“Jesse, it’s time for you to win,” Luke said, shaking off what he still didn’t want to deal with.
“No kidding,” Jesse said.
They said their goodbyes and Luke disconnected.
As he walked to the courthouse he thought he’d rather ride a two-thousand-pound, bucking Brahma bull with horns as big as baseball bats than deal with his father.
* * *
“SERGEANT CHAPMAN, I’m assigning you to the tax auction. Crowd control. Then you need to direct traffic when it’s over,” Captain Fred Fitzgerald informed her.
Amber hated working tax auctions, but as Captain Fitz had said previously, “Someone has to keep all of them from killing Connie McBride, and I outrank you.”
She was always that someone.
As the only woman on the small force, Captain Fitzgerald gave her the assignments that none of the men wanted, or the ones that Fitz felt were beneath his macho deputies, and that made her feel frustrated and angry. She’d tried talking to Fitz on several occasions, and he’d always insisted that he was treating her the same as the other officers, so she got nowhere.
A larger force with more opportunities for advancement was one of many reasons why Amber wanted to get into the state police. Although there were probably Fitz types in the state police, there were more departments to transfer into if she got a Fitz.
When they offered a state police exam, she’d have to pass that, be reachable on the list, submit to a background check and several interviews along with the agility test.
Agility test. Ugh. She couldn’t get much agility sitting behind a desk. She jogged, of course, but she really should work out more. Maybe with a punching bag.
She vowed to join Marco’s Fit-nasium. It was the only gym in town.
Connie McBride was her usual busy self. Thank goodness she had an auctioneer who was going to do the actual sale of the property. Connie would faint if she had to do that chatter.
Bidders had been lined up since dawn and they were loud. They complained about everything like death, taxes and how rock-and-roll singers were taking over traditional country music, but mostly about taxes.
Luke Beaumont was in the crowd. She saw him leaning against the beige marble wall, a couple of fingers through the loops of his jeans. She couldn’t tell if he was amused or irritated, but he kept looking at the clock. Nine thirty-five.
Less than a half hour to go.
Amber didn’t think anyone in Beaumont could outbid him if Luke had the money, but there were always out-of-town speculators and condo builders looking for big chunks of land like the Beaumont property.
Amber walked toward Luke. When he saw her, he tweaked the brim of his hat. She liked it when guys did that. It was very gentlemanly.
“Having fun?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Now you know how your fans feel when they are waiting in line for your autograph.”
“I’ve always known how they felt,” Luke said. “And I appreciate every one of them.”
She was just about to tell him that on several occasions she’d been one of those fans waiting in line for him, but always changed her mind at the last minute—except for the time that had brought him here.
Amber looked around. “I recognize a couple of men who have traditionally bought up property at auction. Be ready, Luke. And I hope you have a lot of money in reserve.”
“Between my brothers and me, we ought to win the bid. And, Amber, thanks for coming to Oklahoma City and letting me know about...everything. I appreciate that you gave me a wake-up call.”
She shrugged her shoulders. She was only helping an old high school friend. That was all. Right?
“Good luck, Luke.”
“Thanks.”
Amber told herself that she just wanted to keep Beaumont the way it was—a nice, small town with lots of scenic grazing land dotted with cattle, horses and sheep and no absentee landlords.
It had nothing to do with the fact that Luke Beaumont was always traveling. Now he had to stay home for a relatively long period of time.
Not that she’d notice.
Moving to the back of the room, Amber eavesdropped on three men she didn’t recognize. They were looking at a survey map. She was almost certain it was the plot of the Beaumont Ranch. When she got an opportunity to peek, her suspicions were confirmed.
Luke had better be ready with buckets of money.
Everyone knew that he was a star with the Professional Bull Riders, and had made a lot of money riding with them. She also knew that he’d had a lot of injuries and that medical insurance for PBR riders, if anyone would insure them, was astronomical. She’d bet that Luke had a lot of medical bills that he had to pay.
Amber looked at the sign-in sheet which showed the times that everyone signed in. Perfect! The three strangers were last to sign in.
Amber Chapman made a split decision to help Luke.
Because she didn’t want him to feel indebted to her, she hoped he’d never find out.
After all, she was only doing her job.
* * *
IN THE LOBBY of the courthouse, the auctioneer pounded his gavel on the makeshift podium—a dark gray metal desk that had big rust spots on three sides.
“Now we have the Beaumont Ranch, which consists of a four-thousand-square-foot historic ranch house, several barns, several outbuildings and over twenty thousand acres of prime land. You all have the information—now let’s get started.”
Suddenly, Amber Chapman’s voice rang out. “Attention, please. Attention! We are over capacity in the lobby. I’m sorry, but I have to ask the following individuals to step out. You were the last to sign in, and because of our fire rules, you have to be the first to leave. The individuals are Mark McGee, Dave Hartman, Jr. and Ray Maldonado. Please step outside, gentlemen.”
“Are you serious?” said one of them.
“I am,” Amber replied.
“But we are going to bid on the Beaumont property,” said a stocky, bald man. His face was flushed.
Luke heard him say that loud and clear. Thank goodness the three men had to leave. Interesting—Luke never thought that the Beaumont Sheriff’s Department was a stickler on details, like kicking three guys out due to the fire rules, but it was to his benefit.
“Please step outside, gentlemen, and we’ll discuss the matter. Just as soon as another three people leave the facility, I can let you three back in.”
She held the door open for the three to pass.
“We
