“We just have to hike down a few feet to the river. If I remember correctly, there's a picnic table there.”
Gia got out of the car, stretched her legs, and took in the view. Dana grabbed their lunches and motioned for Gia to follow her. Just as she'd remembered, there was a weathered old table and two benches perched on a knoll above the water. She grabbed a couple of napkins from the sacks of burgers and wiped it down.
“This work?”
“It's lovely. Is this the Feather River?”
“It is. Usually, there's more water from the snow runoff from the mountains. But we didn't have much snow this winter.” Dana handed Gia her food, and both women started eating.
“My God, this is good,” Gia said with a mouth full of burger.
“The Ponderosa's food is delicious too. When you're ready to come out in public, I'll take you there for dinner.”
Gia nodded. “I'd like that. So is this a park or something?”
“No, this is Rosser Ranch. Ordinarily, Ray Rosser would shoot us for trespassing, but he's in jail.”
Gia laughed. “You're kidding, right?”
“Nope. He killed a cattle rustler and is facing murder charges.”
“You've got to be making this up.”
“I swear on my real estate license. When we get back, you can read all about it in the
Nugget Tribune
.”
“Did he kill the rustler here?”
Dana shook her head. “Did you see the ranch we passed, the one with the big sign that said, âLucky Rodriguez's Cowboy Camp'? It happened there. But it was an anomaly. Nugget is about as safe as you can get.” Dana didn't want Gia thinking the town was a hotbed of crime.
Gia got up, walked down the trail to rinse her hands in the river, and stared out at the endless pastures and the mountains beyond. “It's a spectacular place. Are those his cattle?”
“Ray had to sell his herd to help pay for his defense. The land's leased to another rancher who runs his cattle here, at least until Ray sells the ranch.”
“It's for sale?”
When Dana nodded, Gia asked, “Can we make an appointment to look at it . . . officially?”
“Yes, I'm the listing agent. But Gia, it's over a thousand acres, and the asking price is more than your four-million-dollar Manhattan penthouse.”
Gia's eyes grew large. “How much more?”
“Close to eleven.” Dana knew that number was negotiable. If Ray's defense lawyers didn't get paid soon, they'd turn his case over to the public defender or a court-appointed attorney and Ray wanted the dream team. But as the listing agent, it would be unethical for her to tell Gia how desperate the seller was. “It's one of the largest and oldest cattle ranches in Northern California. The only one in the county larger is Clay McCreedy's spread, which butts up to this property.”
“Still,” Gia said. “Eleven million seems rather exorbitant.”
“If you saw what kind of prime real estate we're talking about here you'd understand why.” That was the truth, not Dana doing a sales job.
“Okay, show me.”
“Let's go. It'll give me an opportunity to finally see what you do and don't like.” Dana laughed because there was nothing not to like about the Rosser Ranch. “Let's drive up to the house and then I'll take you through some of the stables.”
“I'm good to go.” Gia scrunched up her trash, packed it in one of the burger sacks, and carried it back to the car with her.
When they pulled through the cobblestone circular driveway in front of the house, Gia's mouth fell open.
“This is what I'm talking about,” Dana said. “It's eight bedrooms, all with en-suite baths, a billiards room, a wine cellar, a solarium, and a gourmet kitchen. There are guest quarters over the five-car garage, bunkhouses for the staff near the stables.”
Gia unbuckled her seat belt and was out of the car before Dana could say more. She liked this enthusiastic side of Gia much more than the poker-faced Gia. Punching in the code to the lockbox, a key dropped out and Dana opened the door. Mrs. Rosser was in Colorado with her daughter, Raylene, indefinitely, so the house was vacant.
“The furnishings are included in the price,” Dana said. “Or you could negotiate to buy the place without them.”
Gia wandered through the grand foyer into the great room. “A lot of animal heads. Not really my thing.”
“Ray is a big-game hunter.”
“Yeah, apparently human too,” Gia said, and Dana quickly covered her mouth to keep from laughing. “Regardless of the heads, the place is stunning.”
Over the next hour they went from room to room. The property was too big to see all of it by car, but Dana showed Gia the pool and cabana, the stables, the barns, the horse paddocks, and the lily pond. The more Gia saw, the more her eyes lit up.
“Is the land dividable?” she asked.
“It's a little complicated. Based on the trust written up by Ray's grandfather, no Rosser can subdivide the property. It was his way of keeping his heirs from developing the land or fighting over pieces of it after he died. However, it's zoned agricultural, with a forty-acre minimum.”
“I don't get it.”
“It means that if you bought the land, you could divide it. However, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to turn the land into a housing division or a shopping center.”
“But I can use it for commercial use as long as the use is somehow agricultural?”
“For the most part. It doesn't necessarily mean you could put a processing plant on the property, or a slaughterhouse. But some of these ranchesâLucky's, for exampleâgoes under the header of agritourism, which means any kind of tourism that promotes agriculture.”
Gia nodded, taking it all in. “You said someone is leasing the land for his cattle. If I owned the property, could I still lease it out while I lived here, and how much does a lease like that go for?”
“You absolutely can do that. I'd have to check how much the current rancher is paying, but the price fluctuates based on demand and the beef market. Right now the demand for grazing land is high because of the drought. But the lease is only for the spring, summer, and early fall. When it starts getting cold, the cattle will be moved to warmer climates.”
“Wow,” Gia said. “You know your stuff, don't you?”
“I try.”
“I want it.” Gia gazed out over the land. “But not for eleven mil. That seems too high.”
“You have nothing to lose by making an offer.” That was all Dana could really say, adding, “I can give you comps as far as dollar per acre, but not all land is created equal. This has plenty of water, an amazing house, and you're right on the river.”
“How motivated is the seller?”
“He's sitting in a jail cell right now, fighting a first-degree murder charge.” Dana could at least say that since it was part of the public record. It was up to Gia to read between the lines. “But if Ray entertains offers that are much lower than the asking price, you'll have some competition. Both neighbors, Clay McCreedy and Lucky Rodriguez, have shown interest in the property.”
“Just not at that price,” Gia said.
Dana nodded. “As your agent, I want to give you the best advice I can. But I'm also the seller's agent, which ties my hands somewhat. I would completely understand if you want to make an offer through another agency.”
Gia deliberated a few minutes. “Nope, I want to go through you. You're knowledgeable, and I get the sense you're ethical, which, given what I've been through, is a breath of fresh air. How tapped in are these neighbors to negotiations? You're not representing them too?”
“No. It's all been informal. Ray and Clay are friends, so they talk, even from jail. Ray hates Lucky, but in this town nothing remains secret.”
Gia chuckled. “I've never been involved with something like this . . . cattle rustlers, jailhouse real estate deals.... It's a little crazy here, isn't it?”
“A little bit. But it's a good place. You want to go to the office, or we can do the paperwork in your hotel room?”
“The office would probably be easier, right?”
“We have a small conference room that's private.” Dana couldn't believe this was happening; even if Ray cut his price, it would be the most expensive property she'd ever sold.
“That'll work.”
They hiked back to the car and Dana started for town, giving Gia a sideways glance. “Do you have to sell your penthouse first?”
“That won't be a problem. Though depending on the price we settle on, I may need a little time to gather up extra funds. You think we could do a sixty-day escrow?”
“Ray would probably be okay with that.”
For much of the afternoon, Gia examined the comps, and together they wrote up a clean offer. She explained to Gia that given Ray's living situation, all communication had to go through his lawyers, and that it could take a little time to get an answer.
“I'll need it to pull together my own funding,” Gia said.
After all the Ts were crossed, the Is dotted, and the paperwork signed, Dana ran Gia back to the inn.
“You sure you don't want me to bring you up dinner?” Dana asked as Gia got out of the car, searching the square like she expected a reporter to jump out of the bushes.
“They have wine and afternoon snacks in the hotel. That'll do me.”
“You have my cell if you need anything. And I'll call you as soon as I hear.”
Gia crouched down in front of Dana's window. “Remember, you're bound by the nondisclosure contract. As far as anyone is to know, the offer is being made by the T Corporation.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
* * *
Gia would just have to trust her. Unfortunately, people had been known to walk right through confidentiality agreements into the pages of the
National Enquirer
. But somehow Dana Calloway seemed too honorable for that. Not to mention that if this deal went through, she stood to make a good chunk of change, more than any tabloid would pay her.
Gia's larger concern was coming up with the cash. Even though she'd offered a mil under asking, the idea of her taking on something like this with her job in jeopardy was insane. Delusional, really. No way would a bank carry her without a job and no prospect of one. While she did have the funds, liquidating them at a time like this . . . not prudent.
But standing at the river's edge, smelling the sage, staring out over the majestic mountains, she'd instantly fallen in love. She'd always invested with her head, never her heart. But the land had called to her, reminding her of that summer long ago when life had been filled with endless possibilities. Before everything had gone to shit.
But once she was here, out of the spotlight and away from her detractors, she'd put her plan into motion and build up her fortune again. And if that failed, she'd always have the land to fall back on.
Chapter 8
“J
ust looking at the phone won't make it ring,” Aidan said.
Dana blew out a puff of air. “At this rate I won't hear anything until after the Fourth.” The holiday fell smack in the middle of the week, which meant Ray's lawyers were probably taking a five-day weekend.
He smiled at her, and her stomach dipped like she was on a roller coaster. She supposed those pearly whites did that to a lot of women. But if she didn't want to be another second placer, it would be best to ignore that heart-stopping grin of his. All day he'd been moping around over his ex's wedding. Clearly he still pined for Sueâthat was her nameâeven though it had been close to seven months.
“Must be one hell of a deal,” he said.
She'd told him that her client had made an offer on a piece of land outside of town, but that was it. Aidan didn't know it was the Rosser Ranch, that it was a multimillion-dollar transaction, or that the buyer was Gia Treadwell.
“I don't like my clients getting nervous.”
“You seem to be the one getting nervous,” he said, and sat next to her on the couch. “Come with me to Sloane's. It'll get your mind off that call you're waiting for.”
“Thanks, Aidan, but I just want to relax at home. Yesterday was a long day.”
“Ah, come on. Be my date; otherwise I'll feel like a third wheel.” The man was pulling out all the stops.
His date.
Righhhht.
“Uh-uh,” she said. “I have my heart set on a
Downton Abbey
marathon.”
“You can do that any time. Brady's cooking.”
“I don't have anything to wear.” She reached for the remote control and he got up. “Where are you going?”
“To look through your color-coded clothes to find you something to wear.”
She shot up and chased after him. “Don't you dare go in my closet!”
“Why not? I built the damn thing.” He opened her bifold doors and started pulling out stuff and holding up hangers. “This looks good.”
It was one of the sundresses in Grace's package. It showed off too much boob and thigh as far as Dana was concerned.
“Uh-uh,” she repeated.
“Why not?”
“It's too slutty.”
“Slutty's good; put it on. Let me have a look.” He winked, and again her stomach did a series of acrobatics.
“Aidan, get out of my room.” She tried to push him, but he wouldn't budge.
“If I leave, will you go with me?”
He sure was insistent, and the truth was, she was curious about his sister and Brady. She didn't know either of them very well and yet they'd given her that gift card. And everyone went on and on about Brady's cooking. Other than one breakfast at the Lumber Baron, she'd never been to any of the weddings or parties he'd catered.
“Fine. But I want to be home at a reasonable hour.”
“Why, you turn into a pumpkin?” He tossed her the dress and started to leave. “I've got work tomorrow, so we can't be out too late.”
After he shut the door, she considered the dress, stripped, changed her bra and panties, and slipped it over her head. For a long time, she stood in front of the full-length mirror on the back of her door, assessing herself. Yep, boob central.
Aidan banged on the door. “You dressed?”
“Yes, but I'mâ”
He didn't let her finish, just barged in.
“For goodness' sake, Aidan.”
“Whoa.” He just stared at her, his eyes bugging out of his head, making her feel even more self-conscious. “That'll work. Let's go or we'll be late for dinner.” Aidan started to drag her out of the room.
“Stop, I want to put something else on.”
He gave her a wolfish grin and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's hold as if she weighed nothing. “No time.”
She struggled to hold her dress down. “Shouldn't we at least bring something?”
“Like what?”
“Wine, flowers, I don't know.” She pounded on his back until he put her down and ran into the kitchen.
She searched the fridge for wine and remembered she'd polished off her last bottle of chardonnay the night before. That was when she saw the Calloway candy and swiped a few tins.
“Hey, those are mine. What are you doing?”
“I'll get you more,” she told him, and they headed to Aidan's SUV. “Just a couple of hours; then you have to take me home.”
He looked over at her. “You know, it wouldn't kill you to be more social.”
“I'm plenty social.”
“Not from what I can tell.”
“And I guess you would know my whole life story after being my roommate for all of a week.”
He laughed. “I know enough.”
“Really? Like what?” she challenged.
“Like if you wore that dress more often your social life would vastly improve.”
She hiked up the neck. “You ever think that maybe I'm happy with my social life just the way it is?”
“Nah, you're too pretty to sit home every night organizing your underwear drawer.” He winked at her again and she rolled her eyes.
“Is that the best line you have?
You're too pretty to sit home every night
,” she mimicked. “Lame, Aidan.”
He turned off the highway into Sierra Heights and whizzed past the empty guard station. In Brady and Sloane's driveway he pulled behind a RAV4.
“You ever been here?”
“Of course. It used to be one of the models I showed to perspective buyers. It's gorgeous.”
Aidan came around to her side to help her out. For a smartass, he was the consummate gentleman.
“You have anything to put this in, a basket or something?” She held up the candy. “It seems sort of tacky to just hand them random boxes of chocolates.”
He touched his nose to hers, and while he was there, he looked down her dress. “You're funny, Dana.”
“You getting your eyes full there?”
“At the risk of being fresh, I'd like to get my hands full.”
She swatted at him to knock it off, but her girl parts were saying something entirely different, like:
Go ahead and feel me up right here in the front seat of your truck
. But she knew he was only flirting with her because the woman he loved was marrying someone else. Today. Probably at this very moment.
They walked together to the house, Dana carrying the candy. There was a note tacked on the door that said, “Meet us at the pool.” They followed a path to the rec center and opened the gate to the pool area, where Brady had taken over the outdoor kitchen and pizza oven. Sitting at the big island was, shit, Griffin. Lina emerged from the pool in a bikini like a freaking beauty contestant.
Dana tensed and Aidan put his arm around her.
“Is it too late to leave?” she whispered.
“Hey,” Sloane called from the pool, where she sat on the edge in a swimsuit, dangling her feet in the water. “We've been waiting for you.”
“Yup,” Aidan said, trying to be discreet. “Sloane didn't say anything to me about them coming, so maybe they're just swimming.”
“What took you guys so long?” Sloane came over. “Brady's making pizza for appetizers. Harlee and Colin are on their way. What do you have there, Dana?”
She looked down at the boxes of candy and felt like an idiot. “It's my family's chocolates.”
“Holy crap.” Brady had also joined them. “I never put it together that you were that Calloway. I love Calloway chocolates. I think they're even better than See's, and See's are pretty damn good.”
“Thanks.” She handed them to him.
Next thing she knew Griffin was hugging her. “I didn't know you were coming.” He looked at Aidan and back at her and his lips curved up.
Lina waved from one of the big lounge chairs.
“Come say hi to Lina,” Griff said, and Dana didn't know why they had to go to her. Why couldn't she come to them?
Aidan tightened his arm around her and she wanted to kiss him in sheer gratitude. They walked over to Princess Lina, who was rubbing tanning lotion on her shoulders. Like Griff, Lina gave her a big hug, which knocked Dana for a loop.
“I'm so sorry about your house. If there's anything you need while Colin and Pat are rebuilding, let me know. I'm home for the summer.”
“Thank you,” Dana said, feeling incredibly uncomfortable but mostly like a bitch because she wished Lina wasn't being so nice. Especially in front of Aidan.
Griffin introduced Aidan to Lina. And Dana gave him props for not ogling her in her tiny bathing suit. Harlee and Colin came through the gate carrying a big cooler.
“Want to get some pizza?” Aidan asked and steered Dana toward the big stone oven. Once they were out of earshot, he said, “I didn't know they were coming, I swear.”
“It's okay. Today is about you, not me.”
“What are you talking about?”
She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Uh . . . your ex . . . getting married.”
Aidan stepped back and shook his head like he had cobwebs in it. “Well, I'll be damned.”
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.” And then he kissed her.
* * *
It wasn't much of a kiss, just a peck, really. If Aidan had had his druthers, he would've gone all in. Tongue and everything. But they were in the middle of a gathering and people were watching. But damn if Dana didn't drive him to distraction. Case in point: He hadn't thought about Sue once this afternoon. His whole focus had been on getting Dana to come with him. And when she'd put on that dress he'd nearly lost his mind.
“Are you crazy?” Dana stood there, staring at him like he had a screw loose.
But she hadn't tried to stop him. In fact, she'd wound her arms around his neck and had gone up on her toes to reach him better. When he'd finished the kiss, she'd almost lost her balance.
“I thought we should put on a show . . . you know, to demonstrate that we're over them.”
“Everyone is staring at us.” She walked away, her face red as a pomegranate.
He went to join the party and get himself a slice of pizza. Dana had already wandered that way, and he noticed she was getting quite a few looks, especially from his sister. Colin had opened the cooler, which was loaded with soft drinks and beer. Aidan grabbed two brews, thinking Dana could use a little alcohol.
The whole setupâthe pool, spa, outdoor kitchenâwas an excellent place for a party. Impressive without being over the top. Another couple with a little girl joined the group. Aidan went over to introduce himself.
“You must be Sloane's brother. I'm Samantha, and this is my husband, Nate, and this is Lilly.” The little girl held her arms up to Aidan, so he put down the drinks, lifted her, and held her against his hip.
“Nice to meet you. You're the hotel people.” They owned a fleet of hotels, including the Lumber Baron, and were Brady's bosses.
“That would be us,” Nate said. “How you liking Nugget and the fire department?”
“So far, so good.” He glanced over at Dana and saw her sitting at an umbrella table alone. “Brady's making pizza. Come on over and grab a drink.” Aidan led them over to the oven.
“Here, let me take her from you.” Nate collected Lilly, who had attached herself to Aidan like a barnacle. “She likes you. Lilly's usually shy around people she doesn't know.”
“Kids just love my brother.” Sloane grabbed Aidan by the arm. “Can you help me with something over here?”
She dragged him to the other side of the pool. “What's with you and Dana?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, my ass. Why are you kissing her in the middle of my dinner?”
“I didn't realize I had to get permission from you to kiss a pretty woman. Did you call to ask me whether you could kiss Brady?”
“Give me a break, Aid. You're going through a bad breakup and she's going through . . . a fire.”
“Sue and I have been broken up for nearly seven months. And in case you forgot”âhe looked at his watchâ“she's married to someone else now.”
“Don't do this to Dana. Don't use her to get back at Sue.”
“Clearly you don't know Dana. And as far as getting back at Sue, she doesn't give a shit who I'm kissing.” Oddly enough, it didn't bother him. He'd been too busy enjoying the kiss with Dana to even let Sue enter into the picture.
“I don't get you.” Sloane threw her arms in the air and walked away.
He went to grab the beers he'd set down and join Dana, who was no longer sitting alone. The woman, Harlee, was with her, discussing something about clothes, but she got up to go when Aidan joined them.
“What was that about?” he asked Dana.
“She liked my dress and wants to give me stuff she doesn't wear anymore.”
“That's nice. Hey, I'm sorry about Griffin and Lina. I never would've intentionally put you in this situation. But it seemed to go okay.”
“It's not like we're enemies or anything. It's just delicate, but Lina was gracious about it.”
“How long were you and Griffin together?”
“I wouldn't say we were ever together, just dated. Griffin was always too hung up on Lina. Before me, they'd been a couple, then broke up while she attended USF. After she transferred to the University of Nevada, Reno, they got back together.”
Aidan nodded. “You still have feelings for him?”
“Nope,” she said, but Aidan didn't much believe her.