***The Next Morning***
Jennifer got up first and went and made the coffee. Jonathan came and joined her right when it was ready.
"Morning".
"Morning".
She poured him a cup of coffee and then poured one for herself.
He took her hand and led her to the back porch.
He took a seat and then pulled her into his lap.
She snuggled with him while they sipped their coffee.
"Ok, decision time. What are we going to do?"
"I've been thinking. Maybe we should sell. I mean I love this place and all, but it's not worth risking our lives".
"I agree, it's not worth risking our lives. But darling, if we do sell this place, there's no law that says we have to sell it to Holt Gregory. As far as I'm concerned, after all this harassment, he doesn't deserve for us to sell it to him. And it wouldn't be fair for us to sell it to someone else and put them in the hot seat with him".
"That's a good point".
"So, let's just be consistent. Every time something is amiss, we file a police report. They will have to either arrest this guy or he's going to stop bothering us, whichever the case may be".
"We can do that. And we can also beat them at their own game".
***Later that Day***
Jennifer and Jonathan had gotten dressed and driven into town, to pick up some supplies. On the way home, they drove the back roads and just kind of looked around a bit at the properties around their property to the North.
They were both surprised to find a huge cattle farm directly to the north of their property.
"Did you know that was up here?"
"No, I didn't".
They pulled over to look at a map of the area.
"Darling, what is the name of the river that our property runs alongside of?"
"The Bloomtown River, I believe".
"Well, what a coincidence. According to this map, the Bloomtown River also runs right next to the cattle farm just north of us, and if we continue down this road, we will cross the Bloomtown River".
"Oh really? Let's go see what we can find out".
They pulled forward and made their way down the road, and sure enough, they were soon crossing the Bloomtown River.
"Darling, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Yeah, I am. That river is moving rather fast".
"But yet, when it gets down to our end, it's barely a trickle".
"I think I might call Jack when we get back to the house. Have him fly up and rent a chopper and fly that from one end of the river to another".
"Good idea, darling".
They continued on towards their road.
Just before the stop sign, there was a huge estate that was gated and had a large 'G' on it.
Jennifer had been making notes as they drove along, and she noted how that estate was much larger and nicer than the others.
They pulled up into the garage at their house and went inside.
Jennifer sat down and started making some notes, while Jonathan made a few phone calls.
They were just about to head out on the ATV when there was a knock at the door.
Jonathan went and answered it, and found Kyle Perkins, his head ranch hand, on the other side.
"Hey Kyle, how are you?"
"Good. Mr. and Mrs. Hart, do you two have a moment?"
"Sure, come on in".
"Thank you".
He took his hat off and came inside.
"There's no easy way to say this. More than half of our crew has quit. I didn't think much about it at the time, as rodeo season is coming up, and a lot of our guys want to go to Cheyenne and compete. But this morning, I was up at the feed store around the bend, and I saw several of them, and they were all wearing the uniform for the Gregory ranch. When I walked up to them to say hey, they told me it wasn't nothing personal, but that Mr. Gregory came and offered them $20 more per hour than you were paying, and is also letting them live in a really nice bunkhouse on his property. Now, I don't mind that we don't have a bunkhouse, because most of us are married. But apparently that was the main selling point for the others".
"How many men are we down, Kyle?"
"8. And there's only 4 of us left. This is a really nice place, Mr. Hart, and we work really hard. But we cannot do it all by ourselves".
"I agree. And you don't have to. You have my permission to hire as many people as you need, and to pay them and everyone else as much and even a few dollars more than Gregory is paying his ranch hands".
"Thank you, Mr. Hart".
"No problem".
Jonathan shut and locked the door behind him and then turned to Jennifer.
"Darling, do you get the feeling that we are missing something?"
"Yeah, I do. I think we might need to consult the county clerk's office and ask some questions regarding the property records".
"Not a bad idea".
"I think I'm going to make some phone calls. You can take the jeep and go to the records department if you want".
"Good idea. I'll be back as soon as I can".
She leaned up and kissed him.
"I love you".
"I love you too".
Jennifer headed out, while Jonathan picked up the phone.
"Hello, Deanne? It's Mr. Hart. Can you connect me to Stanley please?"
***Records Department***
Jennifer came in, and took a number and then took a seat.
When they called her number, she went up to the window.
"Hi, I'd like all the records you have for the property at this address, including a map showing the property lines, please".
She slid the address to the clerk.
"Ok, and you are?"
"The current property owner".
"One moment, ma'am".
"Ok, so you have two choices. You can take this file and make your own copies, with the copier over there, at a rate of $.55/copy. Or, you can pay us $45.00 to make copies for you. If I hit print, it should only take about 30 minutes or so".
"Sure, I'll do that".
She paid the lady and then sat back down to wait for the file to print.
A nice looking blonde lady came and sat next to her.
"Nice weather we're having isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's pretty out today".
"It's a great day to sell a house or a nice piece of property".
"Yes, I suppose it is".
Jennifer began to make a grocery list, trying to make it obvious that she wasn't interested in the woman's conversation.
A few minutes later, she heard the clerk call her name.
"Mrs. Hart, your file is ready".
"Thank you".
She got up, grabbed the file and then headed to the car.
***Grocery Store***
Jennifer was like a machine in the grocery store, swiftly moving through the aisles and grabbing everything on her list.
In total, it only took her about 20 minutes from start to finish.
As she was pushing the cart through the parking lot, the same blonde lady from earlier came up next to her.
"Take it from me, honey. Some things are better left undiscovered".
The lady walked on ahead.
"Excuse me? If you have something to tell me, or to say to me, just say it. This cat and mouse game is getting old".
"If you know what's good for you, you'll heed my warning".
"I beg your pardon. I will not be intimidated by the likes of you!"
"Don't say I didn't warn you, toots".
The lady kept walking and left Jennifer standing there in the parking lot.
She made her way to the Jeep, and loaded the groceries.
As she drove out of the parking lot, she noticed the lady driving a black BMW.
She decided to go straight home and made sure to take the fastest route.
As soon as she turned on to their street, she began to hear a roaring noise.
She looked in the rearview mirror and saw the black BMW coming at her at a high rate of speed.
She sped up, and then quickly turned, skidding off the road. The BMW wasn't able to turn in time, so it continued on.
Jennifer circled back and then continued on towards their house.
About a ½ a mile from the ranch, she saw the BMW on the side of the road, with a flat tire.
Jennifer made note of the license plate number.
4SPD782.
'Four speed, seven eighty two'.
She quickly pulled into the driveway, closed the gate behind her and then pulled up into the garage. She made sure to close the garage door before she got out, and quickly headed inside.
She heard him on the phone before she saw him.
"Yes, Stanley. That's correct. Just look into it and see what you can find out".
She quickly got his attention and grabbed a note pad and started writing him a note.
She pointed to the note and then the phone.
"Stanley, one more favor. See what you can find out about a Black BMW with California plates, 4SPD782. Yes, that's right. Ok, thank you, Stanley".
He hung up and came over to her.
"Darling, what is this all about?"
"I was at the records office. And I was waiting and this lady came up next to me, and sat right next to me. And she was talking about how it was a nice day out and it was the perfect day to sell a piece of property. And then I left there and headed to the grocery store, and when I came out of the grocery store, the lady came up to me again. And she said 'take it from me, some things are better left undiscovered'. And I stopped and told her that if she had something to say to me, to just say it. So, she says 'If you know what's good for you, you'll heed my warning'. So, I told her I wasn't going to be intimidated by her. And she said "Don't say I didn't warn you". So, we leave the parking lot, and I spotted her in a black BMW. I decided to take the fastest route home, and as soon as I turned on our street, she came up behind me at a very high rate of speed. I sped up, and took a quick turn at the roundabout, which she wasn't prepared to take, and then I continued on after she passed. When I got to the horse farm with the blue fence, she was on the side of the road with a flat tire".
He wrapped his arms around her and held her.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. I'm just frustrated. Why the sudden interest in our property all of a sudden? This is so insane".
"I promise, we will get to the bottom of it".
"What did Stanley tell you?"
"Well, it seems as though the Mobile Tower Electronics deal has fallen through. We thought that was a sure thing, and for some unknown reason, they pulled out of the deal".
"That's strange".
"Yeah, it is. Stanley's going to investigate".
She started to put the groceries away.
"What did you pick up?"
"We are having a special dinner, just because".
"Oh? What are we having?"
"I picked up some fresh shrimp, and I thought we could grill some steaks, some shrimp skewers, and have a nice salad with it, and I'll even make you some crispy potatoes".
"Wonderful idea".
He gave her a few kisses and then got out the steaks so they could thaw.
They had a nice dinner, and then did the dishes together.
When they were both in their pajamas, Jennifer sat down with the file that she had picked up.
She and Jonathan looked all through it, and didn't find anything amiss.
"Darling, when you bought this place, do you remember who you bought it from?"
"A family named the Carters. Very nice people".
"What was on the property when you bought it?"
"This house, that I completely renovated, the barn, which I expanded on and renovated, the pond, which was smaller than it is now, and the well".
"I forgot about the well!"
"Totally understandable, seeing as how it hasn't been used in 50 years, at least".
She was looking at the property map.
"Darling, what is this rectangle on the map right here?"
"That's the storm shelter. I don't think I've ever opened that, either".
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm not sure yet…. Either there is something on this property they are after, or they are after us and want to just get us out of the way".
"I think it's time I called in my legal team."
"Great idea".
Jonathan picked up the phone and called his lawyer, while Jennifer finished looking at the file.
She made a list of questions for him to ask, and slid it to him.
"So, you are saying that we need to document each and every interaction, and if they keep badgering us to sell, we can charge them with harassment? Cameras, got it. We are putting those up as well. Ok, thank you".
He hung up and looked at Jennifer.
"It's time to fight fire with fire".
"What do you mean?"
"Marcus wants me to play it safe, and charge them with harassment. And I might. But something tells me that won't be strong enough to end this once and for all. I really think we need to do something a little more extreme, to really send the message that it's time to back off".