even matter? It didn’t change things.
He still loved this ranch and would lose it.
Because of her family.
And she knew, if it weren’t for the Santa Magdalena Diamond, none of them would really give a damn about the ranch. Maybe her grandfather or her great-grandfather had, but she didn’t. Her mother didn’t. Her siblings…had any of them ever even been here? She didn’t even know.
So, if and when she found the diamond, could she talk them into
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