Terms Of A Texas Marriage. Lauren Canan

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СКАЧАТЬ married or you must agree to marry Alec within the next five days and remain married for at least one year. If you don’t agree, the lease cancels. If Alec does not agree to such a marriage, should you choose that option, the lease will be renewed.”

      For a few moments, speech was impossible. Her eyes remained fixed on Mr. Long as her mind tried to make some sense out of his words. She was stupefied.

      “You’ve got to be kidding. This is a sick joke. It’s archaic.” Although attempting to remain calm, her resolve was quickly slipping away. “This kind of thing isn’t legal.” She looked at Ben, who sat quietly, tapping his pencil on the tabletop. “Is it?”

      Ben hesitated for a few seconds as if trying to formulate his answer. “As far as I’ve been able to determine, the owner of the property could place any clause, requirement or restriction in the lease that he wished within the existing laws of the time. If the lessee agreed, it became a binding agreement. As to the question of whether it’s binding by today’s laws, it may very well not be.”

      Hope flared within her.

      “But the problem is, if we sue to have that clause stricken, the courts could declare the entire contract null and void, in which case Mr. Morreston is under absolutely no obligation to renew the lease. And, if the courts didn’t find the clause unlawful, by the time they handed down their decision, the deadline would be past. Either way...” Ben made a small gesture with his hands, his palms turned upward, indicating the hopelessness of the situation.

      Shea sat back in her chair and stared out the large picture window. How could such a beautiful spring day suddenly turn so bleak and ugly? She trained her eyes squarely on Alec Morreston.

      “You knew about this, didn’t you?”

      “Yes,” he replied, his voice deep and throaty. “Thomas caught it and advised me a couple of months ago. You might want to ask your attorney why he didn’t see fit to inform you. Since he was obviously aware of your single marital status, it might have saved all of us a lot of time.”

      Her glance swung to Ben, who shrugged and shook his head. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I thought Mr. Morreston would view the outlandish clause for what it is. It never occurred to me he’d use it to his advantage to try and reclaim possession of the land.”

      “I don’t believe it,” she muttered. “I don’t believe any of this. Are you all trying to tell me I’ve got to take this...insanity seriously? That I’m going to lose my home, my ranch, everything my father and his father before that worked for, because I’m not married and won’t marry him?”

      The tone in her voice clearly painted the “him” as something disgusting and vile—which, at that moment, was spot-on. In spite of his sexual charisma, her conscious mind told her Alec Morreston was nothing more than a cold-blooded opportunist. And as far as this...lease...how could anyone in his right mind possibly make up such a stipulation?

      “Your loss was taken into consideration, Ms. Hardin.” Alec pointedly ignored her outburst. His composed voice resonated through the thick silence that had temporarily blanketed the small room. “I’m willing to provide reimbursement for the structures on the property, including the house, as well as compensate for one year’s ranch income. And, of course, the proceeds from the sale of your livestock and equipment will be yours, provided you choose to sell rather than relocate.”

      Shea glared at him, afraid to speak for fear it would release the torrent of fury welling up inside her. Comparing this man to the devil had been much too kind.

      “In addition,” Morreston continued, “I’m willing to provide adequate time for you to find another residence. We understand the relocation process will take longer than the standard sixty days.”

      “Alec is making a most generous offer, Ms. Hardin,” added Thomas Long, as though he felt compelled to point that out.

      Ignoring the attorney, she focused directly on the source of this insanity, on the devil incarnate. Sitting casually back in his chair, he appeared relaxed and completely indifferent to what amounted to the end of life as she knew it. Her basic principles, her education, her future dreams, pride in her family—all of it rested within the boundaries of the ranch. She couldn’t imagine what her life would be without it.

      “Why are you doing this?” Her voice was firm and unwavering, but her heart pounded and her stomach tied itself into knots.

      “It’s nothing personal, Ms. Hardin.” He tipped his head to one side as his eyes roamed over her face. “It’s just business.”

      “Oh, really?” she challenged. “That’s what you call it? Destroying a person’s life is ‘just business?’” She shook her head in amazement. “You must think you’ll make a small fortune on this deal.”

      “That’s always a possibility,” he admitted, shrugging his broad shoulders.

      “I’m curious. What’s it going to be? A dude ranch for your city friends or cheap housing that will fall apart in ten years?”

      “I don’t think Alec’s future plans for the land need discussion at this—”

      “It’s good land in a prime location,” Alec answered her, interrupting his attorney. “And the time for its development has come.” His eyes never left her face, his tone hard and unemotional.

      She couldn’t help but speculate if they would have been having this meeting if her dad were still alive. But common sense told her Morreston wanted the land and would have found other reasons to decline the renewal. This little “personal clause” was convenient and tailor-made to suit his purposes.

      “You could omit the clause and renew the lease.”

      “I could,” he admitted openly. “But I won’t.”

      Silently she studied the hard, chiseled features of his face.

      “Then there is no more to say, is there?” Standing, she gathered her papers and slipped them into the manila folder. She wouldn’t grovel before any man, especially some arrogant stranger from New York, particularly when she knew it would do no good. Her hands were trembling due to shock, but she refused to let these contemptuous strangers see any weakness.

      “Ben.” She pressed her lips together to cover the trembling. “I assume you’ll be in touch about what needs to be done?”

      On seeing his nod, she gave a tight smile and walked out of the room. Somehow, she cleared the outside door without slamming it. Only when she reached the sidewalk did her vision blur with unshed tears of anger and frustration. Seven months ago, she’d buried her father. And now, in the space of less than an hour, she’d learned she was losing her home.

      She swallowed back the overwhelming sense of panic. The ranch was her haven, her security. It was her past as well as her future. Her father had entrusted it to her care and she’d promised him in his final moments that his efforts—and the efforts of all the Hardins before them—would not be in vain.

      She was the last, the only one remaining, who could carry the Hardin legacy into tomorrow. Two hundred years of struggle and sacrifice, of unwavering strength, bravery and determination by her forefathers to fashion a better life from this small piece of earth, and now, the future rested squarely on her shoulders. The weight of it was staggering.

      Slipping behind the СКАЧАТЬ