Keegan's Lady by Catherine Anderson

of something. Caitlin knew he was craving a drink, and she felt awful for broaching this subject at a moment when he was so vulnerable. It was just that she didn't see any choice. Keegan was a reality they couldn't ignore, a threat that wouldn't go away.
    "We have to manage," her brother said wearily. "We just have to, that's all."
    "There is another alternative." Caitlin rubbed her palms on her jeans, a pair of Patrick's hand-me-downs she'd confiscated to wear while working around the ranch. "I know it seems drastic, but we could sell this place." When her brother shot her a horrified look, she held up a staying hand. "Just think about it, Paddy. That's all I'm asking. We could pay Keegan off, and we'd still have plenty of money left over to make a fresh start somewhere else. You and me, in a completely new place. Wouldn't that be grand?"
    Patrick's gaze shifted away from her and became fixed. "We can't sell the ranch, Caitlin." His voice sounded oddly scratchy. "I, um, took out a mortgage against it."
    Caitlin wasn't sure she'd heard him right. "You what?"
    "I invested in some of that railroad spur land," he said softly. "To get the money, I had to mortgage the ranch. If we sold out now, we wouldn't have two nickels to rub together after we paid everyone off."
    Caitlin felt a falling sensation that bottomed out with such abruptness her legs jerked. "Railroad spur land?"
    She had suspected. Even though she and Patrick had discussed such a move and agreed it was unethical, she had suspected. A dizzy feeling filled her head, and she held onto the counter for support. "Oh, Patrick. I was afraid you might have done something like that, but I figured you probably used the money you stole from me.
    "I didn't exactly steal it. Borrowed, more like. I'll pay it back. As for using it to invest, it was only a thousand dollars, Caitlin. That much wouldn't have gone far to buy up a lot of land."
    "Oh, Patrick, how could you?"
    "I was drunk," he said hollowly. "My friends were all talking about what a great opportunity it was. Before I knew it, I was over at Barbary Coast Mortgage signing my name on the bottom line." He gestured feebly with one hand. "I, um, wanted to tell you. Almost did a couple of times. But I knew you'd pitch such a fit, I never got up my nerve."
    "Your nerve? And how about the poor dirt farmers whose land you've bought? That takes nerve, Patrick, God forgive you."' Caitlin thought of the social the church was holding at the end of the month to raise money for those farmers, of all the hours she'd invested in the planning. And now she discovered her brother had mortgaged their ranch to take advantage of their misfortune?
    "Those poor people have sweat blood on those parcels of land," she said shakily. "For years. Now, when a railroad company may come along and make all their toil worthwhile by buying their acreages at premium prices, you waltz in for a song and stand to make all the profit?"
    Patrick pushed to his feet, his tautly held body swaying slightly from the lingering effects of whiskey. Looking into his eyes, Caitlin knew she should keep her mouth shut, that to anger him right now might be a grave mistake, but her Irish got the best of her.
    "Blast you, Patrick! And blast your damnable whiskey! How could you do such a thing when you knew how strongly I felt about it! While you were off signing your name on that bottom line, I was here keeping this place afloat." She held out her hands. "Bloody blisters! Working until I could scarcely walk. And all for what? So you could cheat people?"
    Patrick doubled his fists. The wildness she'd come to dread was there in his eyes. "Those farmers were already mortgaged up to their eyebrows because of the drought!" he shot back. "It's not my fault it didn't rain for two goddamned years! They would've lost their shirts, no matter what. Buying their land before they lost it saved them from complete financial ruin!"
    "I've already heard all the arguments, thank you very much.