He stormed over to the door. She thought for sure he was going to keep on going outside, jump on his horse and ride away. But he stopped. His shoulders slumped as though the weight of the world weighed down on him.
“If you must know, I’m dyslexic. I bet now you’re happy that you didn’t get further involved with a dumb cowboy.”
“I never, ever thought you were dumb. You are very smart about so many things.” Except when it came to letting go of the ghost town in order to save hi
s home.
“I’m not like you. My choices are limited.”
Then she understood the other reason he’d clung so tightly to the land. It was what he knew—what he could do without feeling inferior. Her heart went out to him. Suddenly so many things made sense to her. “Don’t underestimate yourself. You can do whatever you set your mind to.”
“Yeah, right. I’m a cowboy, and my livelihood depends on the land.”
“Then help me save it. Look over the papers and then have someone in Whistle Stop go over them. Maybe your Realtor or an attorney—”
He turned to her. “I don’t need anyone’s help, because I’m not signing those papers.”
She stepped forward. “Listen, I respect your undying loyalty to your heritage, but you’re letting your pride overrule your common sense. Aren’t you hearing me? Your home is about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. You won’t have any say in who buys it.” She implored him with her eyes to listen to reason. “Please don’t let that happen.”
“You’d say anything now to make this deal, wouldn’t you?”
“You act like you’re the only one with something to lose here. Did you ever think that I might have something precious at stake, too?”
His gaze narrowed. “Your job at HSG?”
“No. My relationship with my father.”
When Cord didn’t say anything, she continued, “You’ve been so focused on your save-the-ghost-town-at-all-costs campaign that I don’t think you’ve listened to one word I’ve said.”
“Of course I listened to you,” Cord blustered.
“No, you didn’t. Sure, you listened when I told you stories about my childhood, but not when I steered the subject around to the land. Not when I tried to explain that we both have a lot at stake.”
He eyed her suspiciously.
She swallowed down her rising emotions. “My father’s entire life has been about building his legacy, a legacy that he can pass on to me. It’s all that matters to him now, and I want…I need to make that happen. It’s all I’ll ever be able to give him.
Worse than the anger was the wounded look in Cord’s chocolate-brown eyes. “How can you play on my sympathies like this? I thought you understood that I can’t afford to cut this ranch practically in half. I’d have to reduce my herd size drastically. I…I don’t even know if I could keep the ranch going. If I couldn’t run this ranch, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“We’re both going to lose if we don’t make this deal. You’re going to lose your home, and I’m going to lose my family’s company. Shouldn’t something be saved?” She longed to put her arms around him and offer some comfort, but she knew that would be the last thing he’d want. Her arms remained limp at her sides.
“You’re no better than your father.” He raked his fingers through his hair, scattering it in an unruly mess. “The other day when you were on the phone with him you mentioned that you had an alternative building site in mind, and I was foolish enough to believe you understood my need to hang on to the land—”
“I said I was pursuing another site, but this morning I learned that we couldn’t reach an agreement with the owner. There are no other alternatives. We have to move ahead with our plan for Haggerty.” Even though Cord refused to admit it, she was saving his home. Too bad the justification did nothing to comfort her. “I didn’t want to do this, but my company is in major trouble. People will lose their jobs, employees who have been loyal and supportive for years.”
“I know nothing about you.” Cord’s voice cracked with raw pain. “I thought I did. I thought we were building something real—something with a future. But the truth is, it’s all been a lie.”
The dark coldness in his eyes was killing her. “I’m sorry. This isn’t how I wanted things to end.”
His shoulders were held in a rigid line. A muscle twitched in his jaw. “You need to leave now.”
She held out the sales agreement. “You have until tomorrow to sign this, if you want to keep your home.”
When he didn’t move, she placed the papers on the wooden stand by the door. “You’ll sign them, won’t you?” He glowered at her, but he didn’t scare her. She knew he was a gentle giant even when he huffed and puffed. “Don’t you understand that at least this way I could personally make sure the cemetery is protected?” she pleaded. “We could build a rock wall the whole way around it. And your home would still be yours, free and clear. Trust me. This is best.”
“What about the ghost town? Would it be preserved just as it is?”
She shook her head. “Numerous upgrades are required before the insurance company will issue coverage. If you were to talk with the contractors and show them some of your old photos of Haggerty, they could attempt to rebuild it in a similar fashion.”