You’re every bit as handsome and sexy as any man she’s likely to meet.”
Harlan Patrick gave her a lopsided grin. “And you’re biased as hell, but, thanks, anyway. Even so, you know what they say about out of sight, out of mind.”
“You could have gone with her,” Sharon Lynn reminded him. “That was always an option. You’ve got that business degree Daddy insisted on. The two of you could have learned the music business together.”
“I might have a business degree, but the ranch is all I care about. It always has been.”
“Is it more important than Laurie?”
“No, of course not, but—”
“But you’ve always gotten your own way and you can’t believe it didn’t work out the way you wanted this time, too.”
“Hey, whose side are you on?”
“Yours, but you are stubborn, just like all the rest of us. Maybe one of us should learn to bend once in a while.”
Harlan Patrick gave an exaggerated shudder as if the very idea of compromise were repugnant to him. Sharon Lynn grinned. “Not an option, huh?”
“Not this time.” His gaze met hers. “Let’s change the subject. This one’s depressing. How are things with you and the cowboy?”
“Cord?”
“You know any other cowboys?”
“A whole slew of them,” she reminded him.
“Okay, smart-aleck. Yes, Cord.”
“You’ve probably seen him more recently than I have. You tell me.”
Harlan Patrick grinned. “Let’s just say he survived his first big-time run-in with Daddy.”
“He fought with Daddy? Because he was late this morning?”
“I don’t think that was it.”
“What, then?”
Her brother looked vaguely uneasy. “I wasn’t there.”
“But you heard. The men out there are worse than a bunch of old ladies when it comes to gossip.”
“Daddy seemed to disapprove of the amount of time he’s been spending with you. He apparently asked straight-out if it had anything to do with Cord trying to get his hands on Kyle’s ranch.”
Sharon Lynn stared at him in shock. A queasy sensation began in the pit of her stomach. “Daddy asked him that?”
“That’s what I heard.” He gave her a penetrating look. “Is that what he’s after, sis?”
“No, of course not,” she said indignantly. “The subject of Kyle’s ranch has never even come up. I don’t even know if he’s aware that I own it.”
“If he wasn’t, he is now. Could be that Daddy has succeeded in planting the idea in his head. It would be mighty convenient for him if he could take it off your hands for a pittance of what it’s worth.”
She scowled at him. “That’s insulting, to me and to Cord, especially since you know perfectly well that I made a deal with the foreman out there.”
Harlan Patrick grinned. “That’s pretty much what he told Daddy, too. He threatened to quit.”
“He didn’t do it, though, did he?” The idea of Cord leaving the area bothered her more than it should have. Whether he went or stayed shouldn’t matter, but it did. The prospect of him leaving a place he’d wanted so badly to work was all the more troubling if he was being virtually forced to go by her overly protective father. “Harlan Patrick, tell me exactly what was said out there.”
“You sound worried, sis? Would it really bother you if he did leave?”
She ignored the question. “Did he go through with it or not?” she persisted.
Harlan Patrick’s smirk indicated he found her response telling enough. “No,” he reassured her. “Granddaddy busted in on them and saved the day. They’re operating under a cease-fire for the moment.”
Sharon Lynn barely contained a sigh of relief. She would step in, too. Smooth things over.
Harlan Patrick regarded her knowingly. “Don’t even think about getting into the middle of this, sis.”
“Why not?”
“It’ll only convince Daddy he’s right to worry and it’ll be a slap at Cord’s pride. He doesn’t need you fighting his battles for him.”
“Amen to that,” Cord said, joining them. He gave Harlan Patrick a curt nod. “You’ve told her?”
“I thought she should know,” her brother said defensively.
“You’re right, she should,” Cord agreed, “if only so she can make up her own mind whether or not to trust me.”
“But I do,” Sharon Lynn insisted.
Cord smiled. “Thanks, darlin’.”
“As for the ranch—”
“I don’t want to discuss the ranch,” Cord retorted grimly. “Not ever. I’ve heard about as much about that ranch today as I care to. I won’t have it getting in between us.”
She was pretty sure she saw a new level of respect in Harlan Patrick’s eyes as he gave Cord a nod, then kissed her goodbye.