Her Holiday Rancher

She watched him ride off into the darkness toward Dos Estrellas, barely noticing the truck rumble to a stop behind her.

He’d do more than see her around. Thanks to August Dempsey revising his will six months ago, Reese was about to become a fixture in the Dempsey brothers’ lives, and there was nothing they could do to change it.

Chapter Two (#ulink_6fab20e7-553e-554a-b05a-63b0deaac27f)

“If you’ll all please have a seat, we can get started.” Hector Fuentes made a sweeping gesture that included everyone in the spacious living room. He lowered himself onto the cowhide upholstered recliner where Gabe’s father had once dozed every afternoon while waiting for Raquel Salazar, Gabe’s mother, to finish putting supper on the table.

Better it was the family attorney occupying his father’s favorite chair than one of his half brothers, Gabe thought sourly.

Brothers. The word still sounded strange to him. Two full days in their company had made no difference. Neither had attending the funeral together yesterday or sharing coffee with them before spreading their father’s ashes in the flower garden this morning. Gabe didn’t know these men.

It was his mother’s idea they take the guest suite in the house rather than stay at the Wild Horse Bed and Breakfast in town. “They’re family,” she’d told Gabe. “Your father would have wanted it. And we have plenty of room.”

Gabe had seethed in silence instead of arguing. Did his mother have to be so nice to them? If they inherited the ranch, she’d be thrown out of her home.

After casting tentative glances at each other, the brothers in question sat in matching wingback chairs—which happened to be directly opposite Gabe, his mother and Cara Alvarez. Cara was the daughter of Raquel’s childhood friend Leena and had lived with Gabe’s family the past two years.

Consciously or subconsciously, Gabe, Raquel and Cara had made a united front on the couch.

No one else had been invited to the reading of the will, giving Gabe reason to believe those present were the only ones named as beneficiaries.

He swallowed, but the knot of pain residing above his heart didn’t loosen. Those two men shouldn’t be here. His father had promised Gabe the ranch. Many times over.

What had changed August Dempsey’s mind at the eleventh hour? Was the cancer to blame? Had all the medications and treatments ravaged his body and mind? Or had he lied to Gabe and intended to give the ranch to his legitimate sons all along, leaving Gabe with nothing?

Using his briefcase as a lap desk, Hector Fuentes cleared his throat and tapped a thin stack of papers into a perfect rectangle. “If it’s all right with everyone, I’ll skip the standard legalese and get right to the bequests. I’ve brought copies of the entire will for everyone and will distribute them later to those who want one.”

Gabe wanted a copy. He’d bet his brothers would, too.

Hector smiled at Cara before beginning. “To Cara Alvarez, who has been like a daughter to Raquel and myself, I grant exclusive use of five hundred acres of Dos Estrellas pasture land, to include parcels six, seven and eight, for her mustang sanctuary.”

Cara’s hand flew to her mouth, and she inhaled sharply. The sanctuary and its horses meant a great deal to her. For his father to include her in his will showed how much he’d considered her to be part of the family.

His mother bit back a sob and placed an arm around Cara’s shoulders.

“Cara is to have use of the parcels for as long as she wants,” Hector continued, “or for as long as Dos Estrellas remains in the family.”

Remains in the family. The words gave Gabe hope. His father wouldn’t have allowed Cara exclusive use of nearly one-sixth of the ranch and not bequeath Gabe the entirety of it. Nothing else made sense.

Hector continued, outlining the specifics. “Do you have any questions?” he asked Cara when he was done.

She shook her head, tears filling her eyes.

“Raquel, the love of my life, and Cara both,” Hector said, “will continue to reside at Dos Estrellas and occupy the ranch house for as long as they choose or for as long as the ranch remains in the family.”

Again, Cara inhaled sharply and his mother softly sobbed. Gabe, on the other hand, began to worry. What was with the wording, as long as the ranch remains in the family? Twice his father had used it. There must be some significance.

“Any questions?” Hector repeated when he’d finished with the specifics.

“No,” Gabe’s mother and Cara replied simultaneously.

Hector then listed smaller bequests. Gabe’s mother was to receive ownership of August’s favorite dog. She, along with Gabe and a close cousin, were to get his jewelry, personal items and cherished mementos.

Gabe studied his brothers’ faces during the reading. He wouldn’t recognize either of them as being related to him or their father. Other than the fact they all three stood over six feet tall, there were no noticeable physical similarities. With their blond hair and blue eyes, Josh, the oldest brother, and Cole must resemble their mother.

Neither did they look like the boys he remembered from his childhood. Gabe had been in first grade, Josh second and Cole in kindergarten when an older child on the playground had pointed to the brothers and told Gabe in a taunting voice that they were his father’s real sons. The boy had then called Gabe’s mother a name he hadn’t understood at the time, but instinctively knew was the worst of insults.

Angry and hurt and experiencing feelings he couldn’t explain, much less process, Gabe had passed the rest of the day in a blur. Arriving home after school, he’d gone straight from the bus to his mother and told her about what the boy had said, omitting the bad name.

She’d hugged him, smoothed his hair and insisted he forget about it. Gabe might have, except the same thing happened two days later. Instead of retaliating against the boy, Gabe went after Josh, who was both older and bigger than him. The attack, poorly executed, nonetheless cost him three days’ suspension from school for fighting.

His mother had been furious with him. She’d also been saddened. It was the first Gabe had learned that his father, who visited once or twice a week in the evenings, had a wife and children living on a ranch outside of Mustang Valley. It took Gabe several years to fully understand his family’s unusual dynamics, long after he and his mother had moved to Dos Estrellas.

Did Josh remember the school tussle? Did he know it was Gabe who had hit him and what had made him so angry? Probably not. At least, his face gave no indication.

“Last, is my beloved Dos Estrellas Ranch, which has been in the Dempsey family for three generations.”

Hector’s voice jarred Gabe from his thoughts. Every muscle in his body tightened. He willed himself not to look at his brothers, but at Hector instead. They would not see how important this moment was to him, or his devastation if the rumors turned out to be true and Gabe lost the ranch.

Beside him, his mother shifted and murmured under her breath. Cara grabbed his hand and squeezed.

“I leave the ranch equally to my three sons, Josh, Cole and Gabe.”

Pain sliced through Gabe, leaving him numb. He hadn’t inherited the ranch. Worse, his father had named him third after his two legitimate sons, whom he hadn’t seen in twenty-four years.

Betrayal. It was the emotion Gabe hadn’t been able to define when he was six. It was also the emotion that gripped him now, fresh as the day on the playground with Josh.

“See, I told you, mijo,” his mother said in a whisper, “your father did not forget you.”

Not forget him? He might as well have. Gabe was supposed to share ownership of Dos Estrellas? With them?

“He promised to leave the ranch to Gabe,” Cara hissed.

“Hush,” his mother ordered.

“It’s not fair.” Cara’s voice rose, loud enough to draw the stares of everyone in the room. “Gabe’s worked the land. He knows the cattle business and how the ranch is run.” She gestured to Josh and Cole. “They don’t have the first clue. They’re rodeo competitors, for crying out loud.”

“We can hear you,” Josh said.

Cole grunted and stared angrily out the large bay window.

Gabe fumed. What was the guy’s problem? He had nothing to be angry about.

“If we could please continue,” Hector scolded in an attempt to bring the reading back under control.

Cara didn’t apologize. She didn’t say anything, merely folded her arms across her middle.

With a warning nod in her direction, Hector carried on, reading August’s words. “My good attorney has advised me to cover the many details on a separate page. I’ve done that, merely to satisfy him, mind you.” A hint of amusement flashed in Hector’s eyes. “But, in a nutshell, Dos Estrellas can’t be sold in its entirety unless all three of my sons are in agreement. And while individual shares can be sold, it is my fervent wish my beloved ranch remains in the family for many future generations, and the grandchildren I didn’t live long enough to see will grow up here, fine, strong and healthy like my own boys.”