Then, I guess, I’m packing for Wyoming.
2
Clayton
I look out the window over the river, not absorbing the view in front of me, but looking past it, completely lost in my thoughts. I had hoped that the message that I’d gotten from Katie was wrong, and that this was all a dream, but it’s right in front of me. All of my worst fears.
“I’m so sorry, Clayton,” she says. “But there’s still a way to make it right. I’m already working on it. Hopefully by the end of the day the ranch will be yours.”
I fight back the instinct to growl at her. Katie is an older woman, and undeniably kind—especially for a lawyer. That’s a rarity in itself, and I’m not surprised about the fact that this was the person that Evelyn chose to trust with her estate. I am surprised that Evelyn’s last wishes can’t be followed.
“Rocking R Ranch should already be mine, Katie,” I say, working hard to keep my voice even. “The will is incredibly clear. It’s black and white. There isn’t any reason to discredit it or think that I pressured her into changing it. It was signed long before I even knew that she was leaving the ranch to me.”
Evelyn Roscoe. My heart still hurts when I think about her. It hasn’t been long since she died. It was definitely her time, and I’m grateful she went peacefully, but it still hurts that she’s gone. She wasn’t just my boss; she was my mentor. For so many years. She was more like a mother to me than my own family ever was.
Despite our close relationship, I never imagined that she would leave the ranch to me. Rocking R was her baby—her whole life. She loved it like it was her child. She needed that land and open space like she needed oxygen. And whoever she met or brought on to that land, well they left with the same appreciation and love in their heart for the Rocking R as she had.
And I vowed to her that I would take care of it. I would preserve her legacy as best I could. But it seems like the universe is doing everything in its power to try to stop me.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Clayton,” Katie says gently. “No one is contesting the will.”
“Then I don’t understand. What’s the problem?”
“It goes well beyond the will or Evelyn’s wishes. Originally Rocking R Ranch was specifically a homestead. It’s been passed down for generations, but that original designation still matters.”
I know that. It’s part of the history. Hell, I’m pretty sure that that exact line of owners is on the website and brochures for the resort on the property. “Right.”
Katie sighs and pulls some papers from a folder before fanning them out on the table. I’m surprised these still exist, they’re so old. The papers are photocopies, but you can tell the originals must have been very delicate. The writing on the copies is faint, the creases and folds from the originals darker than the ink, probably signed over a hundred years ago. I can’t make out the writing.
“This is the paperwork that was signed by Evelyn’s family generations ago, Clayton,” Katie begins, speaking slowly and carefully. “It is very clear that the homestead must be passed down through a familial chain, and if it isn’t, then the land has to revert back to property of the government with proper compensation. They were very clear that this document would supersede all future wills.”
“Shit.” I mutter the word under my breath, momentarily ashamed that I would swear like that in front of someone like Katie. On the phone she said that there was a problem with the transfer of ownership, but I didn’t think that she meant something like this. I assumed I’d need to sign a few extra documents or pay some fees for transfer of liens. I couldn’t have predicted something like this, something that is so completely out of my control. Hell, this has nothing to do with the land today or how much I value it. This decision was made before I was even born. Before Evelyn was even born. I feel this dream slipping farther and farther away from me.
“Do I have any options? Evelyn didn’t have any family.” I finally say, my voice sounding raspy since my mouth is completely dry.
Katie’s mouth turns up into a sneaky smile. It’s both amazing and disturbing in a woman of her age. She’s been doing this a long time and I’m sure that she’s pinned men to the wall with that smile. “See, that’s not exactly true. Evelyn had a son.”
I knew that. “He died ages ago.” And good riddance. Evelyn’s son was always a sore spot. He never gave her anything but grief when she was alive, and then that grief was insufferable after he died because she spent so much time imagining what could have been. It was a complicated relationship that caused her so much heartache. She felt like she failed him, even though there was nothing she could have done to make him better.
“Yes, he did,” she says. “But not before he had a daughter. She lives in Colorado.”
Shock rolls through me. Evelyn had a granddaughter? A brief flash of hope shines down on me before flickering out once again. “That’s good that it won’t immediately pass to the government, but how exactly does it help me if Rocking R just goes to a stranger?”
Katie looks at me. “Evelyn wanted the ranch to go to you. The law says that it has to pass to a blood relative. There is a very simple way that both of those things can be accomplished.”
Clarity, and then nausea, hit me in two distinct waves. I turn back to the window, this time using the view to distract me from the reality. Katie wants me to marry this woman. Evelyn’s granddaughter. A complete stranger.
In my mind, the dreams I had in my head since I’d found out the ranch would be mine disappear. I’d imagined finding someone and raising a family together on the ranch. And when I got old enough, I would pass it on to my children as well. All of those dreams evaporate in a second with the idea of marrying this woman.
But I swore to protect Evelyn’s legacy, and if marrying a stranger is the only way I can keep my promise, I will do it. No matter what it costs me. “What’s her name?” I ask.
“Rachel Dover,” Katie says. “She took her mother’s last name. And this doesn’t have to change anything for you, Clayton. It’s purely a business arrangement. Nothing more. A means to an end.”
I know logically that it’s true, but it doesn’t feel that way. “And you think that she would actually agree to this?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know, but she’ll be here this afternoon and we’ll find out.”
“What?” Brand new shock straightens my spine.
That smirk again. “I’m flying her out from Denver. She confirmed. We have a few hours to work out the details of what you want so that we can present a united front. We have to make sure this deal is lucrative enough for her, and also make sure it’s iron-clad so you end up with what’s rightfully yours, and we fulfill Evelyn’s last wishes.”
I shake my head. It’s not what I want, but if this is the way that it has to be, then I will make it work. “All right then,” I say. “Let’s get to work.” And I sit down to plan how I’m going to marry a stranger.
The more that I think about this the more that I dislike it. I’ve put my life into Rocking R Ranch, and the idea that I have to bend over backwards to save my life’s work from an archaic law grinds under my skin and makes me clench my jaw. And the more I think about marrying this girl—the daughter of Evelyn’s one true source of pain—the more uncomfortable I am.