What? Felicity shrieked.
Dan looked pale and Jake laughed. Nick said nothing, but went very still, his hands curling around the letter, as if he wanted to crush it.
Or crush Silas.
Well, at least the old mans funeral is paid for, Jake joked.
That isnt funny, Felicity snapped.
She didnt dare breathe. She wasnt mentioned at all in this family drama. For a moment she wondered why the lawyer wanted her here.
Didnt Silas remember her at all?
As if hed heard her thoughts, Kurt turned to Shelby. Miss Stillwater, there is also a provision in the will for you.
She waited, nails digging into her palms.
Silas arranged to give you the apartment over the garage. Its yours to occupy as long as the ranch remains in the family. You cant sell it, of course, but youre free to live there and he made it clear no rent will be charged as long as you occupy it.
A little of her tension fled. She managed a tight nod. Thank you.
The lawyer nodded. Silas always thought highly of you. He loved you like you were his daughter.
She warmed a little to the man. And then he added, But you are not family, only an employee of the Belle Creek. Silas made it clear that only family is to have what funds he left. I dont blame him, as I know your familys history with the ranch is circumspect, specifically your father and how he left here owing money.
Talk about a dose of ice water. Holding on to her pride, she sat straight and managed a tight smile. Nick, however, wasnt smiling.
Thats not necessary, Mohler, he said in a quiet, dangerous voice. Shelby is not her father. Show her some respect.
She didnt need Nick defending her. Her smile grew tighter. Nick, hes right. Im not family.
Shelby locked gazes with the lawyer. Im also not my father. Or my mother. Ive been employed by the Belle Creek for ten years and in those ten years, Ive paid back every cent my daddy owed. Id appreciate it if you would not confuse me with my parents.
As the lawyer started to stammer, she gave him a singularly sweet smile. Are we clear on that, Mr. Mohler?
He nodded and fumbled with his papers. Nick gave her a winsome grin. She ignored it, far too upset inside. Well-mannered Southern girls did not speak back, especially not to wealthy attorneys. But she was so damn tired of people in Barlow bringing up her parents, as if they waited to see if shed pass out cold in her home from drinking too much.
Not that she really had a home. Her home depended upon the whims of what the family did with the ranch.
Shelbys troubled gaze flicked back to Nick. Not family. Silass only son, Nick. He was the sole owner of the ranch now.
Nick stared back at her, the scar on his cheek turning white. The will states Shelby can live here as long as I keep the ranch. What if I decide to sell?
Then she, along with everyone else, will have to leave. Kurt didnt look at her.
Felicity was rocking back and forth now, her jaw clenched so tight it could pound nails. The woman looked ready to rake her claws over Nick. Or scream. Or do both. But unlike Shelby, Felicity was a well-mannered Southern lady and she would not say a word.
Not until she was alone in her bedroom with Dan. Shelby didnt envy Dan for that.
Jake leaned forward, his hands on his knees. How much did Uncle Silas owe? He never told any of us about this. His glance went to Shelby. Not even Shelby here, who kept the books. Uncle Silas was very private about that.
He was very far behind in payments, and the loan had a balloon due four months ago. The bank already started foreclosure. The total amount needed to prevent this is fifty-nine thousand, seven hundred and fifty. The bank needs this by the end of the month.
They had one month to come up with nearly sixty thousand dollars. She glanced at Nick. No, he had that time to come up with that cash.
The ranch is worth much more than the mortgage, Nick. Kurt handed him a white business card. Come and see me first thing Monday morning and well go over everything, including Chucks offer to buy Belle Creek. Hes offering nearly a million in cash. I can help set up a meeting. Chuck is a business associate.
Shelby couldnt think, could barely register what had just happened as Nick stood and shook the mans hand. The lawyer exited, and Felicity almost ran out of the room, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor as she left the Oriental carpet, her hapless husband trailing her. Jake looked stunned for a minute and then shrugged. He slapped Nicks shoulder.
Welcome home, cousin. What a sly trickster that Silas is. Let me know if youre going to sell and Ill move my stuff in permanently with Lynn, not just my toothbrush. Maybe see about getting on with a horse farm in Kentucky. Jake grinned and left.
She was alone with Nick. He stood and went to Silass big mahogany desk. How many times had she seen the old man sit there, dusty boots sprawled across the faded Oriental rug, frown lines denting his forehead, much as they were denting Nicks now? Silas had always brightened when shed entered these hallowed quarters, inviting her to sit and talk.
Hed made her feel comfortable and at home, not like the hired hand she had been. Silas would insist on brewing them a little tea, and theyd sit, as fancy as if they were sipping tea in the queens parlor. Shed tell him all about how Readalot performed his paces that day with Jake, and then how the horse kept nosing in her shirt pocket for the apple he knew shed hidden as she curried him. Silas had listened to her, really listened, as his tired blue eyes met hers over his teacup.
The thought that he wouldnt be around anymore to listen to her talk about her day, ask in his deep, gravelly voice how she was doing, caused an unbearable clench of grief.
Nick turned from the desk, with its neat piles of papers and files. His gaze was bleak. He lifted a hand to her and she saw he had the letter.
Shel...
Frozen in shock, she could only stare as a kaleidoscope of disastrous possibilities whirled through her mind. Nick was now in charge. Nick, who had kissed her and left, making her feel as abandoned as a shelter dog. Nick, who fought hard with Silas and didnt care about the ranchs legacy, or his heritage.
I didnt want this, he said, and the letter shook a little in his hand, as if a breeze caught it. I need time to sort things out.
Time? You have less than a month, by the look of things. She tried to make her voice light, but an undercurrent of bitterness laced her tone. The bank looks to foreclose if they dont get sixty thousand dollars by then.
His eyes closed, and his long, dark lashes nearly swept over his elegant cheekbones. Such a handsome man, even with that sinister scar. It was a shame a man had such great lashes. No mascara for him.
She realized she felt slightly hysterical.
He opened his eyes, and a determined glint shone there. Youll always have a home here, Shel. You and your nephew.
Sure. Now there was no disguising the anger in her voice. As long as the ranch remains in the family. Because as the lawyer said, Im not family.
No longer could she remain here, trying to be civilized. Emotion boiled in her stomach and she walked out of the room, not bothering to close the door. Only when she reached the privacy of her apartment over the garage did the tears come. She let them flow. Grief was better than the haunting thoughts about the future stabbing her mind.
Would Nick do as the lawyer suggested and sell the ranch? She couldnt even entertain that possibility.
Because if Nick decided to sell the ranch, it would be the worst for her. She and Timmy would be homeless, with no money, and nowhere else to go.
Chapter 4
Alone with the past.
Nick sat in the big leather chair behind Silass desk, staring at the paneled walls of his fathers study. Hed always hated this room. It was here that Silas lectured him, yelled at him and then finally shook his head in disgust, announcing that Nick was useless.
The day he ran off to join the navy, he never felt more determined to prove the old man wrong. Hed sweated, strained and broken bones to become a Navy SEAL.
And swore hed never return to this room. Well, here he was, the echo of his fathers voice bouncing off the walls, a ghost from the past.
Nick fingered the letter the lawyer had given him. There had to be a reason why the old man gave him everything and dissed Dan. To torment Dan like Silas had tormented Nick? Only one way to find out. With grim amusement, he looked at his hands as he took the brass paper opener to slit open the envelope. Hands that had held a weapon steady while facing insurgents were now trembling.
The old man certainly could be as scary as a terrorist at times. His psychological methods of wearing you down had honed Nicks stubborn streak to never give up. Never quit.
Unfolding the letter, he read the first two paragraphs. Unable to stomach more, he crumpled it up, his palm now shaking with anger, and threw the paper toward the empty fireplace. His fathers portrait, stern and stately, hung over the mantel.
Damn you to hell, Silas, he said hoarsely to the painting. Damn you.
Clever bastard knew Nick would not accept the ranch, and would sign his birthright over to Dan and leave nothing behind but dust in his wake. Except Silas hit on the one thing he knew would guarantee Nick would staychallenging him not to fail.
You are the only one who can save the Belle Creek from foreclosure or development, Nicolas. I leave this world counting on you. Dont disappoint me and fail at this one thing I ask of you.
All his life, the old man warned Nick would become his biggest disappointment. Never once did Silas say he was proud of Nick. Or even that he loved him.
Eyes wet, he stared at the portrait. Why couldnt I ever be good enough for you?
All the medals hed won, the missions hed accomplished, the work hed done with the teams, and Silas never said a word. Never reached out to the son whod stormed out of here, angry at a father who thought him useless.
Until now.
Too late.
He should call the lawyer, tell him he didnt want the ranch and arrange to have Mohler deed it over to Dan. Dan and his ice-cold wife could have the place and decide to sell. Nick retrieved the letter and fished out his phone, ready to contact the man. And then a face stabbed at his brain.
Shelby. If he did this, Shelby would be homeless. He wasnt certain if Dan would let Shelby and Timmy stay at the ranch, rent-free.
Nick smoothed out the paper and glanced at the letter again.
Im counting on you. Things are very bad at the Belle Creek.
How bad was bad? The ranch never failed to earn money.
For the next half hour, he sat at the desk, ruminating over the tremendous responsibilities Silas had saddled him with. Nick took out a piece of paper and a pencil, and began jotting notes. Seldom one to make snap decisions, he called Dan on his cell. Minutes later, his cousin joined him in the study. Face sullen, Dan crossed his arms at the chest and didnt look at him.
He leaned forward, keeping his voice low and earnest. Im sure this comes as quite a shock, Dan...
Ive worked here for years, and Belle Creek is my home, Dan snapped. How do you think I feel? Silas shut me out again. He never listened to me, or agreed to implement the ideas I had to make the ranch more child-and family-friendly. He was stuck in the past. And now everything Ive poured into the ranch is about to go up in smoke. If you sell, Im left with nothing. Nothing!
I havent decided yet about selling.
This is my home, Dan said tightly. My familys home. More than yours. But its said and done. You going to sell?
Loaded question. I need to evaluate all the angles. Nick studied his cousin, seeing the worry lines denting his face, the purple shadows beneath his eyes. It wasnt right. Dan had managed the ranch for years, and for Silas to cut him off entirely had been cruel. No matter what his fathers intentions, Nick knew he had to win his cousins loyalties first.
Ill make you a deal. Nick tapped the pencil on the desk. First thing Monday, Ill go into town, see Kurt Mohler and draft a legal agreement. You and your family stay here at the Belle Creek, with you as manager of the ranch, and as soon as the bank is paid back, Ill increase your salary by fifty percent and give you twenty-five percent of the ranchs profits as soon as its operating in the black.
No tension left those rigid shoulders. And if you sell?
You get ten percent of the cash left over from the sale, after the bank is paid. He thought of Jake and Shelby. Im offering similar deals, with less percentages, to Shelby and Jake.
Dan blew out a breath. Thats a sweetheart agreement for you. I get a much smaller percentage if you cut everything and sell.
Its more than fair. Call it an incentive to keep the ranch operational. But the agreement also includes stipulations. This was the hard part, and he wasnt certain if Dan, who had run the ranch as hed pleased, would agree. Your salary goes into a fund to help operate the ranch and that includes paying the salaries of the stable hands. Youll still live at the house, rent-free, and youll have an allowance for food, spending money and necessities. Its the only way I can corral the expenditures until we come up with a way to pay back the bank. Im going to trust you to help the ranch get back on its feet, but you have to trust me, too.
His mouth flattened as Dan leaned back. You just returned, Nick. Why should I trust you wont sell and run off?
The legal agreement. It will bind us both here. First, tell me why Silas had no money. He was never one to carry debt. What happened?
His cousin didnt meet his eyes. Who knows? Its expensive to run a ranch these days. If thats all... I have to talk to Felicity about all this.
Dan pushed away from the chair, clearly finished with the conversation. He left, but in a considerably better temper than when hed first walked into the study.
Nick watched him leave, his mind clicking over the facts like a well-oiled machine. Now was not the time for emotions, and Dans were running high after the funeral.
He had savings. But not even close to sixty thousand dollars. And Dan and everyone else seemed loathe to provide any information about why the ranch had slid into such dire straits.
Tucking his phone away, Nick left the study to change his clothing. He took the letter, hoping to get answers from the one person he knew would tell the truth.
* * *
She knew hed come knocking at her door someday. All the years since hed been gone, Shelby kept telling herself Nick would return. Now he stood on the landing outside her apartment, a big man taking up half the front window Silas had installed when hed renovated the place ten years ago.