Page 63 of Fall or Nothing

Wasthis suit always this uncomfortable before? I tugged at the custom neckline of the silk shirt. The tie was too tight, too. I grumbled about it all the way from my penthouse into the boardroom at my lawyer’s office.

Jackson Pierce sat there. My long-time legal representative, on whom I could always count to get me out of trouble. But for the shocker of my life—Hugh sat there with him, his own lawyer by his side.

“Jackson, what the fuck is my brother doing here?” I shouted and pointed.

“Good to see you too, Carter,” Hugh grinned, his fingers laced in front of him on the table.

“I thought you were out in India on sabbatical, trying to find God or something.”

“No. But I found a woman who enlightened me in ways I could never verbally explain.” His sly, devious smile took over his entire face.

“What are you doing here?” I shook my head.

“Hugh has brought a lawsuit against your inheritance claim,” Jackson explained.

My blood boiled. “That’s bullshit. I served my thirty days.”

“Using Chris’s help? Really?” Hugh shot back.

I cut a sharp glance at Jackson. “You said Chris could be the technicality?—”

“I’m betting a court will side with me that using him violated the challenge.” Hugh smirked.

I stalked away to the window, my hand digging through my hair, regretting the haircut and shave I’d gotten yesterday at my old stylist’s place. And this damn tie… I yanked it out of the knot and off.

This morning I’d checked my trust fund balance—what was left of it before it all went away on my birthday. I had exactly nine hundred thousand—and two hundred and fifty dollars. Two-fifty.

To a woman in Montana, that amount would mean a lot to help pay for the trip of her dreams.

Then again, Sage made it clear that money meant little to her. She wanted the cowboy, not the man with money.

What if the cowboy was the man with the money?

What if the cowboy returned and did whatever he could to win her back?

“It’s all or nothing, brother. No hard feelings. You have your challenge from Dad. I have mine.” Hugh’s challenge from Dad had been to stop each of us from winning ours. Oh, the evil shit Dad liked to pull as a multi-billionaire asshole.

“You’re not exactly succeeding, are you? Only with Oliver’s claim were you able to stop it.” I shot back.

“Until you. I feel pretty confident I have a solid case.”

All or nothing? Well, I had almost a million in my trust fund still. Over the past month, I’d proven I could survive on nothing, create a new life out of very little. The surprising thing was how settled I’d felt doing the work, spending time with Sage, taking part in church on the ranch and Thanksgiving and the niceties of a small town.

Dare I admit it? My time in Montana had become the closest thing I imagined home to be.

That made this decision all the easier.

I headed toward the door.

“Carter, where are you going? We still need to deal with Hugh’s suit,” Jackson called.

“All or nothing? Fuck the money.” I left the room.

“What are you doing? Come back here, you idiot,” Hugh stormed after me. “You’re not even going to fight for your inheritance?”

“Nope. I have something better to fight for waiting for me in Montana.” I pressed the down arrow of the elevator.

“Think about what you’re giving up,” Jackson implored, rushing to my side. “A billion dollars. We can fight Hugh, at least try.”