She was simply mean.
Carl had learned to stay out of her way. Luckily for him, most of the time he could do that. Virginia might still own Thorn Hill, but she currently resided at the Prairie Garden assisted living facility in town, where she happily tormented the other residents and staff.
“I’ve got a proposition for you!” she announced, ignoring his protest. “Did you hear about the prize?” In her three-quarter-length gray skirt and flower-patterned blouse, Virginia was neat as a pin. Her hair was pulled back, braided and coiled into a bun. Her fingers gleamed with several large rings, but none of them circled her ring finger. Virginia had never married.
“What prize?” Carl looked back to catch a glimpse of Camila, but too many people blocked his view.
“Weren’t you paying attention to the announcements? It’s only the biggest piece of news to hit Chance Creek in over a hundred years!”
Now she had his attention. “I just got here. What’s going on?”
“The city’s giving up the Ridley property. Giving it away to the winner—which will be us!” Her eyes shone with determination.
Carl was lost. “Where’s the Ridley property? And how would we win it?”
She poked him again with her umbrella. “The Ridley property is a ranch that straddles Pittance Creek to the north of Thorn Hill and the Flying W. It was given to the city by the Ridleys in 1962 and kept in trust since then. Those fools thought the town center would spread to encompass it. Must have figured Chance Creek was the next Chicago.” She shook her head to show what she thought of that. “It’s been sitting there unused ever since.”
Carl was beginning to understand the significance of the announcement. If the Coopers won it, they could double the size of their ranch.
“Think of it.” Virginia jabbed with her umbrella for emphasis, but Carl dodged it. “Twice the land—and control over Pittance Creek,” she said triumphantly.
Clarity crashed over him. There was the rub. The land was one thing, but the water could be even more important. The Turners’ ranch—the Flying W—also depended on Pittance Creek. Both ranches had wells, of course, but the creek was valuable, nonetheless.
“Virginia, you’re incorrigible. You wouldn’t deprive the Turners of their water, would you?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Depends.”
Hell, he wanted no part of this. “Well, good luck. Hope you win.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say?” Virginia lifted her chin. “Fat lot of help you are, after everything we’ve done for you.”
Carl sighed and checked over his shoulder again. No sign of Camila yet, but he needed to get going. “What do you have to do to win it?” he asked, because he knew Virginia wouldn’t let him pass until she’d told him.
“Provide the biggest boost to civic life during the next six months. Whatever that means.”
Carl could have laughed. It meant the Coopers would have to do something good for the town at large—maybe for the first time in their lives. The family wasn’t known for its civic mindedness. “Like I said, good luck.” This time Carl really meant it. If vying to win the Ridley property motivated them to become model citizens, he was all for it. He liked the Coopers, but they were a wild bunch.
“That’s where you come in.”
“What do you mean?” He should have known she’d try to rope him into something.
She jabbed him again. “Pay attention. This is important. Like I said, I’ve got a proposition for you.”
“Spit it out.”
“You need a ranch. I need that prize. Help me win this contest, and I’ll make sure you get the property of your dreams. You must be sick of living in our little cabin. A millionaire like you,” she added.
“You’ll sell me the Ridley property?” That was interesting. He tried to picture the land to the north of Thorn Hill. All he’d seen from the road was a tangle of brush and scrub. Were there any buildings on it? He couldn’t say. At least it was close to town.
Virginia bristled. “I’m not selling you Cooper land. I’m talking about another ranch. A big one. It’s not for sale yet, but it will be soon. I can get you access to the seller before anyone else even knows about it. If—and only if—you help me win.”
A big ranch for sale no one knew about? That would be a miracle. Prosperous spreads in these parts stayed in family hands for generations. The ones that did come on the market were too dry, too rugged, too far from town, too one thing or another. Multiple buyers competed for them anyhow. Before today, he’d almost given up hope he’d ever find a decent place. Hilltop Acres barely qualified.
He didn’t doubt Virginia’s word, though. Living at the Prairie Garden put her in close proximity with dozens of pensioners who might be ready to dispose of a property. Hell, it seemed like she kept tabs on everyone in town.
“If we get a jump on this civic stuff, no one will be able to catch us. Give my family a leg up, and I’ll see you get your ranch,” she said.
“You want me to donate money to some charitable cause?” He supposed he could do that much and hold the ranch Virginia knew about in his hip pocket, in case something fell through with Hilltop Acres or if he wanted to upgrade at the end of the year. He’d been meaning to contribute more here in Chance Creek anyway. After all, this was his town, too.
“Money isn’t enough,” Virginia said. “Anyone can donate money to the town. We need to donate something big. Something everyone will remember forever.”
“Like what?” His ten minutes were ticking away. He needed to shake Virginia if he wanted to meet Camila.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t waste my time asking you.” Virginia pursed her lips. “Something that goes back to our roots. We Coopers built Chance Creek’s first elementary school in 1898, which means every generation since then owes us gratitude for their education. Maybe we’ll build a new high school.”
“The town already has a high school,” Carl pointed out.
“And a sorrier piece of work I’ve never seen. The Turners were responsible for that travesty. Now the roof leaks in a dozen places, the auditorium is much too small and it’s ugly.”
Carl frowned. If Virginia tried to tear down a Turner building and replace it with a Cooper one, the two families would be brawling in the streets before construction even began. At the same time, he remembered a conversation he’d had with Sven recently about how the lack of technology in schools in poorer districts meant that kids were being left behind before they even graduated from high school. That gave him a better idea.
“Chance Creek doesn’t need a new school. It needs a way to train its students for the future. You can fix up the current high school—and offer kids a better education at the same time.”
Virginia snorted. “You can gild a trash can, but it won’t smell any better.”
“Hear me out.” Carl warmed to the idea. If he was going to give back to Chance Creek, this was a good way to start. “Schools these days are changing. They’ve got 3-D printers in the computer labs, tablets in classrooms, technology everywhere. The workplace is changing, too. Not all our students are going to be ranchers. The rest need to be ready to work in an automated world—and I doubt Chance Creek High is doing much to prepare them. You could fix that. Launch a program that really sets our high school apart from the others.”