Caitlyn’s Prize Read online

  For Caitlyn, the ranch had always been her home.

  And always would be.

  She glanced east to the Southern Cross.

  Cait knew she had a fight on her hands, the biggest one of her life. There was no room for error, no room for losing.

  And no room for feminine emotion.

  CHAPTER THREE

  CAITLYN RODE INTO the barn, feeling more determined than ever. Judd Calhoun would not take everything she loved.

  As she unsaddled Red, it crossed her mind that she had once loved Judd. And if a psychologist chiseled through the stubborn layers of pride encased around her heart, a flicker of love might still be there. But Judd had just killed whatever remaining emotion she had ever felt for him. Guilt, her constant companion for years, had just vanished.

  Now she was fighting mad.

  “Hey, where did you take off to?” Cooper asked, walking into the barn, with Rufus a step behind him.

  Her cowhands were outcasts, both of them ex-cons who worked cheap. She trusted them with her life.

  Cooper Yates was bad to the bone—that’s what people in High Cotton said about him. He’d had a nightmarish childhood, with a father who beat him regularly. In his teens he’d been in and out of juvenile hall.

  Coop had been a year ahead of her in school and she’d always liked him. They were friends, sharing a love of horses.

  After high school, Coop worked on several horse farms, determined to stay out of trouble. But trouble always seemed to follow him. When he’d hired on at an operation in Weatherford, Texas, several thoroughbred horses died unexpectedly. An investigation determined that the pesticide mixed with the feed to kill weevils had been incorrectly applied.

  The owner pointed the finger at Coop. They’d gotten into a fight and the owner had filed charges. Cooper was arrested, tried and convicted. He’d spent six months in a Huntsville prison.

  When Caitlyn heard the news, she was convinced Coop was innocent. There was nothing he didn’t know about horses or their feed. She’d been proved right. The cover-up soon unraveled. The owner had mixed the feed and had used Coop as a scapegoat. Her friend was released, but the damage had been done. No one would hire him.

  Caitlyn had urged her father to take a chance on Coop. He’d been working on High Five for three years now.

  Rufus, the husband of Etta, their housekeeper, was now in his seventies. Years ago he’d been in a bar with friends when he saw a guy slap his girlfriend and slam her against the wall. Rufus pulled him off her and the man took a swing at him. Rufus ducked and managed to swing back, hard. The man went down and out—for good. His head hit a table and that was it.

  Rufus had been tried and convicted. He’d spent three years in a Huntsville prison for involuntary manslaughter. When he was released, he came home to Etta and High Five. They were a part of the Belle extended family.

  Cait threw Red’s saddle over a sawhorse, then pushed back her hat. “I have a heap of problems, guys.”

  “What happened?” Coop asked. He was always the protective one.

  She figured honesty was the best policy, so she told them the news.

  “Shit,” Rufus said, and quickly caught himself. “Sorry, Miss Caitlyn. Didn’t mean to curse. It just slipped out.”

  “Don’t worry, Ru. I’ll be doing a lot of that in the days to come.” She took a breath. “I don’t know how much I’ll be able to pay you, so it’s up to you whether you go or stay.”

  “I’m staying,” Coop replied without hesitation. “I’m here until Judd forces us out.”

  Rufus rubbed his face in thought. “I go where my Etta goes, and she ain’t leaving High Five or Miss Dorie. I’m staying, too.”

  “Thanks, guys. Now I have to go tell Gran.” Cait had had no doubt about the men staying. They were close. They were family.

  “We’re going to fix that fence in the northeast pasture,” Coop said. “I guess we now have to play nice with the lofty Calhouns.”

  A smile touched her lips for the first time all day. “We’re going to play, but I’m not thinking nice.”

  Coop grinned and it softened the harshness she often saw on his face.

  She waved toward her horse. “Would you please rub down Red and feed her? I have to see Gran.”

  “You’re gonna let me take care of Red?” One of Coop’s eyebrows shot to the brim of his worn Stetson. “Did you hear that, Ru?”

  “Yes, siree, I did.”

  She placed her hands on her hips. “Okay, I don’t like other people taking care of my horse, so what?”

  Cooper bowed from the waist. “I’ll treat her with the utmost care, ma’am.”

  She shook her head and walked toward the house. The two-story wood-frame dwelling wasn’t as fancy as the Calhoun spread. John Cotton, her great-great-grandfather, who’d settled High Cotton with Will Calhoun in the late 1800s, had had simpler taste.

  The exterior was weatherboard siding that desperately needed a coat of paint. The hip roof sported four chimneys, but since Grandfather Bart had installed central air and heat, they were rarely used.

  Brick piers supported Doric half columns along three sides of the wraparound porch. A slat-wood balustrade enclosed the porch with a decorative touch. Black plantation shutters added another touch, as did the beveled glass door that had been there since the house was built.

  In the summers Cait and her sisters used to sleep out on the porch in sleeping bags, laughing and sharing secrets. What she had to share now wasn’t going to be easy.

  She picked up her stride and breezed through the back veranda into the kitchen. Etta was at the stove, stirring something in a pot.

  “Where’s Gran?”

  “In her room.” Etta always seemed to have a spoon in her hand, and she waved it now. “I’m almost afraid to go up there.” The housekeeper was tiny and spry, with short gray hair, a loyal and honest woman with a heart of gold. Cait had never met a better person.

  Etta was fiercely loyal to Dorie, and worried about her. Since her son’s death, Dorie tended to live in a world removed from reality. As kids, playing make-believe with Gran had been a favorite pastime for Caitlyn and her sisters. But lately it had gotten out of hand.

  “What is she doing?” Cait asked.

  “She had me help her get that old trunk out of the attic. She was pulling clothes out of it when I came down to start supper. We’re having stew and cornbread.”

  “Etta…” Cait sighed. “Neither you nor Gran are to pull trunks out of the attic. I’ll do it or Coop will.”

  “She was in a hurry, and you know how Miss Dorie is.”

  “Yes.” Cait turned toward the stairs in the big kitchen. “I’ll go talk to her.”

  CAIT KNOCKED ON her grandmother’s door, stepping into the room when she heard her call, “Come in.” Then she stopped and stared.

  Gran stood in front of a full-length mirror, in a dress from the 1930s. It fit her slim figure perfectly. She wore heels and a jaunty hat that were also of that era.

  “Gran, what are you doing?”

  “‘I’ve been betrayed so often by tomorrows, I don’t dare promise them.’”

  Cait blinked. That made no sense. Though it kinda, sorta exemplified their situation, she thought.

  “Remember that line, baby?” Gran primped in front of the mirror, turning this way and that way.

  “No, I don’t.” Cait was thirty-three and her grandmother still called her “baby.” She wondered if Gran would ever see her as an adult.

  “Bette Davis.” Dorie whirled to face her. “As Joyce Heath in Dangerous. Let’s play movies of the thirties.”

  “I really need to talk to you.”

  “Oh, posh.” Gran knelt at the trunk, pulling out more clothes. She held up a white blouse with a big bow. “I know you remember this line. ‘Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.’”

  Cait could say that was apt, but decided to leave her grandmother with her playful memories for the moment. Cait was worried whether Gran
was ever going to be able to cope with her son’s death. Soon, though, she was going to have to face facts. Cait hoped to make it as easy as possible.

  She hurried down the wooden staircase and across the wide plank floors to her study. She had to call her sisters. Since Cait was in charge of their inheritance, they depended on her to make decisions that would benefit them. How did she tell them they wouldn’t be receiving any more checks? By being honest.

  She called Madison first. Their middle sister was easy—that’s what she and Skylar often said. Not easy in the sexual sense, but with her emotions. Madison was easygoing, loving, compassionate, and felt other people’s pain. Cait and Sky often played on Maddie’s sensitive nature because they knew she would never do anything to hurt or disappoint them. Cait was counting on her understanding today.

  Madison answered on the second ring.

  “Maddie, it’s Cait.”

  “Hi, big sister. What’s going on? Is there a ranch crisis?”

  It was the opening Caitlyn needed. “Yes.” She told her about her meeting with Judd.

  There was a long pause on the other end. “Cait, I need that money. I depend on it.”

  Cait was taken aback. This didn’t sound like her easy, understanding sister.

  “I’m sorry, but it’s gone.”

  “Can’t you do something?”

  Cait heard the desperation in her voice. “You need to come home so we can discuss this.”

  “I…I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just can’t, okay?”

  “Maddie, we need to discuss our options face-to-face. That’s all I know to do.”

  There was another long pause.

  “I’ll try to get the next flight out of Philadelphia. I’ll let you know.”

  “Good. I can’t wait to see you.”

  “Cait…”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. We’ll talk when I get there.”

  Cait hung up, knowing something was going on with Maddie. But what? She’d find out soon enough.

  Sadly, as they grew older, the sisters spent less and less time together. Maddie had come home when their father became ill, and had stayed until he died. Before that Cait hadn’t seen her in three years.

  Maybe they could reconnect and become family again. There was that hope, but she knew her sisters would pressure her to sell. She closed her eyes briefly, realizing she was facing the biggest fight of her life. And not only with Judd.

  Calling Skylar was more difficult. She was the wild, defiant one, and was not going to take this news well. When Sky came to visit their father in his last days, it had been four years since Cait had seen her. Skylar had her own life, living in Lexington, Kentucky, with her mother, but had a stake here, too.

  Without another thought, Cait made the call. Usually she had to leave a message on voice mail, but today her sister answered.

  “Hi, Sky. It’s Caitlyn.”

  “What’s wrong? You only phone when something’s wrong.”

  As with Maddie, she told her the truth, not sugarcoating any of it.

  “You’re kidding me.”

  “No. The cash flow has stopped and the ranch is in dire straits.”

  “Why, Caitlyn? Why isn’t High Five making a profit? It’s a big ranch with a lot of cattle, and it’s always been profitable. What’s the problem?”

  Skylar was pointing the finger straight at her. How dare she! “Maybe if you came home more often, you’d know.”

  “Maybe if you were a better manager we wouldn’t be in this fix.”

  “If you think you can do a better job, then get your ass here and try.”

  “Don’t get huffy with me. If you’d just married the damn man, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  “Excuse me?” Both of their tempers had flown the coop, so to speak, and Caitlyn wasn’t backing down or admitting fault. This was typical of their relationship, with the two of them always at loggerheads.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “My relationship with Judd or lack thereof has nothing to do with this. Dad sold our oil and gas royalties and now we have to decide what we’re going to do. You need to come home.”

  “There is no way I can just drop everything and leave at a moment’s notice.”

  “That’s up to you. Maddie and I will make decisions without you.”

  “Like hell.” There was a momentary pause. “Listen, Cait. I need that money.”

  “I heard the same thing from Maddie. And I might remind you that I put my money back into High Five. You two have been living free and easy. That’s going to stop. I’m sorry, but it is. If you want to change things, then come home. That’s my last word.”

  “Cait—”

  “No, Sky. I’m not listening to any more of your mouth. If you think you can run this ranch better, you’re welcome to try. Just get here!” She shouted the last words into the receiver and slammed it down.

  Caitlyn stood and paced, trying to release her pent-up emotions. Sky didn’t know how bad their father’s drinking and gambling habits had been, nor did she know about Gran’s fragile state of mind. Neither did Maddie.

  Cait had shouldered the burden, while her sisters had lived a life of luxury. She ran her hands over her face with a deep, torturous sigh. She should have told them. Was this her fault?

  Dropping her hands, she glanced out the window toward the Southern Cross. I’ll take everything you love. Judd’s words took root in her thoughts, her emotions. Yes, it was her fault. All because she wouldn’t marry a man who didn’t love her.

  At nineteen, she’d believed in love and happily ever after. She’d thought she’d hit the jackpot, only to discover that the marriage had been arranged between Jack Calhoun and her father. That’s why Judd had shown an interest in her, after ignoring her for years.

  It was all planned. Caitlyn was to do as she was told. But her father didn’t count on her stubborn streak.

  She’d wanted to marry for love, and wouldn’t settle for less.

  Now, years later, she had to wonder if love was real or just a fantasy that lived inside foolish women’s hearts and minds.

  For her, it was something she’d never experience again.

  Love had died.

  Only revenge remained.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “CAITLYN, WHERE ARE YOU? I can’t traipse all over the house looking for you. I’m too old for this. You have a visitor, so get your butt out here.”

  Etta’s annoyed voice snapped Caitlyn out of her malaise. She hurried to the door and yanked it open, finding the housekeeper there with a wooden spoon in her hand.

  As a kid, Cait had often felt the sting of that spoon on her legs, mostly for doing something she’d been told not to. She had a feeling Etta wanted to swat her with it now.

  “What is it?”

  “You have a visitor. He’s in the parlor.”

  “He, who?”

  “Mr. Calhoun.”

  Oh great, just what she needed. Two encounters with the man in one day. What did he want now? Her blood?

  Etta leaned in and whispered, “What’s he doing here?” Those faded brown eyes demanded an answer. Gran’s faculties might be faulty, but Etta’s were not. Cait knew she couldn’t slip anything past her.

  “I’m not sure. I’ll go see.”

  Etta’s bony fingers wrapped around her forearm, stopping her. “Don’t lie to me, girl.”

  “High Five’s in trouble. I’ll explain later.”

  “Fine.” She released her hold. “Did you check on Miss Dorie?”

  “Yes. She’s digging clothes out of the trunk and reliving happier times.”

  “Lordy, Lordy, is she ever gonna snap out of it?”

  “We just have to be patient and gentle with her.”

  “Yeah.” Etta glanced toward the parlor. “What are you waiting for?”

  Cait smiled briefly. “Maybe a shot of courage.”

  Etta held up the spoon. “Will this help?”


  “You bet.”

  Moments later, Caitlyn walked into the room, her boots dragging on the hardwood floor. The parlor looked the same as it had in the seventies, with velvet drapes and heavy antique furniture. Judd stood in the middle of the room on an Oriental rug that had seen better days. He held his hat in his hand, along with more blasted papers.

  Oh, yes, a gentleman always removed his hat in the company of a lady. Judd had always had impeccable manners. Too bad they didn’t come with real emotion, real feelings.

  “What is it, Judd?” She stood a good twelve feet away, but still felt the power of his presence. Her lungs squeezed tight and a feeling from her past surfaced. She was nineteen, young and in—oops…The four-letter word wasn’t in her vocabulary anymore. She’d replaced it with one that would scorch his ears.

  “You left in such a hurry you forgot your copy of the sale of the royalties and your father’s codicil to his will. You might need them to show your sisters.” Judd held the papers toward her.

  She crossed her arms and made no move to take them. “You could have sent someone with them. Brenda Sue goes right by here on her way home. Why are you here?”

  Her direct question didn’t faze him. He laid the papers on an end table by the settee. Cait noticed the film of dust there. Damn! Etta’s eyes weren’t the best anymore and Cait didn’t have time for housework. She had a ranch to run. And what did she care if Judd saw their home wasn’t immaculate.

  “I had a reason for coming,” he said, jolting her out of her thoughts.

  “What would that be?”

  His eyes caught and held hers. She wanted to look away but couldn’t. “I wanted to urge you once again to sell now and get it over with.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t think I can run this ranch successfully without the royalties?”

  “You haven’t so far.”

  “I—”

  He held up a hand. “Don’t make this about you and me. Do what’s right for your family.”

  “You made this about you and me.” Her voice rose with anger. “You want me to pay for daring to walk away from Judd Calhoun. Maybe even beg. It ain’t happening, mister.”