Highly Compromised Position Read Free

suspected the tree was as old as the anger between the two families. Uncle Lucas swore there was no one in the Devlin family fanning the fires of the feud, and Tom believed him.
    The hundred-year-old Devlin-Windcroft feud had ignited over a poker game where Richard Windcroft lost half his land to a cheating Nick Devlin and then Windcroft supposedly murdered Devlin. At that time Jessamine Golden, Royal’s most notorious outlaw, stole a treasure of gold and disappeared. When the mayor vanished, it was rumored she’d murdered him. Through the years legend indicated that the hidden treasure was on Windcroft land, and Tom knew his uncle thought thatspeculation was behind all of the Windcrofts’ recent trouble. Tom looked over the green acres and wondered where the treasure was hidden. His gaze swung back to the porch. If Jessamine Golden’s treasure really did exist and was hidden on the Windcroft place, it could be anywhere—even beneath the house or barn.
    As Tom mulled local history, Rose drove up and parked. She hurried to join him with that sassy walk that accelerated his pulse.
    â€œThis has turned into a morning I never expected,” he said.
    â€œYou won’t get my daddy to agree to peace between the two families.”
    â€œWe’ll see. I intend to try to persuade him to.”
    As they crossed the porch, the door swung open. Tom looked at a woman who bore a resemblance to Rose Windcroft and he was certain he faced her sister, Nita. Her gaze was direct, her chin raised, and he suspected she was a no-nonsense person as capable of running the horse farm as he had heard she was.
    â€œNita, this is Tom Devlin,” Rose said. “Tom, meet my sister, Nita Thorne.”
    When Nita thrust out her hand, her eyebrows arched in surprise and she looked back and forth between Rose and him.
    â€œHow do you do,” he said, shaking her hand. As he had expected, Nita’s grip was firm.
    â€œDo you two know each other?” Nita asked, looking at Rose, who nodded.
    â€œYes, we do. We met at a business convention a few months back,” Rose replied in a casual tone. She turned to Tom. “Come in and meet Daddy.”
    Curious about where Rose had grown up, Tom entered a house that was contemporary and inviting. The grand foyer held an iron baluster split stairway that indicated Rose’s past had a degree of luxury. Through extra-wide windows that ran almost to the ceiling, sunlight spilled into the spacious living room. A stone fireplace stood at one end of the room and adjacent to it sat a man with his leg in a cast, his foot propped on an ottoman.
    Rose took Tom’s arm. “Daddy, this is Tom Devlin, Lucas Devlin’s nephew. Tom, meet Will Windcroft.”
    â€œYou’re damned lucky I have this broken leg or I’d run you out of here before you could say a word,” Will groused.
    â€œI’m here on a peace mission,” Tom said politely, gazing at the man whose leathery appearance was a testament to how many hours he spent working out of doors. Beneath salt-and-pepper hair Will’s eyes flashed with anger. Tom suspected he might have had to fend off a fist in his face if Will hadn’t had a broken leg. “At least hear me out. In town they say you’re a reasonable man. That’s part of why I made this appointment. My family would like to end the feud.”
    â€œLike hell, they would!” Will snapped. “They’re doing everything they can to promote it. Who else would tear down our fences and poison our feed and dig holes so my horse went down and took me with him? Get out of my house. I didn’t agree to this meeting,” he added with a glare toward Nita.
    â€œDaddy,” Nita said. “If Connor were here, he would urge you to listen.”
    â€œWait a minute, Daddy,” Rose insisted.
    â€œIt’s not us doing bad and dangerous things to Windcrofts,” Tom continued calmly. “Give me half an