His lips pressed into a firm line. “Why wouldn’t you? It’s a non-binding letter. Besides, it’ll forestall the foreclosure.”
“So far you’ve sworn you won’t sell me Haggerty.”
“But I will sell you the other land. Land you could build a home on. You could buy your own horses. Heck, you could buy a stableful if you wanted. Just sign the paper.”
She wanted to help him, really, she did, but he’d presented her with a bargaining chip, and she intended to make the most of the opportunity. Now was her time to strike.
“I want something in return for signing this letter.”
He paused and shot her a suspicious look. “You don’t mean Haggerty, do you?”
She shook her head. This was much more personal. Alexis clasped her hands together and flashed Cord her brightest smile. She couldn’t believe this prime opportunity had landed in her lap. This was way too good to pass up.
Frown lines bracketed his eyes and mouth as he slouched back against the booth. “What’s your price?”
“Don’t look so worried. This won’t cost you a dime.”
“Spit it out.”
She placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “I want to go horseback riding.”
Disbelief reflected in his eyes. “Let me get this straight. All I have to do is take you riding and you’ll sign?”
She grinned before nodding. It was time she got over her riding accident…way past time. And with her hectic work schedule, this might be her only opportunity.
His facial muscles relaxed. “Okay, what’s the catch?”
“I want to go tomorrow—after lunch.” After her meeting with the railroad about its part in her pitch to Whistle Stop and before she lost her nerve.
He rubbed his chin. “I was planning to check the progress on the new fence line then, but I guess I can do it another time. Anything else?”
“I want to ride Midnight Star.”
“I don’t think so.”
She crossed her arms. “Those are my terms. Accept them or take your paper back.”
He sighed. “Are you always this difficult? No wonder you aren’t married.”
His words stabbed at a tender spot in her chest. She blinked away the stinging sensation at the backs of her eyes. She remembered how her ex-fiancé, Steven, had said something quite similar when she hadn’t been willing to toss aside her career at HSG and leave her father to follow him across the country. Steven never understood her need to please her father or her inability to abandon him—for so many years, it’d been only the two of them.
“I’m sorry,” Cord muttered.
Her chin jutted out. “My marital status has nothing to do with this. If you want the papers signed, you’ll have to let me ride your horse.”
“What about your hand?”
She held up her injury. “Good enough to hang on to some reins.”
“You haven’t been on a horse since your accident—that must have been some fall. Mind telling me about it?”
She worried her bottom lip. He’d get the wrong idea. He’d react like her father and insist she had no business riding a horse. She didn’t want to hear it all those years ago, and she didn’t want to hear it now. But with Cord staring at her with an expectant look on his face, what choice did she have? Besides, it wasn’t a secret or anything.
“If you must know, I was competing at a district horse show when my horse unexpectedly stopped. I didn’t.”
“And…”
Why did he push? Was he still looking for an excuse to keep her from riding? If that was his intent, he wouldn’t get her signature. Armed with that thought, she continued, “My arm ended up with a compound fracture, requiring surgery and months of physical therapy.”