AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You left us!” she yelled, surprising me so much I took a step backward. “You went off to your fancy school in the city and told Dad that you didn’t want anything to do with Ward Ranch, then you came crawling back after your marriage fell apart, and now you’re supposed to be in charge? Because you’re the oldest?” She snarled. “Because you’re a boy? I should have a stake in this ranch! This is my land too!”
Red-faced, my sister was practically in tears. Tossing the mail aside, I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. Instead of punching me like I expected, she sagged against me and started to sob. Her anger had nothing to do with the ranch. I would never cut her out of the profits, and she knew it. This was about our father.
My relationship with him had always been rocky, but she’d always been Daddy’s girl. They had a bond that nothing could break, and I knew that she was grieving. And hurt that he’d left most everything to me, not her.
I had been an ass. After the funeral, I couldn’t get away fast enough, and I didn’t realize that she would need me. Even though she was mouthy enough to set my teeth on edge, she’d always been independent. “It’s okay, Kim. I’m right here.”
“Do you even miss him, Brendan? Even a little?”
I stroked her hair. “Of course I do.”
Sniffing, she leaned back and studied me. “Do you promise me that this deal with Harry is for the good of Ward Ranch and not just to satisfy some personal agenda?”
I bit back a sharp retort, keeping my voice level. “This isn’t just about doubling our land and horses. Blackwell’s ranch borders ours. No way in hell will I let a land developer buy it and put up some damn subdivision that will drive us all crazy.”
She wiped the tears and pulled out of my arms as she shook her head. “Harry would never allow that.”
“He might not, but he’s not as young and healthy as he used to be, and I don’t like to think about what his bastard son will do if he gets his hands on the land. The asshole will probably split it into tiny lots and build cheap houses as close to each other as possible. I need to buy it now while Harry is still in control.”
Kim stared at my face as if searching for the truth. After a few moments, she nodded, apparently having seen the sincerity in my eyes. “Okay, but you will take time to mourn, right?”
Kissing her on the forehead, I gave her a cheeky smile before I grabbed my keys again. “Put away the beer, Kim. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
Before she could stop me, I escaped outside and let the screen door slam behind me. I wanted to help her but talking about my father’s death wasn’t really something I was ready to do. He was my father, and I loved him, but the man had never approved of anything I’d ever done. From girls I dated to the grades I made, nothing was ever good enough. When I decided to go to college in L.A., he told me never to darken his door again. When I got married, he cut me out of the will.
Then again, when things went to shit, and I needed to go home, he had been there for me. Sure, he hadn’t been able to stop from saying, “I told you so,” at least a hundred times. But he had been there for me in the end. He’d taken me back in, gave me the space to lick my wounds. Of course, we still fought, but I grew to appreciate the ranch in a way I never had before.
At the time, it had just been a hideout for me, but now it was home again, just like it had been home since I was a baby. As a teenager, I hadn’t appreciated the beauty of the house, the land. I hadn’t appreciated the hard work of caring for it. I’d only wanted out.
Now, I wanted to protect it in a way I couldn’t fully comprehend myself. And not just for me. For my sister too. Save the way of life that was slowly getting eaten up by developments and people who wouldn’t appreciate the land.
I wanted — no, needed — to finalize this sale.
For Dad, a voice in my head whispered.
And for me, I realized. For my sister, and for our next generations, if we were so blessed to have children and grandchildren of our own.
My throat tightened at the thought, and I had to cough to clear the emotion away.
Shit. I didn’t need to think about all that. I needed to think about the future, not the past. Look forward, not back.
