Reining In The Billionaire

Finding out that the old Hyatt estate was available for purchase immediately—cash buyers only—had to be the biggest triumph Mason Harrington had ever experienced. After all, how many people got to fulfill their life’s goal of owning a horse farm and get the revenge they’d ached for—all in one unexpectedly easy move?

“The foreclosure was just approved and finalized through our corporate offices,” the bank manager was saying from across the polished expanse of his desk. His worried expression made him look more like a concerned grandfather than a businessman. “The family hasn’t even been notified yet. There simply hasn’t been time—”

“I’ll be happy to handle that part for you,” Mason heard himself say. Oops! Was that too much? From the look on the manager’s face, probably. The nudge from his brother confirmed it.

Mason subtly leaned out of reach from his brother’s sharp elbow, ignoring the creak of his leather chair. Kane might resent Daulton Hyatt for his role in ruining their father’s reputation in this town, but Mason had been at ground zero for the man’s nuclear meltdown.

He’d never forget the humiliation Daulton had dished out with satisfaction...or the pain of having EvaMarie watch without defending him.

If the memories made him a little mouthy...

“I have to say that the foreclosure went through against my wishes. I’d hoped to help EvaMarie turn things around,” the manager said with a frown that deepened the lines on his aged face.

“Why EvaMarie?” Kane asked. “Wouldn’t it be Daulton Hyatt who needed the help?”

The man’s eyes widened a little as he watched them from across the desk. After a moment, he said, “I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn. I didn’t mean to discuss personal details about my customers.” He lowered his gaze to the printed paper before him. Mason had found the foreclosure notice on a local website. The bank hadn’t wasted any time trying to recoup its loss. “But I just don’t feel comfortable—”

“That doesn’t matter now. The bank has already listed the property,” Mason cut in. “Look, we are offering more than the asking price, cash in hand. Do we need to contact someone at the corporate offices ourselves?” Surely they’d be happy to take the Harrington money.

Mason could tell by the look on the manager’s face that he most certainly did not want that to happen. But Mason would if he had to...

“We can have the money transferred here by this afternoon,” Kane added. “Our offer is good for only an hour at that price. Do we have a deal?”

Mason’s body tightened, silently protesting the idea of walking away, but his brother knew exactly what he was doing. Still, the thought of losing this opportunity chafed. The waffling manager was obviously trying to look out for the family, as opposed to the strangers before him, but right now Mason didn’t give a damn about the Hyatts.

He cared only about making them pay for striking out at Mason and his family all those years ago.

He couldn’t help but wonder how EvaMarie would look when he told her to get out of her family home...

Slowly, reluctantly, the older man nodded. “Yes. I guess this really is out of my hands now.” He stood, straightening his suit jacket and tie as if steadying himself for a particularly unpleasant task. “If you’ll excuse me a moment, I’ll get my secretary started on the paperwork.”

And he would no doubt call corporate while he went outside the office, Mason suspected, but it wasn’t going to do him any good. What the Harrington brothers wanted, they often got. Usually it was from sheer bullheadedness. This time, though, they had their inheritance to back them up.

Money did open doors, indeed.

Mason still missed his dad, who had passed away about six months ago. It had been just the three of them for most of Mason’s life, and they’d all been really tight. Learning of their father’s cancer had been hard.

But it had only been the first surprise.

The fact that their mother had been the debutante daughter in a very wealthy family in a neighboring state had never been a secret to the boys. She’d died of brain cancer when Mason was around seven. He remembered so little about her, except how good she’d smelled as she cuddled with him and the silky softness of her hair. He would brush it for her sometimes, after she got sick, because it soothed her and often got rid of the headaches she frequently had.

Still, she’d been gone a long time. It had never occurred to either of the boys that she had left something behind for them. Hell—something? This wasn’t just something, it was a fortune. Their father’s careful money management had paid off in big ways, and he’d grown their already substantial inheritance into a monumental sum. Mason couldn’t even think of the money in real dollar amounts, it was so excessive.

After all, sometimes they’d had to scrape the bottom of the barrel growing up. Like when Mason had lost his job at the Hyatt estate. They’d had to move back to his mother’s hometown. Times had already been tough. Little had he and Kane known, their dad had been going without while planning for their future.

And their future was now.

After the secret came out, Mason had asked his father why he hadn’t used some of the money to make life easier for him, for them. He’d said he never wanted to prove their mother’s parents right—they’d always said he’d married her for money.

The brothers had been around horses all their lives. Their father had been a horse trainer with an excellent reputation for creating winners. He’d taught them everything he knew. They’d also both learned a lot from working in some of the best stables in the area, along with raising their own horses and cattle. Now, finally, they had the capital to purchase and establish their very own racing stables.

Oh, and get back at EvaMarie Hyatt for almost ruining his family at the same time.

“That look on your face has me damn worried,” Kane said, studying him hard.

Mason stood, pacing the space that was relatively generous for a bank office but still left Mason feeling cramped. “I can’t believe this is finally happening.”

“You know Dad wouldn’t want us to get back at the Hyatts for what happened almost fifteen years ago, right?”

It may have been close to fifteen years ago, but to Mason, the wounds and anger were as fresh as yesterday. Kane thought of it as a teenage crush, but Mason knew he had loved EvaMarie with everything he had at the time. Otherwise, it wouldn’t still hurt so damn much.

“Yep, I know.” But he could live with that. Simply seeing the shock on EvaMarie’s face—and that dictator daddy of hers—would be worth a little blackening on his soul.

Right?

“Are you saying you’ve changed your mind?” he asked Kane.

His brother was silent, thinking before he answered. Mason admired that about Kane—it was a trait he lacked. Mason jumped first and worried about the consequences later. But as a team, their differences worked in their favor...mostly.

Kane turned to meet his gaze, his expression harder than before. “Nah. I say, go for it. But just a little warning, Mason—”

Mason groaned. “Aren’t we a little old for you to jump into big brother mode again?”

“I am your big brother, but that’s not it.” He gave Mason a level look. “You need to keep in mind that there might be a good reason that they’ve lost the estate. They may not care what happens to it or who has it. I haven’t heard any rumors about them financially except that they were downsizing a while back.”

He shrugged at Mason’s raised brows. “So I kept tabs. But we’re out of the loop, except for a few old friends.” He shrugged, his suit still looking out of place to Mason. They were used to flannel shirts and sturdy jeans. Dressing up wasn’t the norm...but considering where this inheritance was taking them, they’d better get used to it.

Kane shook his head. “I don’t know. I just have a feeling this isn’t going to play out like you want it to.”

Mason thought back to his awed impression of the Hyatt estate when he was a know-it-all eighteen-year-old. The opulence, the care EvaMarie’s mother had put into every little touch. That house had been her life. Not that Mason had been allowed to see it. Officially, he’d seen it only once. He’d been told to take some papers to Daulton Hyatt at the big house. EvaMarie’s mother had trailed after him, anxious in case he tracked manure on her antique rugs.

As though he was too much of a heathen to know how to wipe his feet. The only other time he’d been inside, there hadn’t been a parent in sight.

“You may be right,” Mason conceded, trying to shake the memories away. “But trust me, they care. I remember that much all too well.” And he was gonna use what he knew about them to his every advantage.

It paid to know thine enemy.

* * *

EvaMarie Hyatt didn’t have a clue who was driving up to the house in a luxury sedan followed by a shiny new pickup truck. But as she spied out her bedroom window on the second floor, she fervently wished that whoever it was would go back from whence they came.

After all, she was sweaty and gross after hanging insulation inside the old dressing room between her suite and the next. Plus, she had a headache pounding hard enough between her temples to rival a jackhammer. And she was the only one here willing to answer the door.

Still, she smiled with the satisfaction of knowing all of her hard work would be perfect for what she had in mind.

But this wasn’t the time for lingering admiration of her handiwork. She had to get herself in gear and head their visitors off at the pass. She scurried down the back stairs, hyperaware of her parents’ location. They’d be interested too, but she knew good and well they wouldn’t come outside.

It was so sad to see her once social butterfly parents now housebound. Their secrecy and embarrassment made EvaMarie’s responsibilities that much harder...and much more painful.