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“Roman’s thinking about buying your land, Gran. We met while I was showing it to him.”
Hunter’s grandmother’s face fell and then she shook her head and looked at Roman. “I’m sorry, but there must be some kind of mistake. That land’s not mine anymore.”
“What?” Hunter said in shock. “You sold it?”
“No,” she said as she shook her head. “It’s yours, Hunter.”
“What?” Hunter asked.
“The land – it’s yours. Your grandad and I talked about it before he died. He knew I’d never want to live there without him so we decided that if something happened, the land would go to you. He set it up as a trust until you turn 21 and then you can do whatever you want with the property.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted it to be a graduation present – that was one of the reasons I asked you to come over for breakfast the morning after your graduation.”
Hunter glanced at Roman.
“Mrs. Greene, are you the trustee until Hunter turns 21?”
“I was along with Hunter’s mother. But Hunter’s father-”
Hunter’s grandmother suddenly went silent.
“He what, Gran?”
“He…he convinced me to sign the trusteeship over to him.” Her eyes widened in horror. “He said you hated me for not believing you…”
Hunter’s grandmother looked so forlorn that Roman actually wanted to give her a hug himself. But Hunter folded his arms around her and said, “It’s okay, Gran.” To Roman he said, “As trustees, do my parents have the right to sell the land?”
“They do,” Roman nodded. “I got an email from your dad this morning saying he had another buyer. I had already planned to buy it but I was going to talk to your grandmother about cutting your father out as the realtor so he wouldn’t get the commission.”
Roman noticed Hunter’s crestfallen look and realized the cause. He gently grabbed Hunter’s chin and forced him to look at him. “Baby, I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to develop the land. I wanted it for us…either to live on it someday or just to go there because it’s our spot.”
“Really?”
Roman nodded. “I can easily outbid any other sellers but that land is yours and they shouldn’t get to profit from it. As co-trustees and your parents, they wouldn’t have much trouble accessing the funds until you turn 21 – they can say it’s all in your best interest.”
“Is there any way to stop them?”
“Mrs. Greene, do you still have the document you signed when you transferred the trusteeship to your son?”
“It’s in my safe deposit box at the bank. I can get it in the morning.”
Roman focused his attention on Hunter. “We’ll need to challenge the trusteeship in court. If we can’t break the trust early, at least we can try to get it so it’s just in your grandmother’s name.”
“Hunter, I’m so sorry I let this happen,” his grandmother said as she hugged Hunter again.
“I shouldn’t have waited so long to talk to you, Gran. I should have known you and Pops would have taken care of me.”
Roman sat silently as Hunter and his grandmother talked about all the changes in his life but Roman only half listened because his mind was racing with what he needed to do to get Hunter back what was rightfully his.
* * *
Hunter smiled as his grandmother waved the little girl’s arm at him from the doorway. After they’d finished talking, his grandmother had introduced him to Emma, Dane and Jax’s ten-month old baby girl and he’d fallen instantly in love with her chubby face and animated gestures. He’d gotten to hold and play with her for a while and he’d felt Roman’s gaze on him more than once. It had opened up a whole new realm of questions about what their future would hold and he couldn’t wait to find out.
The revelation that his father had duped his grandmother into signing over complete control of his trust didn’t surprise Hunter in the least. And he had no doubt that his father would fight tooth and nail to keep control of the property, especially after Roman had told him that it was worth millions of dollars. He’d been staggered to hear that but hadn’t even once considered selling it if Roman could help him get it back. And the idea of sharing it with Roman, maybe someday living there like his Gran and Pops had planned to do, well, there was just no price that could be put on that.
Hunter gave his grandmother and Emma another wave as he stood next to Roman’s car to wait for him. He watched his grandmother disappear into the house and then glanced at his phone. He’d assumed Roman had gone back into the house to make a pit stop but at ten minutes and counting, Hunter had to wonder if the man had gotten some bad chicken or something when they stopped at the small deli on the outskirts of Missoula for lunch.
