Colton Cowboy Jeopardy (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

“Herman is the one who tossed the land into the pot.”

“Haven’t you ever done anything impulsive?” he challenged.

“Sure.” She’d been having plenty of impulsive thoughts about Jarvis, but she wasn’t about to drive her only ally away by jumping him.

“Herman’s fault.” He thunked his head back against the post. “I don’t blame you for thinking it. Growing up, I heard ghost stories of how Herman cursed our branch of the family tree. It wasn’t until he was dying that Isaiah gave me actionable details.”

“Such as?”

“He described a metal box with Herman’s initials scratched into the top of it. Told me that inside the box, in addition to the proof about who should own the land, there was more family history Payne couldn’t ignore. One way or another, Payne would have to acknowledge us. Herman buried that box on the land that he felt was rightfully his and urged his sons to take it back once Eugene was dead.”

“Why wait?”

“Granddad said Herman spent years searching for the card cheat, waiting to get a confession out of him. Distracted, he relied on his family to manage the smaller plot of land, while he burned through any ready cash following a gambler around the territories. Eventually, one bad season followed by another forced them to sell out.”

“To Eugene’s sons?” she asked, certain of the answer.

He nodded. “Got it in one.”

“Wow.” The story was preposterous and plausible at the same time. In his shoes, she, too, would have been hard-pressed to let it go as an old man’s rambling. “Takes courage to follow through the way you have. Does either Asher or Payne know what you’re up to?”

“No.” His chin came up, as if he dared her to contradict the tale or threaten to blow his cowboy cover. “I’m aware dementia can do strange things to the mind,” he admitted softly. “But Isaiah talked about landmarks. So many details...” Jarvis’s voice trailed off as his gaze drifted toward the darkening mountain range. “On a spread of this size and searching by myself, I have to be realistic that even if the story is true, I might never find one small box.”

A fresh excitement twinkled through her system, like the stars popping into view overhead. She loved learning new things. “That’s why you were out there the day you found me,” she said.

“You mean, the day you were channeling Babe Ruth?” He grinned. “I was out there riding fence first and searching second. Asher’s a good man and a fair boss. If he was a jerk like his dad I might shirk the workload, but I respect him too much.”

“So you’ll work here until you find Herman’s box and can stake your claim?” She looked out over the acreage shrouded in darkness. Landmarks or not, there was too much ground for one man to cover.

“In a perfect world, yes. It would be a blast to march into Payne’s office, looking for his wife, Genevieve, and demand a fair current price on the land.”

“That’s a deal I could broker for you,” she teased. “You’d be rich in an instant.”

He snorted. “Rich divided three ways, plus your commission.” He winked. “At this point it would be just as satisfying to see Spencer and Bella react. They’d be shocked to learn that I bought into this family myth. Truth is, I feel better about the work I do here, rich or not, than I ever did at the office.”

“You loved your grandpa,” she whispered. “I want Silas to know his grandpa, to make lasting memories. Regina is bent on preventing that.” Her dad was all Silas had. Roderick’s parents had shown zero interest in being part of their grandson’s life. Anger rose up high and fast, unhindered by the choking fear of her stepmother’s threats. Something about Jarvis being around gave her hope and courage that she could find a solution Regina wouldn’t slither out of.

Silas started squirming and fretting, and she checked his diaper. “It’s that time again,” she brushed her nose to her son’s. “We’ll be back.”

But Jarvis followed her, pausing just inside the doorway. She heard him laugh and glanced over to find him eyeing the heavy stick she kept propped by the door.

“Always prepared,” he observed.

“Mothers and the Boy Scouts,” she said. Once Silas was in a clean diaper, she curled into a corner of the bunk, giving him a chance to nurse while she mulled over Jarvis’s story. It made her happy that he’d shared it, that he trusted her not to betray him. It felt good to be on even ground with their shared secrets and concerns. “Have you done any research into the records of sale for this property?”

“I did visit the records office,” he replied. “The documents on file match what everyone has accepted as truth. Per those official documents, Payne’s side of the Colton family tree bought the land generations back and built a thriving cattle operation.”

“Mmm. Okay.” Her mind was spinning, happily distracted by his search over her own problems. “You didn’t find the box out by the warming hut, so where will you look next? How do you decide where to search?”

“I’ve been working off the landmarks Isaiah described and I keep track of the locations with a geocaching type of app.”

That sounded fascinating. “Do you think I could help?”

“Why would you want to?” he asked.

She shrugged, hoping the nonchalance would hide her intense curiosity about the quest. More than anything, she wanted to thank him for helping her. Well, that was a lie. She wanted to keep seeing him. “It’s better than my current agenda of convincing potential clients to list their property for sale with a shiny new real-estate agent they can’t meet in person.”

“Yet,” he said. “We’ll figure out a way around your stepmom. I didn’t anticipate any help with the search, but if you feel like it, I’ll gladly accept.”