A Woman's Touch

o’clock she took an hour off from work to meet with Alice Cork’s lawyers. When she left their offices fifty minutes later, she was feeling stunned. She was now the proud owner of a fair-size wedge of land in the Colorado mountains.
    At five o’clock Kyle finally showed up at her office door. He had his jacket slung over one shoulder and a bleak, challenging expression on his face, as if he were about to go into battle.
    „Ready?“ he asked.
    Rebecca hesitated. „I’m not sure,“ she said honestly. „You look as though you’re about to meet the sheriff at high noon out in front of the saloon. Is something wrong, Kyle?“
    „Yeah, but we’ll get it straightened out. Let’s go.“ He turned away and started down the hall.
    Rebecca seriously considered not following. The excitement of the news she had received earlier that afternoon was wearing off. Apparently she had bigger problems.
    „Becky?“ Kyle glanced back over his shoulder, scowling at her as he realized she wasn’t trailing obediently after him.
    She swallowed. „Coming, Kyle.“ She picked up her purse and closed the office door behind her.
    „I salvaged the Jamison deal this afternoon,“ were the only words he offered on the drive back to his high-rise condominium.
    „Congratulations.“ Rebecca didn’t try to break the silence that descended after that. Time enough to tell him her news later. He parked the Porsche in the garage. He still said nothing as they headed for the elevator.
    „Sit down,“ Kyle instructed as he followed her into the condo. „I’ll get us both a drink. We’re going to need it.“
    „Why?“
    „I have a story to tell you,“ he said. „And you’re not going to like it. Just remember the advice you gave me earlier today about listening to explanations, okay?“ He paused for a moment in the kitchen doorway. „And remember something else, too, Becky.“
    „What?“ she asked, aware of a cold chill somewhere in the vicinity of her stomach.
    „Remember that whatever else happens, you and I are involved and that’s not going to change. We’ll get through this together.“

FOUR
    „I know all about the news you got from the lawyers this afternoon.“ Kyle stood at the window, drink in hand, staring broodingly out toward the mountains. „Congratulations.“
    „You don’t sound all that thrilled for me,“ Rebecca remarked quietly. She clutched her glass of wine and waited for the ax to fall. She could almost hear it swishing through the air above her head.
    „I’m not. It complicates matters. On the other hand, if it hadn’t been for that land you inherited from Alice Cork, I would never have met you.“
    Rebecca took a deep breath. „How do you know about Alice Cork and the land?“
    „It’s a long story.“
    „Once upon a time…?“ she prompted dryly.
    „Right. Once upon a time.“ He paused, apparently searching for words. „Once upon a time there were two men and two ranches divided by one very valuable strip of land. The land in the middle was called Harmony Valley. It was badly named, to say the least. There has never been any harmony connected with that damned valley.“
    „Who owned Harmony Valley?“
    „Each of the owners of the two ranches wanted it right from the start, but a man named Macintosh actually got it first.“
    „And who owns the ranches that border it?“ Rebecca asked with a strong sense of foreboding.
    „The Ballards own Clear Advantage ranch, which borders one side of the valley.“
    „Clear Advantage?“ Rebecca stared at Kyle’s back. „Any connection with Clear Advantage Development Company?“ The firm was one of Flaming Luck’s arch competitors.
    „There’s a connection, all right. The same kind of connection that exists between Flaming Luck Enterprises and Flaming Luck ranch. I own both. Glen Ballard owns the Clear Advantage and the development company he’s built. He named his company after the family land, just as I did. Our ranches both border Harmony Valley. The Ballards and the Stockbridges have been feuding over that damned valley for three generations.“
    Rebecca got a queasy sensation in her stomach. „Feuding?“
    Kyle turned to face her. His green-and-gold eyes were riveting in their intensity. „It started with a woman and a piece of land, and it looks like it’s going to end that way.“
    Rebecca set down her glass with a very deliberate movement and clasped her hands in her lap. „You’d better tell me about it.“
    Kyle hesitated