All Chapters of Redheads & Ranchers: Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

Chapter 131: Gift From PoppyFearing his alcohol-soaked stomach would reject food, Hunter skipped breakfast and carried his coffee to his office. He told himself he needed to check on business-related emails and such, but he knew he was just avoiding Rolly and the ranch hands. They'd witnessed his tirade at Poppy the previous day, and justified or not, he felt a little ashamed of himself. Not about the fact that he'd thrown her off the property, of course. But he hadn't handled himself with the manners with which he'd been raised. Anyway, he figured a little clerical work would help him settle his emotions and give him a chance to formulate some kind of response to Rolly's inevitable questions.As soon as he opened the office door, his gaze fell on a gift-wrapped box sitting in the center of his desk. He stopped just inside the doorway, staring at the object like it was a coiled timber rattler ready to strike.Exhaling sharply, he closed the door behind him and forced his boots

Chapter 133: OutsidersStarla Hawkins shifted her jaw in irritation as she pressed her lips into a grim line. The group of gentlemen, if you wanted to call them that, currently ensconced in the North Star's private party room was on her last mother-loving nerve. As the North Star's owner, she'd decided it was her position to 'take one for the team' and wait on the party herself. She'd rather do that than subject her staff to a rude bunch of businessmen from back east.The group hadn't bothered to call ahead and reserve the room, not that anyone had previously asked for it for tonight, and Sunday nights tended to be a little slow anyway, but it was the principle of the thing. She'd had it up to here with entitled city fucks rolling in like they owned the place. Hell, some of the locals were bad enough. She glanced over at the pair of numbskulls playing pool on the far side of the bar, and she laughed humorlessly. They didn't have a brain between the two of them. But at least th

Chapter 135: Life Goes OnSeated atop Cheyenne, Hunter raised the binoculars to his eyes and looked out across the valley to the strip of land he'd just lost. "Damn it, they didn't waste any time, did they?""I figured you'd want to know about it," Rolly said. From his cabin on the north side of the ranch, the old man had heard the trio of trucks that had arrived on the land that now belonged to the state of Idaho. He and Hunter had ridden out early that morning to see for themselves what was going on.For now, it appeared that they were repeating the survey, apparently intent on respecting the narrow boundaries of the parcel. For now, Hunter thought bitterly. But they were slicing off the north end of the ranch. It wouldn't surprise him at all if they just decided to annex that whole parcel. With a road slicing off that end of McFall Ranch, he sure as hell couldn't use the land on the other side.Thinking of the way they stole his land, thinking of the part Poppy played in the

Chapter 137: Connecting the DotsBack at her apartment, Poppy sat at her tiny kitchen counter and pored over the documents from Dana's flash drive. Among the nearly fifty items were emails, internal memos, permits, survey results, twin environmental reports, and a confidential file on Hunter McFall. Poppy sighed heavily as she scrolled through the information Slade's investigator had gathered on the rancher. There was a birth certificate showing the date and location of his birth, a photo from his high school yearbook, a marriage license, a death certificate for Tara Olsen McFall, and a wedding photo from the local newspaper. Poppy blinked as she recognized the same image she'd found in Hunter's desk drawer, her stomach knotting up with regret as she stared into his eyes. She shook her head and scrolled further, finding a couple dozen more recent photos that appeared to have been taken without Hunter's knowledge, images of him getting in and out of the black Expedition somewhere

Chapter 139: Go TimeIn the ladies' room mirror at Slade & Howell, Poppy mentally took inventory. Hair in a neat, professional updo? Check. And for once, her red locks had been cooperative. Scarlett Sin lipstick? She rested her palms on the sink, leaned toward the mirror, and pursed her lips. Check. Although in contrast, her face looked pale. It couldn't be helped. Her nerves were getting the best of her, and she'd even thrown up before she'd left home. Power outfit in place? She scanned the white blouse and black pencil skirt, then all the way down to her black Jimmy Choos. Cow poo shoes. She blinked hard. Stop it. Don't go there. Power outfit? Check. She felt her bile rising again and swallowed against it. The time had come."This is it," she told her reflection. Then she turned on her designer heel and marched out of the restroom.In the two weeks since she'd been back from Idaho, Poppy had mined the information Dana had given her for every ounce of gold.