“Just a little place that does simple stuff. Not anything you’re used to, I’m sure.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m kind of a joint girl, given the opportunity. Let’s go get a bite.”
They were sitting in Mabel’s Diner fifteen minutes later, waiting for the waitress to take their order. Cain looked out at the guy on the corner, doing his best not to stick out on the small town street. The fact that he was freezing his ass off while keeping an eye on her brought its own perverse sense of satisfaction. Just watching him out there made her peruse the menu and plan to order every course she could squeeze out of the sparse number of selections.
“Cain, can I ask you a question?” Ross peeked at her over the top of his own menu but kept it near his face. Probably, Cain figured, to hide his face if she didn’t like his question.
“Shoot.”
“What is it you do?”
She looked at him and wondered if old Ross was a strand in Kyle’s webbing. “Can I ask you a question before I answer yours?”
He followed her line of sight out to the guy on the corner.
“Have you ever heard the expression the walls have ears?”
Ross just stared at her silently, as if waiting for her to finish.
“In this day and age they have ears, eyes, and brains. And they always seem to be plotting my demise. The other thing is, they aren’t confined to the walls, so I’m curious why you want to know what I do.”
Ross couldn’t take his eyes off the man on the corner leaning against one of the town’s only parking meters. “I’ve been watching my daughter for the past four years, trying to find what spooked her. Granted, I didn’t spend a lot of time getting to know you, but I saw how you felt about her. I could hear it in your voice when we used to talk.” He finally turned from the window and scrutinized his daughter’s ex-lover. “Why’s she here and not with you?”
“She asked to go and I let her. I’m not a monster, Ross. I wasn’t about to try and force her to stay somewhere she felt she didn’t belong any longer. What I wouldn’t allow, though—and if this makes me sound like a monster, then I’m sorry—was letting her leave with Hayden. He’s my son, and his place is with me. If Emma wants to have a relationship with him I’m all for that, but it’ll be limited to visitation rights. I’ll pull out every bit of power and influence at my disposal to keep it that way. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“But that doesn’t really answer my question.”
Cain glanced at the man on the street again and thought of the best way to answer without upsetting Ross. “In my time and in my business dealings, some people have tried to test my resolve and my position every so often. Sometimes, they try to get to me through my family. At a party for my sister, one of my cousins tried to take certain liberties with Emma in our home. I caught him before it turned ugly, and after seeing she was upset but unhurt, I had a little talk with this guy. The blood on my hands after our talk scared her, and she left a week later. I figured she would come back here, and someday she’d return to see our son. As much as it hurt me, it was her decision, and I’ve tried my best to honor it.”
Ross leaned back in the booth and stared at Cain’s hands. Granted, her life did have slimy characters at the periphery, but Emma had left because Cain had done what anyone else not even in her position would have.
“Cain, there’s something you should know.” Ross stopped talking when she shook her head in a way only he would see.
“How about you explain why you aren’t making a trip to the feed store until the spring?”
During the rest of lunch Ross told her about low dairy prices and rising debt. He didn’t mind doing without, but the land he worked had been in his family for generations, and family tradition was a subject he was sure she understood.
“I can look at you, Ross, and see you’re a proud man, but does that mean you’re stupid?”
Her smile kept him from getting mad and made him laugh with her. “I’d like to think I’ve got a few brain cells left, thank you.”
“Then how would you like a silent partner?”
Chapter Eleven
Ross laughed again and studied her face to see if she was serious. “Who? You?”
“Let’s say me for now, but eventually Hayden. I know Emma’s probably your heir, but Hayden’s your grandson and the one chance you have to keep this place you love in your family. I give you my word you’ll never have a problem with the authorities, and nothing will go on there that isn’t going on now.”
Ross thought of the number of FBI running around his property playing a cat-and-mouse game. He figured Kyle hadn’t realized the woman sitting here with him was the cat. Very seldom did the mouse win when the cat was as conniving as Cain. “How about we say nothing will go on there but farming and milking cows if I take you up on your offer?”
Ross shook one of the big hands that came off the tabletop and extended toward him. “Deal, partner,” said Cain, apparently not needing a written contract. She excused herself from the table and headed toward the pay phone at the back of the restaurant. Ross sat alone and had another cup of coffee, wishing he knew who was keeping Cain on the other end so long.
“Let’s head over to the bank” was all she said when she was finished.
Ross didn’t ask any questions and just followed her down the street. He noticed the employees of the bank looked a little wary when they saw him, probably not wanting to turn him down again for a loan.
