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“What do you think of the cabin?” she asked, dragging me away from the rough memories.
“I always loved this place. Gage spent a hell of a lot of sweat and money on renovating it.”
“What happened? Do you mind me asking?”
I glanced in her direction. “No, but Gage might. It was the place he shared with his wife. Then she betrayed him with a buddy of his.”
“That’s terrible.”
“That’s life.”
“No, it’s not. When two people love each other totally and completely, they would never do something intentionally to tear their relationship apart.”
“I never knew you to be a romantic, little bird.”
She rolled her eyes. “Obviously, I’m not, but I do believe that with all my heart.”
As soon as I started to walk closer, my desires soaring to the surface, my phone rang. My attorney. “I need to take this.”
“No problem. I’ll finish up.”
I turned away, heading toward the banks of windows overlooking a forest of pine trees. “Adam,” I answered. Adam Reynolds and I had gone to college together. He was a man I knew I could trust. He was also my sometimes attorney, although I’d had very little need to hire one on a permanent basis.
“Riggs. I studied the will you sent me. Whoever drew it up was creative in the use of terminology and codicils.”
“Meaning what?” I stared out the window, the fury already building against my father. I’d picked up the phone to call him several times, knowing I’d only start an argument that would get me nowhere.
“Your father was about to gain full control of the ranch because of your absence. When you returned, taking control, that stopped the clock.”
“So, he tried to sell it.” I fisted my hand, taking several deep breaths. I’d been so damn dead set on leaving Montana that I hadn’t paid any attention to the will. I’d tossed it into a box after glancing at the bottom line. What a damn fool I’d been.
“Yes. And he had a few offers.”
“Fucking asshole.”
“There’s more and you’re not going to like it,” Adam added.
“What?” As I continued to stare at the crusty snow, I couldn’t help but notice footprints.
“You must keep it as a working ranch for the next ten years at one hundred percent capacity or your father will gain control.”
What the fuck?
“If what you’ve told me is accurate, then you’re in breach of your grandfather’s will already. I’m not entirely certain what I can do to help you regain control. I hate to say this to you, buddy, but you should have paid closer attention when you received the gift.”
A gift. At the time, it had seemed like a noose around my neck, the ranch keeping me from finding a new life. “And I can’t sell it?”
“You need to understand that it was your grandfather’s intentions of keeping Raging Thunder in the family. While there is some mention of it, I’m only reading between the lines, but I gather he suspected your father would sell it if the ranch fell into his possession. The short answer is no. You can walk away from it, allowing your father to take control, or you bring it back to a full working ranch within thirty days. Unfortunately, if that doesn’t happen, he is perfectly free to do with it whatever he wants.”
“Thirty days?” I asked, taking a deep breath as I moved to the back door.
“Yeah. The clock is ticking. You’re at what, eighty percent capacity?”
I snorted. “Less than that now.”
“Then you have some serious decisions to make about what you want to do. I can stall things if your father tries to put a sale on the table, but ultimately, he’ll be able to sell it from under you.”
“Why put me in a bind? What the hell was he trying to do?”
