Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
His eyes promised retribution, but he clamped his mouth shut.
I took a slow breath, steadying myself. “I don’t want half of Glenhaven.”
That gave him pause, but he eyed me with suspicion. “Ye don’t?”
I shook my head. “No. I never wanted it, and I certainly don’t want to be in business with ye.” I stepped forward, keeping my voice calm, measured. “So, I’ll make ye a deal.”
“Yer not in a position—”
“No, yer not in a position. Ye can’t afford to not hear what I have to offer.”
And for the first time ever in all my memories of my da, he looked utterly cowed, as if almost pleadeding with me to be gentle.
It was an odd experience, but I brushed it aside. I wanted this concluded as quickly as possible. “I’ll sign over my half of Glenhaven to ye.”
He looked absolutely bewildered. “Why would ye do that?”
“In return, ye’ll sign permission for me to leave Ireland and marry Tommy.”
His entire body tensed. “Absolutely not.”
I shrugged. “Then I keep my half, and I take full control of the training center. Maybe I’ll sell it to someone else. Maybe I’ll partner with another farm. Maybe I’ll start training steeplechasers myself. I’m sure there would be plenty of buyers eager to work with me.”
His jaw clenched so tightly that I heard his teeth grind together.
I let the words settle before delivering the final blow. “And ye’ll promise—officially, in writing—that Siobhan will marry whomever she chooses, and that ye’ll not arrange anything on her behalf.”
His eyes burned with pure, livid rage. “Yer trying to blackmail me.”
I shrugged again. “Call it what ye want. But I know ye, Da. I know what matters to ye. And ye care far more about yer land than ye do about yer daughters.” He looked at me like he wanted to strike me, but he wouldn’t. He didn’t need to. His silence told me I had already won, but I’m not sure he really understood how good a deal this was for him. “If ye own all of Glenhaven, ye have no need to merge with the Kavanaghs to build yer empire. Ye’ll own all of this one. This is yer legacy. This is yer chance to have it all. But ye have to let me and Siobhan go.”
My legs almost gave way as I saw something else filter into his expression as understanding dawned and he truly realized what I had just done. I saw something I never thought I’d see in my life.
Respect.
I held my breath, waiting, because respect didn’t mean agreement.
Finally, he exhaled sharply. “Aye.”
Relief crashed over me so fast I nearly collapsed. But I kept my face neutral. “Ye’ll sign?”
His lips pressed into a thin line. “I will.”
“And ye’ll promise to let Siobhan make her own choices? That will be written into the agreement and ye’ll forfeit yer half if ye break it.”
He gritted his teeth. “I understand and I agree.”
Every bit of weight and tension eased and a peace washed over me that I’d never experienced before. “Then we have a deal. Please give the Kavanaghs my regards, but I won’t be returning to dinner.”
Without another word, I turned on my heel and walked out of his study, leaving him to pick up the pieces of his carefully orchestrated plan I just demolished.
CHAPTER 28
Tommy
Blackburn Farms stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions, a legacy carved into the rolling bluegrass hills of Kentucky. Established before the Civil War, the land had been in my family for generations, passed down through the Blackburn line like a sacred trust. The farm was massive—over thirty-five hundred acres of prime horse country, where our bloodlines had been bred for excellence.
All this would be mine to run someday, and I didn’t think I really understood the importance of that until I left Ireland. Working side by side with Rory all those weeks gave me a new appreciation of what it meant to have passion for your work. To me, Blackburn Farms was just an obvious legacy I’d inherit, but now I knew that it was more than blood.
It was about the soul.
At the heart of the operation stood the main training facility, a sprawling compound that housed two indoor arenas, a state-of-the-art breeding barn, and nearly a hundred stalls for the horses that were the lifeblood of this farm. Beyond the training center, several large pastures were divided by white fencing, where the foals and yearlings grazed before beginning their training. A team of over fifty employees, from trainers to farmhands, kept things running smoothly and it was indeed a well-oiled machine.
And then there was Blackburn Manor, built in the late 1800s. The grand house was an elegant three-story structure with towering white columns, surrounded by massive oak trees that had stood longer than any of us. It was where my parents still lived, where I had grown up, where generations of Blackburns had made their mark on this land.