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about her.
She had money, was well traveled, and she had class. Why she had wanted to screw
Navarro, of all people, was beyond him. He loved Nav but the guy was a rancher now
and was too down to earth ever to be comfortable in a world of wealth. Ryder turned
his head and examined the rental car, frowning. He wondered if Trina had company.
The front door opened and Ryder turned around. He frowned at the short, balding
man standing in front of him. The guy s shirt was torn, his hand was bleeding, and his
face was flushed red. The man glared at Ryder.
Who the hell are you?
Ryder arched his eyebrows. I m Ryder Raine. Who are you?
The man s expression darkened with rage. You! You re the asshole who owns
Raine Ranch, aren t you? Wait right there. Don t move.
Ryder clamped his lips together, instantly pissed. He didn t know who the short
jerk was but nobody talked to him that way. Ryder moved. He didn t take orders from
anyone. He pushed open the front door, stepping inside, and saw the man picking
something up from the hallway table. The man faced him clutching a torn-open white
envelope. Ryder saw his name on it and was shocked. The man waved it at him.
Do you want to explain to me how the hell you talked Trina into making a loan to
you? Twenty thousand dollars is a hell of a lot of money. What kind of swindler are
you? I m going to call the police and have you arrested.
What the hell are you talking about? Arrested for what? Ryder almost snarled the
words. He d gone from annoyed to flat out pissed off at the little weasel in front of him.
Is that mine? That has my name on it.
The man threw the letter at Ryder, who snatched it from the air, and studied the
envelope. The seal had been torn open so he knew damn well it had been sealed. He
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Laurann Dohner
removed the paper that was wrinkled as though someone had fisted it. He scanned the
contents and was stunned as he read it was a payment-in-full notice from Trina
Mattews to the Raine Ranch stating that they d completely paid off the twenty thousand
dollar loan they d borrowed from her.
I want an explanation right damn now, the smaller man snapped as he crossed
his arms over his chest. Every damn thing that Trina does is my business. I knew I
should have come after her sooner. I knew it was a mistake letting her get away for a
while. I m going to talk her into selling this damn piece of shit house and returning to
California with me.
Who the hell are you? Ryder glared at the man and pocketed the paper in the
back of his jeans.
I m Paul Mattews. Who the hell are you and how the hell did you talk Trina into
loaning you money? Are you trying to romance Trina when I m not around to make
scum like you leave her the hell alone?
Ryder frowned, thinking there was something about the guy that was familiar but
when he said his last name, it hit Ryder hard. He d flipped through some of Trina s
photo albums and that s where he d seen this guy before. Ryder tensed hard and turned
his head to stare at the large photo over the mantel on the fireplace. It was a picture of
Trina smiling at the man who was currently standing in front of him. Ryder turned to
him as rage filled him on his brother s behalf.
Your wife lent my ranch twenty grand and just like the letter states, we paid her
back. It s not just me who owns our ranch, its family owned, Mr. Mattews. We just
needed a short-term loan to float us until something came in, and it came in all right.
Ryder was furious as he glared at the man but tried to hide it. I just came here to pick
this up since Mrs. Mattews got the last payment from us that she ll ever get. Have a
good day. Ryder spun before he lost it, storming out of the house.
He drove back to the ranch then passed it and drove to the East pasture, knowing
Nav and Adam were working out there. Ryder had brought them lunch earlier and had
promised to come back later to help them with the downed fences that a storm had
knocked over. After he parked Ryder walked slowly toward Nav. He really dreaded the
upcoming conversation they needed to have.
You re back fast, Adam chuckled. I thought you said you were heading into
town for a few hours to hook up with a chick so you could get laid.
Nav dropped the shovel and studied his brother closely. He looks pissed off as
hell. She must have stood him up.
Ryder met Nav s eyes. We need to talk about Trina.
* * * * *
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Propositioning Mr. Raine
Rage hit Navarro as he ripped off his work gloves and ate up the distance between
himself and Ryder. What did you do? Is that who you went to go see? I told you to
stay the hell away from her. If you put one damn hand on her I ll break it, damn you.
Ryder backed up. She s married, Nav.
Frowning, Navarro still glared at Ryder. No shit. I told you she was widowed last
year.
Ryder shook his head. She lied. I just met her damn husband. There s a picture of
her and him on the mantel in the living room and unless I just met and spoke to a ghost,
she lied to you. The man was pissed off as hell about the loan she made to the ranch and
ranting about calling the cops, thinking I forced her to loan the money to us. The chick
lied to you, Nav. Her husband is as dead as I am. He just got here because there was a
rental car parked in front of her house with airport parking stickers.
You re wrong. Navarro was stunned.
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