Colton Cowboy Protector. Beth Cornelison
took his brother’s arm and pulled him aside. “Excuse us for a minute, gentlemen.”
Brett muttered a curse under his breath and glared at Jack. “Don’t blow this for us, man. You know Daniel is looking to set up his own breeding program, and if the Lucky C doesn’t provide him with the resources, he’ll take his talents, and his profits, elsewhere.”
“If he wants to leave the ranch, he should.”
Brett scowled and angled his head. “You don’t mean that. He’s family! He belongs at the Lucky C. That means giving him reason to stay here, and Geronimo is a fantastic reason.”
Jack exhaled slowly and shoved his hands in his back pockets. “He only belongs here if he wants to stay. I won’t be party to strong-arm tactics or guilting him into staying.”
Brett squared his shoulders. “He’ll want to stay if we own Geronimo. He has the best bloodline in Oklahoma and Texas. I’ve been trying to get these guys to invest in our horse-breeding program for months, and I’ve got them on the hook.”
“The Lucky C doesn’t need outside investors. We’ve done quite well on our own and don’t need city boys poking their noses in our business.”
Brett met Jack’s gaze with a stubborn frown. “We do if you’re unwilling to front the cash from the ranch funds to buy Geronimo.”
“We’re not buying Geronimo or any other studs.” Jack leaned close to his brother and kept his volume low but his voice unflinching. “And we’re not shifting any resources to raising cutting horses, saddle broncs, race horses or any other wild scheme you’ve got up your sleeve. Period. I’m the manager of this ranch, and I decide how and where to spend money. Cattle have gotten us where we are today, and they’ll continue to be our business as long as I’m in charge. I see no good reason to change direction and risk everything Big J built.”
Brett shook his head, clearly frustrated. “Damn it, Jack. I know what I’m doing! Daniel knows his business, and he’ll take his business somewhere else if we don’t make some changes around here.”
Jack scoffed. “What did Daniel say when you proposed all this to him?”
Brett flinched. “I...haven’t yet. I wanted to secure the deal before—”
Jack cut him off with a grunt and a head shake. “You wanted more ammunition to lure Daniel to stay here. But he needs the freedom to decide his life without manipulation or bribes or guilt.”
“I have his best interests—the ranch’s best interests—in mind.”
Jack rubbed his eyes with the pads of his fingers before speaking again. “And you’re sure the two are one and the same?”
Brett looked confused. “Why wouldn’t they be?”
Why, indeed. Except that Jack had often wondered what he’d missed by passing up the chance to strike out on his own when he’d been younger. He’d let the pull of the family business, his role as the eldest son, lock him into a life running his father’s empire. He didn’t regret his choice, exactly, but sometimes he just felt...constrained.
“Look, Brett, leave the business decisions to me. Okay? Tell your city slickers thanks, but no thanks, and drop this horse-breeding nonsense. Got it? If Daniel wants to stay at the Lucky C, he will...for his own reasons.” Jack clapped his brother on the shoulder as he stepped back.
“Jack...” Brett’s hands fisted, and his face hardened with displeasure and frustration.
But Jack felt it was better he settle the issue now, no holds barred, than have Brett continue to bug him about it and string the city slickers along. With a nod to the men from Dallas, he stepped away to look for his son. Seth had had plenty of time to change clothes and return to the party.
“Jack Colton!” His sister’s voice pulled him up short as he passed the patio doors to the living room. “How dare you!”
He groaned internally as he turned. Now what?
Beside Greta stood a certain caramel-haired china doll, her eyes red from crying. Before he could repeat his order for Laura’s cousin to get off the ranch, his sister seized his arm and dragged him through the crowd in the living room to an isolated corner of the foyer. Tracy followed.
“I am ashamed of you, Jack Colton!” Greta said, releasing his arm and scowling darkly. “I just found Tracy at our front door, crying. She says that you ordered her off the property. I hope I heard her wrong, because I can’t believe any brother of mine would be so rude and inhospitable. This is my engagement party, and you have no right to say who attends and who doesn’t.”
Jack dragged a hand over his mouth, tamping down the irritation building in his blood. “She’s not here because of your party, Greta. Or did she forget to tell you that part?”
“Did you kick her out?” Greta asked pointedly. “Did you not understand that she is family?”
He braced his hands on his hips and dug deep for patience. First Brett wrangling to tie Daniel to the ranch, now Greta shoving this woman’s connection to Laura down his throat. He loved his family, but sometimes...
“She’s Laura’s family. Not ours. And yes, I asked her to leave. We’d said all that needed to be said.”
“As Laura’s family, that makes her Seth’s family. And that, then, makes her our family.”
Jack groaned long and loud. He could see where this was going. “Greta, don’t interfere—”
“I’ve invited her to stay.” His sister lifted her chin in a way that said the matter was settled. Being the youngest sibling and the only girl, Greta had gotten her way more often than not growing up. He wouldn’t call her spoiled—not exactly—but Big J doted on her, and she was clearly and unequivocally Abra’s favorite.
Jack glanced at Tracy, who was studying her shoes and gnawing her bottom lip. “She didn’t come here because of your party. She came to cause trouble with Seth.”
Now Tracy’s head jerked up. “I did not! I told you the last thing I wanted was to hurt Seth. I just want to meet him, get to know him, spend some quality time with h—”
“And I said no.” He straightened his spine and clenched his hands at his sides. “Hell, no. No way. Not in a million years.”
“Jack!” Greta scolded.
“I’m not stupid,” he continued, undeterred by his sister, feeling his blood pressure rise and pulse at his temples. “I know this is a ploy to weasel your way into his life and establish some thin case you can take to a judge, trying to get visitation or shared custody or money or—”
Tracy was shaking her head, her face pale. “You don’t listen so well, do you, cowboy? I’ve told you I don’t want custody or your money!”
“But you do want to fill my son’s head with stories about his mother.” Jack aimed an accusing finger at her. “Things that will only raise more questions and—”
“He has a right to the truth!”
Greta gave a shrill referee-like whistle. “Both of you, to your corners!”
Abra appeared in the foyer, her eyes shooting daggers at the trio. “What is going on out here? I have guests! Greta, you have guests! And it is almost time for the official announcement. Shouldn’t you be freshening up and finding your fiancé and a glass of champagne about now?”
Their mother added a look that said the question was actually a command, and she wouldn’t be disobeyed.
“I’ll be right there, Mother.” Greta faced Jack again. “I have to go now, but Tracy is not going anywhere. I’ve invited her to stay as my guest. Not just for the party, but for an extended visit. She can have one of the spare rooms here in the main house.”
Jack