Ben swiped at the dirt covering him, gritting his teeth against his frustration. He took several deep breaths before he answered her. “I didn’t say it was right, Colby, but they have money and power. You can’t just ignore them. They aren’t going to go away. You have to talk to them or they’re going to take you to court. People like the De La Cruz brothers don’t lose in court.” He raised his hands to grasp her small waist before she could jump off the tractor by herself. Resisting the urge to shake some sense into her, he lifted her down easily, retaining possession for a moment. “You have to do this, Colby. I mean it, honey, I can’t protect you from these people. Don’t put it off any longer.”
Colby pushed away from him, a small gesture of impatience, swinging her head so her disheveled hair spilled out from under her hat, hiding the sudden sheen of tears swimming in her eyes. Ben quickly looked away, pretending not to notice. Colby in tears was lethal either way. A man would kill for her if she cried, and anyone else witnessing her tears would very likely take the brunt of her anger.
“Fine,” Colby began moving across the field at a fast pace. “I presume you have the entire lot of them camped on my porch?”
“I knew Ginny and Paul were gone tonight.” Ben had ensured that his sister-in-law invited the two kids over for homemade ice cream.
“Like that was hard to see through,” Colby tossed the words sarcastically over her shoulder at him. She had known Ben since kindergarten. She was certain he persisted in thinking of her as a wild, untamed little girl, not quite bright, when she was perfectly capable of running a ranch all by her little lonesome and had been doing so for some time. She wanted to box his thick skull for him.
“Colby, don’t go in there like a powder keg. These people aren’t the type to be pushed around.” Ben easily kept pace with her.
“Pushed around?” She echoed his words, suddenly furious, stopping abruptly so that he had to rock back on his heels to keep from running her over. “They’re trying to push me around. How dare they come here acting so arrogant I want to sic the dog on them! Men!” She glared at him. “And another thing, Ben. All my equipment keeps disappearing and some little gremlin is messing with the machinery. Instead of kissing up to Mr. Moneybags and his entourage, you might consider what is going on out here. That’s your job, isn’t it, not escorting the rich and infamous around.” She began moving again, setting her usual fast pace, her small feminine body radiating fury.
“Colby, you and I both know it’s a bunch of kids playing pranks. Probably friends of Paul,” Ben tried to soothe her.
“Pranks? I don’t think stealing is a prank. And what about my missing persons report? Have you even tried to find Pete for me?”
Ben raked a hand through his hair in sheer desperation. “Pete Jessup is probably off on a binge. For all you know that old man stole your things to pay for his alcohol.”
Colby stopped again very abruptly, so that this time Ben did run into her and had to catch her shoulders to keep from knocking her flat. She slapped his hands away, a fine outrage smoldering in her. “Pete Jessup quit drinking when my father died, you turncoat! He’s been invaluable around here.”
“Colby,” Ben tried to calm her down, his voice persuasive and gentle. “The truth is you took in that homeless old coot out of the goodness of your heart. I doubt he did more than eat your food every day. He’s a broken-down cowboy, a drifter. He’s just taken off somewhere. He’ll turn up eventually.”
“You would say that,” she sniffed, truly aggravated with him. “It’s just like you to let sneaky thieves and the disappearance of an old man go by the wayside so you can mix with some rich idiots who are here to try to steal my brother and sister.”
“Colby, come on, they proved they’re relatives and they claim they have the children’s best interests at heart. The least you can do is listen to them.”