The Cowboy's Way(47)

He still wasn’t sure that he could be everything Heather and Seth needed. But he could for damned sure try.

Right now, though, he just wanted to enjoy having Heather and Seth in his home for a few more days. He could give the future a lot more thought later. He shook his head and reached for his cup of coffee, accidently knocking off the pile of Heather’s mail he had placed on his desk the day before. After he’d come home from the Circle W, he had gotten busy and forgotten all about it.

As he scooped up the pieces from the floor an envelope with Final Notice stamped on the front caught his eye. One look at the return address and he had a good idea he knew what it was. The letter had been sent from the county treasurer’s office. He would bet every last dime he had that Heather was behind on her real estate taxes.

He placed the unopened envelope on top of the rest of her mail as the revelation sank in. Knowing what a struggle it was for her to keep the Circle W going, he really wasn’t all that surprised. What did alarm him was the fact that she might lose the ranch.

He sat back in his desk chair, trying to think of how he could find out what was going on. She was prickly enough about her circumstances that he doubted she’d confide in him on her own. Asking her straight up was out of the question. She would no doubt tell him where to go and how to go about getting there.

But he needed to know what he could do to help her.

A sudden thought had him breathing a sigh of relief as he turned on his laptop. There was one way he could find out what she was up against and not run the risk of pissing her off. Delinquent taxes, court reports and other records were posted on the county’s website. All he had to do was go online and check the public records. If, as he suspected, there was a problem, then he would figure out what he could do to help her.

Fifteen minutes later, T.J. closed the browser on his laptop and blew out a frustrated breath. Taxes hadn’t been paid on the Circle W property in three years and the ranch was due to be seized by the county the first of next month. It would be put up for auction after that.

Of course, if the debt was satisfied, along with all the penalties and interest charges, Heather could keep the ranch. But he knew for certain she didn’t have that kind of money. If she did, she wouldn’t have had to sell off some of her brood mares to make ends meet.

He could offer to pay the taxes for her, but hell would freeze over before she’d let him do that. Or he could offer to lend her the money. But he knew her pride wouldn’t allow her to go for that option either. So what was he supposed to do?

Sitting back and doing nothing while she lost her ranch wasn’t in his DNA. The Circle W had been in her family for generations and should be there for Seth to take over when he came of age. As long as T.J. had breath in his body and the money to rectify the situation, he would see that it was.

He would help first, and ask permission after. He’d had no trouble winning her over to his way of doing things with all her other ranch problems. This one would be no different.

Picking up the letter from the county clerk, he opened his desk drawer, placed the envelope inside, then slid it shut. Heather had already dealt with more than her share of stress the past few days. He wasn’t going to give her the notice and add to it. Besides, he already knew how he was going to take care of the matter. And as long as she didn’t know about it first, she couldn’t stop him. But he had every intention of giving her the security of the ranch being there for Seth.

“You’re looking serious again,” Heather said, walking back into his office.

“Just pondering the mysteries of the universe,” he said, smiling. “Did you get my little partner settled down for a nap?”

She nodded. “He had the time of his life last night, but he’s completely worn-out.”

Looking down at the pile of her mail minus the upsetting letter, he handed her the bundle. “I forgot to tell you that I picked up your mail yesterday when I went over to meet the furnace repairman.”

“Thanks,” she said, taking it from him. “I was just thinking that I should drive over to the ranch and pick it up after Seth wakes up.”

As he watched her thumb through the envelopes he felt a little guilty about hiding the letter from her, but he was certain she already knew about the situation and he had already made up his mind about handling it for her. Unfortunately, he couldn’t put his plans into motion until the first of next week when the courthouse reopened.

“Heather, I have a horse I need to work with,” he said, leaving his desk chair to wrap his arms around her. He had one more decision to make and he needed a little alone time to think it through and decide what he was going to do.