gaze was riveted to hers, making it impossible to break contact. He ignored her request. “Do you trust Hank to honor this Will?”
Hallie withdrew her hand. He was angry, but it wasn’t directed at her. She kept silent as he went on.
“What will you do if he makes another one?”
Hallie fought to keep her gaze locked with his. “I’ve lived with him all my life, Mr. Lansing. I’m aware of the risk.”
“But you came here anyway.”
She could tell nothing from his harsh expression, but she didn’t detect scorn. And she was a master at that.
“I want Four C’s.”
“You’re crazy to think he’ll let you have it.”
The words sent a wave of shame through her. Even Hank Corbett’s enemies knew how little he thought of her.
“You came here for…what?”
A long moment dragged by as she debated what to say. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him outright that she’d come here with a marriage arrangement in mind.
“I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
Wes’s hard gaze was unrelenting. “How sick is he?”
“Terminal. He could die tonight or he could live a month. They moved him into Intensive Care late this morning.”
“D’you think your cousin would sell me the homestead?”
The question stung. Of course he’d pass over her and go straight to Candice. Perhaps he’d had second thoughts about her cousin. Candice was beautiful, and she’d soon be a fabulously wealthy heiress. The right man might be able to control her and Hallie sensed that if Wes Lansing couldn’t do it, it couldn’t be done. He might not be as immune to her cousin as she’d thought.
“She doesn’t care about Four C’s. I expect her to sell it at the first opportunity. You should be able to deal with the new owner.”
“But you can’t swear she’ll sell out.”
“You could buy the parcel from her.”
His stern mouth twisted. “With strings attached.”
“Then you understand Candice.”
Wes tossed the Will onto the desk and looked away from her. She started to reach for the papers, but his growl froze her midreach. “Leave ’em.”
“I need to be on my way,” she said quietly. It wouldn’t matter if the copy stayed here. The important thing now was to escape. Wes Lansing was simmering, and she had no desire to watch a boil over.
He glared across the desk at her. “So it comes down to a choice between you and Candice.” It wasn’t a question. His glare deepened as he nodded toward her chair. “Sit down. You started this, and by God, you’ll see it through.”
His harshness chilled her. Some faint stir of spirit made her resist. She’d allowed her pride to be trampled by her family all her life. She’d choked on the shreds so she could come to Red Thorn for this last chance. She’d be damned if she let Wes Lansing walk over the battered bits she had left.
“You can keep the Will. Throw it away. Thank you for your time.” She turned away from the desk, but she got only two steps before his hard voice stopped her in her tracks.
“You’ll not shame me.”
The terse words made her glance back at him. “What?”
His dark eyes were fiery and when he slowly stood, she got a frightening impression of power and iron will.
“I won’t stand up in front of a justice of the peace with a woman who’s dressed like a cowhand.”
Hallie turned fully toward him as the shock of what he’d said pounded at her. Surely she’d not heard right.
“We’ll fly to Vegas now and be married by tonight.” He’d made a decision and issued a decree. And in the spirit of old-time cattle kings, he expected instant obedience.
Maybe he didn’t understand the risk. To suddenly capitulate to her unspoken marriage proposal had to mean he didn’t take the hazard seriously.
“You were right the first time. Hank will never honor that Will. If he recovers from today’s setback and even suspects I’ve married, he’ll call his lawyer and change it. Then you’d be stuck with me.”
“I won’t be stuck with you. There’s always annulment.”
The words lashed at her and she fought to keep her voice steady. “By then, you’ll have alienated Candice. She’d never take something that once belong—” She cut herself off. “Not that you really would have, but she’d see it that way. She’d never give you a chance at the homestead.”
“Too late.” His low words sent a shiver through her, and she rushed to make her point.
“Though the Will doesn’t prohibit me from marrying you, I think we both know how Hank will take it if he finds out.” She looked away from him, unable to bear the conflagration in his dark eyes. “This was a foolish idea. Hank wasn’t serious about that Will. He only wrote it to—” she cut herself off, ashamed to reveal the whole truth. “If he lives long enough, he’ll change it anyway. It was a huge imposition to bother you. My apologies.”
She was so scattered suddenly, so profoundly mortified by what she’d done, that she didn’t realize Wes had come around the desk. When his fingers closed around her arm she jumped.
“We can leave for Vegas now. I’ll buy whatever you need when we get there.”
She looked up at him, searching his granite expression for a clue to such tenacity.
The feel of steely strength in his hard fingers sent a flurry of heat and electricity through her that took her breath away. She’d never felt anything like this, and she was both excited and terrified. She shook her head, so dazed and weak-kneed that she felt faint.
“No—”
“We’ll get a lawyer for the prenup. If the old man dies before he can change the will, I want it in writing that you’ll sell me the homestead.”
She shook her head. “But—I’d give it to you.”
“I’ll pay cash. Fair market value.”
He was implacable. Why had she come to this man? It was true, she’d started this, but she wasn’t certain now that she had the courage to finish it. And the biggest reason was Wes Lansing himself. He was too strong for her, too formidable.
“I’m going back to Four C’s, Mr. Lansing. Thank you, but this was a mistake.”
“We made a decision.”
Hallie shook her head. “A decision neither of us can live with. Hank will either
