Cowboy Trouble (The McCord Brothers 1.5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

as if trying to figure out what wasn’t being said here. He also likely decided those were things he didn’t want to know. Instead, he took something from Bernie’s desk.
    “I had Bernie go ahead and finish the papers,” her father explained. “I paid him, too, so there’d be no reason for you to have future dealings with him. You can file for the divorce in Austin.”
    Well, there was a third shoe dropping, and it sounded more like a steel-toed combat boot in her head. Her father was taking charge, the way he always did. He handed her the papers.
    A pen, too.
    “You can both sign them now, and I’ll drop them off for you,” he added.
    She looked at Rico. He looked at her. And after all the looking, Rico shook his head. “I want to read the papers first, just to know what I’m signing. My lawyer should also take a look at them.”
    Her father didn’t seem so happy with that. “Your lawyer? Why would a ranch hand need a lawyer?”
    “Because I own property. Because I have investments, a decent income. I need to make sure that’s all protected.”
    Natalie could have kissed him again. Not because she didn’t plan on signing the papers. She did. But she wanted to sign them on her own terms, not her father’s.
    “Anything that you own is a drop in the bucket compared to Natalie’s net worth,” her father growled. And yes, it was a growl.
    Rico shrugged. “I still want to hear what my lawyer has to say.”
    She could have sworn little lightning bolts zinged through her father’s eyes. He turned to her, probably expecting her to force Rico’s hand on this. Since she was feeling raw, squeezed and congested from the crying, Natalie had to dig deep to find her backbone. It was something she frequently had to do with her father.
    “I can wait until Rico’s had a chance to do whatever he needs to do with the papers,” she said.
    More lightning bolts in her father’s eyes, and even though she hadn’t noticed it before, a scowling jowl just wasn’t very attractive. “Fine.” He stretched the word out through semiclenched teeth. “Then you come with me while he does that. I’ll give you a ride home.”
    “Natalie’s car is at the McCord Ranch,” Rico spoke up. “She can’t leave it there because it’s blocking the driveway.”
    The driveway was large enough for twelve cars, so Rico had just lied to her father. Good. She wasn’t sure she could find her backbone again right away and needed some breathing room.
    The jowls reacted, tightening, but her father must have realized this wasn’t a battle worth fighting because he gave a crisp nod. “Fine, then.” The crispness stayed in place when he turned to her. “I’ve got meetings all afternoon, but I’ll be home at six. I’ll expect you to come for dinner. I also expect the papers to be signed by then. You can call your mother afterward and have a nice chat.”
    Rico and she stood there, watching her father walk out after delivering that decree. If she didn’t show, there wouldn’t be a horse’s head in her bed in the vein of Vito Corleone, but he could play the guilt card.
    And would.
    Too bad the guilt card—aka her mother—worked. So, the bottom line was that she would indeed show for dinner. First, though, she needed some steeling up.
    “I could use a margarita,” she said. “A strong one.”
    Rico glanced at his watch, frowned. “It’s not even two o’clock yet.” That seemed to be a reminder that it was too early for alcohol. It was, but then he shrugged. “Come on. I could use one, too.”
    * * *
    T AKING N ATALIE TO his house wouldn’t be too big of a mistake. But the moment Rico thought that, he had to frown. It was a sad day when a man started lying to himself.
    Of course it was a mistake.
    A whopper, really, but they both did need a drink, and Calhoun’s Pub wouldn’t be open for hours. That left him with either getting the bottled margarita cocktails from the convenience store/gas station or making them at his house.