Page 45 of Under an Oklahoma Sky

They watched the festivities surrounding them. About a hundred people, kids included, were scattered throughout the backyard. Shane, Nicole, and their three children had flown in two days ago, while Sage’s family had arrived earlier in the week. It looked like half the town had shown up for the nuptials and massive pig roast that followed.

Three weeks ago, Adam had surprised Sage with an engagement ring that Maddie and Ashley had helped him pick out. The women had been godsends because his head had spun at all the choices. Ultimately, they’d all agreed on an emerald-cut diamond in a platinum setting. It wasn’t something she could wear all the time while working on a horse ranch, but the matching wedding band was.

After he’d gotten down on one knee and proposed up at the lake, Sage had obviously said yes, but then shocked the hell out of him when she announced she wanted to get married as soon as possible. She’d already lost one man she loved and didn’t want to waste any time after being lucky enough to find another.

It was amazing how their friends and family had pulled together and organized the wedding in only three weeks. The pig roast was catered so everyone could enjoy themselves, but everything else came together through a whirlwind of planning.

They'd been married beneath an arched trellis covered with roses, with Ashley and Maddie as bridesmaids and Shane and Evan standing beside Adam as his groomsmen. Jenna was the flower girl, while Matthew and his grandfather had walked Sage down the aisle and given her away.

And just like that, Adam was a husband and a father—two roles he’d never expected to have. He thanked God every day for bringing this family into his life. He’d come so close several times to losing everything he hadn’t known he wanted.

Seth Chapman had pled guilty to arson, assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder but had taken his own life in his cell while awaiting sentencing. Adam and Sage had made an anonymous donation through Reverend Stevens toward the Chapman children’s future education. They both believed the three siblings shouldn’t have to suffer or pay for their father's sins.

Sage, Adam, Jenna, and Matthew had also become celebrities of sorts. News agencies from around the country—print, online, and television—had come calling for interviews about the treasure trove. Of course, the attention had also brought scam artists and opportunists asking the family to fund one ridiculous project after another. They’d eventually hired a private security company until they became old news and people stopped showing up at the ranch at all hours begging for money. Sage and Adam had no problem helping those truly in need, but most requests were driven by plain old greed.

Glancing across the yard, Adam spotted his new wife talking with Anna and Trent Boone, their neighbors to the east. The older couple had approached them a few weeks ago with a proposal. They decided to sell their eighty-acre ranch and retire to Florida, where their daughter and her family lived. Knowing Sage was now financially secure, the Boones wanted to give her the first opportunity to buy the property and offered it at a reasonable price, since they’d known the Hammond family for years.

After talking it over, Adam and Sage agreed it was perfect. They planned to expand not only the horse-breeding operation but also the llama and sheep herds. That meant hiring more ranch hands besides the two who had worked for them last month.

“Here. This is for you.” Shane handed Adam a thick, white envelope.

“What’s this?”

His foster brother took a swig of his beer. “Open it, you twit.”

He snorted and put down his beer before opening the envelope. Sage and Nicole, who was carrying her daughter, Melanie, climbed the porch steps and walked toward the two men. Adam's new wife was beautiful in the simple ivory lace sundress she’d picked out for the wedding, along with ivory cowgirl boots. His groom attire was an ivory Western-style dress shirt with a bolo tie, paired with black pants and boots.

Pulling the papers from the envelope, he unfolded them as Sage sidled up and wrapped an arm around his waist. “What’s this?”

“Adam’s share of Harry and Barbara’s estate,” Shane replied as he took his daughter from his wife. “I figured it was time for him to take over his own accounts.”

Dumbfounded, he shuffled through the papers. “Um… what the heck? Shane… there are a lot more zeroes here than there should be. There’s no way Harry and Barbara left me this much money.”

Sage gasped when she spotted the total value of the investment accounts at the bottom of the page.

His brother grinned. “Oh, there was a lot less than that before my wife developed a nose for investing. There would’ve been more, but in the beginning, we gambled with our own money before adding yours to the mix. Needless to say, you’re now a very rich man—and not because you married into it.”

“Believe it or not,” Nicole said, “it started with my book club. One of the women brought in her daughter, who’s a stockbroker, to teach us about investing. We started small, learned how to research companies and analyze the market, and did pretty darn well for ourselves.”

“Holy cow!” Sage was impressed. “You’ll have to tell me what to invest some of our money in.”

“I’d be happy to. Not everything we’ve picked has paid off, and a few tanked horribly, but most have done really well.”

Sage looked up at Adam. “I have a suggestion. Since we’re no longer in desperate need of money, why don’t you do something special with that? I mean, if you want.”

“Like what?” He still gaped at the paperwork.

“Like opening a youth center—kind of like a YMCA or something.”

Shane bounced Melanie on his hip. “You could teach boxing and self-defense.”

“You could teach anything the kids want to learn,” Nicole added. “Things they might not get a chance to experience in school but could use in everyday life.”

A smile spread across Adam’s face as he pictured it. A place where kids could go after school. Somewhere they could try new things, make friends, stay out of trouble, or simply find an adult willing to listen when they needed one.

Someone like Harry had always been for him.

“I think that’s an awesome idea.” He paused as a name came to him. “How does the Harry and Barbara Brooks Youth Center sound?”