called the office and Nancy said you were waiting for me,” Ross said as he extended his free hand, “but I didn’t think you’d be camping out on the courthouse steps.”
“We weren’t—we were just having a . . . discussion. Ross, I’d like you to meet Tessa Kramer. Tessa—Ross.”
Ross grinned, his narrow face cracking with a smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Ms. Kramer. John McLean was one of your biggest fans.” He offered his hand and Tessa shook it. But her gaze traveled past the expensive weave of his jacket to clash with the anger in Denver’s eyes.
“John was good to me and my family. We miss him.”
“Don’t we all?” Ross shot a glance at Denver, whose lips had tightened until they were white.
“Have you heard anything else about Colton?” Denver demanded.
Ross reached into his pocket and withdrew a long, thin cigar. “Is that what this is all about?”
“Ms. Kramer, here, wants to purchase the ranch—all of it. We need to talk to my brother, then work out a purchase agreement. Since you’re involved in the probate of his estate, I’d like you to iron out the details.”
“If Colt agrees.” Ross snapped his lighter over the end of his cheroot and puffed furiously, sending up a stream of small, blue clouds.
“Even if he doesn’t, she wants my half.”
Ross squinted thoughtfully through the smoke. “Unless Colt wants the entire place. There’s a provision in John’s will, you know. If one brother doesn’t want his share, the other has the option to buy him out at fair market value.”
Tessa’s heart sank. Not only was she losing Denver to the bright lights of Los Angeles, but even if she did sell her horses and the bank approved her loan, Colton might want the place! Though he’d been overseas for years, he might want to quit his dangerous job, give up his wanderlust and settle back in the valley where his family had lived for generations.
“Colton won’t want the ranch any more than I do,” Denver said tightly. “He left right after the fire, too. Hasn’t been back since.”
“A man could change his mind when he owns the land.”
“I didn’t.” Denver stared pointedly at Tessa.
“You’re not your brother. Come on, we can talk more comfortably in my office.”
Puffing smoke like a steam engine, Ross led the way, and within minutes they were seated around his desk. “So you’re here about Colton.”
“Have you heard from him?” Denver asked, leaning back in his leather chair and eyeing the attorney.
Ross shook his head. “Not Colton himself. But the P.I. called again. He’s sure the man he’s seen is Colton—though his looks have changed. He just hasn’t gotten close enough to talk to him yet. It’s touchy, you know.”
“Touchy?” Tessa asked. “How?”
“Dangerous. No one wants to blow Colt’s cover,” Denver explained, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair.
“You make it sound like he’s a spy.”
“Close enough,” Denver muttered. “Close enough.”
“I don’t know when we’ll actually hear from Colton,” Ross said, “but the investigator’s supposed to call back in a few days. Hopefully he will have contacted him by then.”
Denver’s face muscles were tight. “Tell your man I want to talk to my brother.”
“I’ll try.”
“And if by some fluke Colton himself calls, let him know what’s going on; explain about John and the land. Let him know we have a buyer.”
Ross scribbled himself a note and Tessa’s name leaped off the clean yellow page.
“Maybe you shouldn’t tell him who wants to buy,” Denver decided, surveying Ross’s notes.
“Why not?”
Denver glanced at Tessa. “He and the Kramers have never seen eye to eye.”
Tessa’s mouth went dry. Dealing with Denver’s accusations had been bad enough. She couldn’t imagine what Colton would say if and when he returned. No amount of arguing had changed his mind before he left Montana. She doubted anything would now.
Secretly Tessa had wondered if Colton had been behind the accident. Though he was supposed to have been in town with John when the blaze started, he hadn’t been. John had admitted as much later. And Colton had arrived at the ranch quickly—just as the explosion had rocked through the stables. However, she’d kept her thoughts to herself. Pointing fingers without proof was a McLean trait, and she wasn’t about to lower herself to that level. But the thought of seeing Colton again hung like a pall over her. First facing Colton—then watching Denver leave for Los Angeles. Deja vu, she thought wearily.
“—I’ll let you know the minute I hear anything,” Ross was promising Denver.
“Good.