Chapter 7 - A Ranch Worth Stealing
The fire ran faster than horses.
Dry grass ignited in rolling waves beneath the Texas wind, turning the northern range into a wall of orange.
Ironstone’s men rode toward it carrying wet blankets, shovels, barrels of water, anything that might beat back the flames.
Josephine stayed near the ranch house because somebody had to organize what came next.
She filled water casks.
Prepared food.
Converted the dining room into a treatment area in case men returned burned or injured.
But her eyes kept moving toward the horizon.
Harrison was out there.
She told herself that mattered because he owned the ranch.
Nothing more.
By midnight, rain finally arrived.
It came violently.
A hard summer storm pounded Ironstone, flattening flames and turning ash into black mud.
The men returned one by one.
Harrison came last.
His shirt was stained with smoke.
A burn marked his forearm.
Josephine saw him and forgot every measured thing she planned to say.
“You idiot.”
Harrison blinked.
“Good evening.”
“Sit.”
“I’m fine.”
“Sit.”
Judson walked past them.
“Wouldn’t argue, boss.”
Harrison sat.
Josephine cleaned the burn.
He watched her hands.
“You were worried.”
“No.”
“You called me an idiot.”
“I call Judson that daily.”
From across the room Judson shouted, “I heard that.”
Josephine wrapped Harrison’s arm.
“How much land burned?”
“About eight hundred acres.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Cattle?”
“Most moved.”
“The pumping station?”
“Destroyed.”
“Accident?”
“No.”
He placed something on the table.
A kerosene-soaked rag.
Josephine stared.
“Found it behind the pump shed.”
Harrison’s jaw tightened.
“Gideon.”
“Or someone who wants us blaming Gideon.”
“You think Vane would do this?”
“I think men who steal ranches with contracts prefer paperwork to fire.”
She tied the bandage.
“But desperate men use both.”
The following morning the damage looked worse.
The north pump structure had burned completely.
Without it, five thousand acres could not be watered properly.
Repair costs would consume nearly everything earned by Josephine’s provision business.
That was probably the point.
Vane arrived before noon.
Nobody invited him.
He rode into Ironstone with two men and looked over the burned range from horseback.
Harrison walked into the yard.
“Leave.”
Vane dismounted.
“I heard about the fire.”
“Fast.”
“News travels.”
Josephine stood on the porch.
Vane noticed her.
“Terrible timing.”
“For whom?” she asked.
His eyes sharpened.
“Harrison, my offer remains open until tomorrow.”
“Not interested.”
“Your north range has no water.”
“It will.”
“With what money?”
Josephine watched him closely.
He knew too much.
Exactly how much damage.
Exactly which pump.
Exactly what it meant.
Vane took a folded document from his coat.
“Fifty thousand.”
Harrison stared.
“You increased the offer?”
“I’m a reasonable man.”
“No,” Josephine said.
Vane looked at her.
“You’re a frightened one.”
Cordelia’s carriage approached in the distance.
Vane’s expression hardened.
Josephine continued.
“A man doesn’t increase his price after the property burns unless he’s afraid the owner will discover its real value.”
Harrison turned toward her.
Vane said nothing.
“The railroad,” Josephine continued.
For the first time, Vane lost control of his face.
Barely.
But Josephine saw it.
Harrison saw it too.
“What railroad?” Vane asked.
“The one coming through Ironstone.”
“That proposal isn’t approved.”
“Then why do you care?”
Vane smiled again.
“Speculation.”
“So is poker.”
Josephine folded her arms.
“Still tells you something when a man keeps raising.”
Cordelia stepped from her carriage.
“Silas.”
He turned.
She looked furious.
“Leave.”
“This doesn’t concern you.”
“It does now.”
Vane walked toward her.
“Be careful, Cordelia.”
That was not advice.
It was a threat.
Harrison stepped between them.
“Get off my land.”
Vane looked at him for several seconds.
Then at Josephine.
Finally, he mounted.
“Tomorrow, the offer disappears.”
Josephine said, “Take it with you.”
He rode away.
Cordelia watched until he vanished.
Then her shoulders dropped.
“I made a terrible mistake.”
Harrison said nothing.
Cordelia turned toward him.
“When Matador bought my father’s ranch, I introduced Gideon to Vane.”
Harrison’s face changed.
Josephine remained silent.
Cordelia swallowed.
“I thought it would help you.”
“Help me?”
“Vane told me Ironstone was going bankrupt. He said if Gideon provided information, Matador could structure a purchase that would clear your debt.”
“You gave them access.”
“I didn’t know they’d sabotage you.”
Harrison’s voice hardened.
“You told them everything.”
“I told Gideon about the railway survey.”
Josephine closed her eyes briefly.
There it was.
Cordelia continued.
“Vane realized your property could become the central shipping point for half the county. Matador started buying surrounding ranches.”
“Then they needed Ironstone.”
“Yes.”
“Why not negotiate honestly?”
“Because after the rail line, Ironstone would be worth several times what they could pay now.”
Josephine asked, “How much?”
Cordelia looked at her.
“If the spur is approved?”
“Yes.”
“Possibly two hundred thousand.”
Harrison stared toward his scorched pasture.
Yesterday he believed he owned a failing ranch.
Today he owned something corporations were willing to sabotage for.
Cordelia removed an envelope from her bag.
“I took this from Vane’s office.”
She handed it to Harrison.
Inside was a copy of the proposed railway route.
The line crossed Ironstone.
Beside the route was another document.
A letter from Gideon.
It described Harrison’s debts, herd counts, bank obligations, and weak points.
At the bottom:
Thirty days should be sufficient. Once Croft defaults, proceed through the bank.
Harrison’s hands shook.
Not from fear.
From rage.
Josephine took the papers.
“This is evidence.”
Cordelia nodded.
“Enough to expose Vane?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because planning to buy a distressed ranch isn’t illegal.”
“What about the fire?”
“No proof.”
Josephine looked at the document again.
“But this tells us what they need.”
Harrison turned.
“What?”
“You to default.”
“Yes.”
“Then our job is simple.”
He laughed without humor.
“Simple?”
Josephine handed him the paper.
“We don’t default.”
The next twenty-three days would determine whether Ironstone survived.
They needed nearly ten thousand dollars more.
The north pump was destroyed.
Someone was still sabotaging them.
And the biggest cattle shipment of the year had to leave within a week.
Josephine had one advantage.
For the first time, she knew exactly what the enemy was waiting for.
May you like
And she intended to disappoint them.
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