Lassoed by Fortune

That caught her off guard for a second. Had the stories she’d heard been wrong? “So you’re not a Fortune?”

“No.” He all but spit the word out with all the contempt he could put into the two-letter word.

And then she remembered something else she’d heard. Something that completely negated what he’d just told her. “Funny, your mother was in here the other day and she seems to think that all of her children have now adopted the Fortune name.” She had him there, Julia thought.

To her surprise, Liam didn’t take back his statement. Instead he said, “My mother is too softhearted for her own good. She’ll believe anyone. And don’t try to turn this thing around so I lose track of the question. Are you or are you not trying to talk those people into bringing their tainted business into our town?”

She seized the word—but not the one he would have thought of.

“That’s right, Liam. Our town. Not your town, but our town. That means I get a say in what happens here, too, not just you and your incredibly narrow vision.” The man was practically medieval in his outlook. If it were up to him, everyone would still be living in the dark ages.

Liam looked at her coldly. “So it’s true.”

She might as well spell it out for him, otherwise she had a feeling that she would have no peace from this man. Why was he so against progress, anyway?

“If you mean am I trying to show Wendy and Marcos Mendoza that building another one of their restaurants here in Horseback Hollow is a very good idea, then yes, it’s true.” The restaurant would attract business and provide jobs. There was no downside to that.

He succeeded in taking her breath away with his very next question. “Why do you want to destroy the town, Julia?”

For a second she was so stunned she was speechless. And then she found her tongue. “Are you crazy? This wouldn’t destroy the town. This would be an incredibly good thing for the town.”

“Right,” Liam sneered. “‘A good thing,’” he echoed contemptuously. “And after they build this restaurant, what’s next? Bring in chain retail stores? Or maybe a shopping mall? Don’t forget, they bring in a chain store, that’ll be the end of this little family store of yours, as well.” He gestured around the store. “You and your parents will be out living on the street—and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

How could he come up with all this and still keep a straight face? It was just beyond her. “You know,” she told him, “you should really be a science-fiction writer with that imagination of yours.”

Annie Tierney picked this moment to emerge out of the rear storeroom. Seeing Liam beside her daughter, the woman beamed and came forward.

“Hello, Liam,” she greeted him. “Tell me, how is your mother feeling these days?”

Chapter Three

Annie Tierney’s unannounced appearance caught Liam off guard.

He offered her a polite smile. “She’s feeling fine, Mrs. Tierney.”

Julia’s mother laughed, the look on her face telling him that he had misunderstood her question. “I’m not asking after her health, dear. I’m asking how she feels about finding out that she’s actually the long-lost daughter of such a very well-to-do, powerful family. The Fortunes,” she added when Jeanne Marie’s son didn’t immediately respond. “Personally, I find it all very exciting,” Annie went on to confide. “It certainly would be a load off my mind if I found out that I was related to them.”

The older woman turned to look at her daughter. There was unmistakable affection in her eyes. “The first thing I’d do is send my girl off to the very best college that money could buy instead of letting her slave her life away here.”

“I’m not slaving, Mom,” Julia reiterated the point she’d made before Liam had burst into her store with his annoying accusations. “And this is a conversation we can continue later, when we’re alone.” She deliberately emphasized, then looked directly at Liam. “Which will be soon because Liam’s just leaving. Aren’t you, Liam?” Julia asked, looking at him pointedly as she did her best to muster the semblance of a friendly smile, strictly for her mother’s benefit.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” he agreed, his eyes never leaving hers, “seeing as how I was never any good at banging my head against a brick wall.”

“Oh, you poor dear,” Annie declared, instantly sympathetic. As she spoke, Annie reached up to move Liam’s light brown hair off his forehead so she could examine it, but he took a step back, preventing her.

“No, ma’am, don’t worry. I didn’t hit my head in your store.”

When Annie looked at him quizzically, Liam knew she was waiting for him to explain his comment. He was forced to lie so that the woman wouldn’t think he was being flippant about the Superette. He really liked Annie Tierney. She was friendly, always saw the good in everyone and had a kind soul. In his opinion, Julia could have stood to learn a few things from her mother.

“Then where did you hit your head?” Annie asked.

“At the ranch,” he told her, trying to ease away from the topic. “Last week,” he added to forestall any further questions.

“Oh, well mind you watch yourself,” Annie cautioned. “Head injuries aren’t something to just be shrugged off.” And then the serious look on her face vanished as she told him, “I just put on a kettle in the back. Would you care for some tea?”

“No, but thank you for the offer.” Since he knew it seemed rather odd that he’d come into the grocery store without buying anything and was now leaving empty-handed, he told the older woman, “I just came by to have a word with your daughter.”

“Oh.” The thin face lit up, completely erasing the very few lines that were evident. “Well, then by all means, have words,” Annie said encouragingly. “Don’t mind me. I’ll just be in the back, having my tea,” she told them as she made her way out of the store and retreated to the storeroom again.

“She’s a very nice lady,” Liam commented to Julia, watching her mother leave.

Well, there at least he would get no disagreement from her, Julia thought. That was possibly the only area that they wouldn’t clash over. For the most part, he had the very annoying ability of making her want to say “black” whenever he said “white.”

“Yes, she is,” Julia agreed quietly, deliberately avoiding making any eye contact with him.

Liam obviously had no such inclination. Instead he turned to look at her. Julia could tell by his expression that the temporary truce that had been silently called while her mother had been in the immediate vicinity was officially over.

“What would she say if she knew?” he suddenly challenged.

Okay, maybe she just wasn’t sharp today, Julia thought shortly. What the hell was he talking about now?

“Knew about what?”

He looked at her as if she’d suddenly turned simple. She caught herself wanting to strangle him.

“That you’re seriously thinking about trying to get the Fortunes to bring their big-city blight right here to Horseback Hollow.”

“If you’re still referring to my wanting to encourage Wendy and her husband to open up their second restaurant here, she would probably say, ‘Go for it, Julia.’” She raised her chin like someone bracing for a grueling battle. “My mother has always been very supportive of my dreams and I’ve had this one for a very long time.”

His eyes became blue laserlike slits as he regarded her. “So you’re telling me that it’s your dream to destroy Horseback Hollow?”

She wasn’t saying any such thing and he knew it, Julia thought angrily. How could she have ever been attracted to this Neanderthal? She must have been out of her mind.

“No,” Julia contradicted with feeling, struggling not to raise her voice and yell at him. The last thing she wanted to do was to have her mother overhear her giving Liam a piece of her mind—even if he did sorely need it. But she’d had just about all she could take of his holier-than-thou pontificating. “It’s always been my dream to build the town up.”

He laughed shortly. “Right now, that’s the same thing from where I’m standing.”

And just who had died and made him the reigning authority on things like this?

“Well, then, maybe you’d better move and get the sun out of your eyes because you certainly aren’t seeing things clearly.”

“The town’s doing just fine as it is,” he insisted. What was wrong with her? “Why can’t you see how destructive it would be to allow outsiders’ interests to take over Horseback Hollow? What do we need with another restaurant, anyway?” he challenged her.

Just how blind was he? she wondered, frustrated. “Does the term ‘freedom of choice’ mean anything to you?” she returned frostily.

His mouth curved in a humorless smile. “Only if it means I’m free to ignore you.”

“Go right ahead,” she declared, gesturing toward the door. “But you’re going to have to do it outside my store.”