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“It’s best if you do, Kathy. I’m not sure I entirely understand what in the blazes is going on around here,” the old man grumbles as he looks at us suspiciously.
I choke back another laugh.If I spell it out to you, Jeff, you might keel over where you sit. It’s probably best if you don’t know.
“Fine. Good.” She claps her hands loudly as if to demand our attention. “Jeff and I have decided to spend our winter in warmer climates,” she announces, leaving me dumbfounded.
“What?!” I sputter before I can stop myself.
My grandmother holds up a hand. “It’s just for the winter months, but Montana can get terribly frigid—as you’ll soon find, Rosie. And when you get to be our age, it’s painful and depressing.”
I continue to stare at her, speechless.What the hell does this mean? Is she selling the place? Kicking me out?My body runs cold with the prospects.
“But we just put in so much work so we can get this place up and running, Miss Katherine!” Eli’s exasperation matches mine.
“I’m well aware, Eli… which is why I’m giving the entire property to the four of you. I’m taking my name fully off the deed.” She pauses and looks at me. “Assuming that you are all right with all that, Rosie.”
Blood rushes in my ears, the shock of her proposition blindsiding me. This is too much information to process at once.
“The four of us?” I repeat dumbly. I look at my three lovers, and they’re just as perplexed as me.
“Technically, Eli and Hudson already own parts,” my grandmother says, fixing her eyes on Connor. “A fact that should have been shared with you long ago, Connor. It was terrible to keep it from you, and I bear the entire responsibility for it. I was humiliated by what I’d done. I constantly imagined what Jake would say, especially selling to Frank Walker.”
She inhales. “I didn’t want anyone knowing and sharing in my shame. That’s why you weren’t told, not because it was meant to be some hidden conspiracy against you.”
Connor shifts his eyes down toward his plate and says nothing, but I desperately wish I could know what he’s thinking.
“I’m sorry, Connor,” Gran concludes, moving around the side of the table to speak with him. “You and these boys are closer to me than my own son was. I would never do anything to jeopardize the trust you have in me. I made mistakes, but I want to make up for them.”
He casts her a quick glance, but it’s not until Hudson speaks that Connor truly looks up.
“I’m sorry, too, Connor,” Hudson mutters gruffly. “We should have told you. It was shitty, and honestly, it never felt right keeping it from you.”
Emotion tightens my chest as I read the relief in Connor’s eyes.
That’s all he needed all along. Acknowledgment. Respect.
“Would you be willing to help us get the dude ranch going?” I ask him softly. “You know the most about ranching. We could use your expertise, maybe even your ranch hands, if you can spare them?”
I reach across the table to touch his hand, and he squeezes back, nodding, his characteristic grin lighting his face. “Yeah. I can do that.”
I sob and smother the sound with my free hand, tears of happiness welling in my eyes.
“See? I told you, Jeff. No problem,” Gran chortles gleefully, retreating to her place where she opens the file folder. “You kids need to sign here, and the property is yours. Jeff and I will head out at the beginning of November.”
I turn back to look at my grandmother skeptically. “You’re not going to be here for Christmas?”
“We’ll fly back for Christmas,” Jeff snips, rolling his eyes. “Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth!”
I ignore the curmudgeon and look at my grandmother, releasing Connor’s hand to take hers instead. Her laurel eyes shine as she meets mine, and I read the unfettered joy inside them.
“Are you sure about all this, Gran?” I ask her quietly.
She twines her gnarled fingers in mine. “I’ve spent decades alone on the ranch, fading away, Rosie. Honestly, I believed I had already died in some ways. And then you came along and reminded me how bright and vibrant life can be. So yes, I am sure. Surer than I’ve ever been about anything. I want to live while I can. This ranch is your legacy, and you’re halfway to restoring it to its former glory. I imagine that by this time next year, you’ll do what you’ve set out to do.”
My chin quivers, the respect and admiration overflowing in my heart. I press her hand to my cheek and close my eyes.
“We won’t let you down, Gran,” I promise.
“No, darling Rose, I don’t think that’s possible. You and those boys have made me prouder than I can ever imagine.”
