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40
Eagle’s Run
Chapter Five
Leah was standing at the refrigerator, hoping an inspiration for dinner would leap
out at her, when the doorbell rang. As soon as she hit the front hall she saw Amos
DeWitt through the glass in the upper part of the front door. She opened the door,
frowning.
“Amos? Was I expecting you?”
“No. I just took a chance coming out here. I was afraid if I called first you’d refuse
to see me.” He gesture with the briefcase in his hand. “May I come in? I’d rather not
conduct business on the front porch.”
She hesitated briefly then swung the door wide. “Come into the kitchen,” she told
him.
The kitchen had become her sanctuary as this mess bubbled around her. She wasn’t
ready yet to venture into Joe’s den, the place where he’d spent his time when he wasn’t
outside or away. Like a lot of other things at White Eagle, she’d left it untouched since
the funeral, focusing only on the day-to-day operation of the ranch. She’d avoided
every other room except her bedroom and bathroom and the kitchen. Joe Morgan’s
presence was still vividly stamped every place else and now she didn’t know if it was
grief or anger she was struggling with that made her avoid the rest of the house.
Amos settled himself at the table and opened his briefcase, taking out a folder. “You
left the office without taking any of these papers,” he told her.
“I’m not sure I want to look at them.” She couldn’t help the tinge of resentment in
her voice.
“You can’t avoid them forever,” he pointed out. “At the very least, you’re still a one
third owner of White Eagle, and there are papers for you to sign. Procedures that have
to be put into place.”
41
Desiree Holt
She leaned against the counter, arms folded across her breasts, and looked around
the room that had been the hub of the house for as long as she could remember. Would
all her good memories be wiped away by this one shocking act of her father’s? Would
she ever feel comfortable in her own house again?
“Before I do that, I want some proof that these men are actually Joe’s sons.”
Amos’ eyebrows rose. “You won’t take your father’s word for it?”
“Hell no.” She glared at him. “I want DNA tests on both of them so the relationship
is legally established.”
“Leah,” Amos said placatingly. “Honey. You’re welcome to do that, but whatever
the results, these two men are named in the will and each specifically gets a share of
White Eagle Ranch.”
“So you mean even if they turn out not to be of his blood, they still get part of the
ranch?”
Amos nodded. “The will names them specifically. They could be from Mars and
still get their bequest.”
“That just sucks, Amos.” She gritted her teeth.
“I know how you feel, honey, but meanwhile, you have to sign these papers. Joe
made provisions for you to temporarily be in charge of everything until the will is fully
probated. So at least for the moment you’re in full charge. As soon as you sign.”
“Well, that’s something, anyway.” She yanked out a chair and dropped into it,
pulled the papers toward her to look them over. “And speaking of that, exactly how is
this supposed to work after probate? Who oversees the cattle? The horses? The day-to-
day operations? Who pays the hands and balances the books? Enters the information on
the stock into the computers? That’s all stuff I’ve been doing, working out of the office
in the barn. And doing damn well, I might point out, despite the fact that Dad insisted
on double checking everything.”
42
Eagle’s Run
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. I’ve spoken to both men and they figure
these are things that y’all can hash out at dinner tomorrow night.”
“Oh great. With my grandfather, Shane and Grant watching everything and putting
in their two cents worth.” She studied Amos. “What do they want, anyway?”
“Honey, I don’t think they even know that. Can I tell you a little bit about them?”
Leah waved a hand in the air. “What more is there to tell? You gave me the basics in
your office. And I’ve obviously seen Mac around forever.”
Amos shook his head. “I don’t think you know the important things about him.”
“I know he’s a loner. Keeps to himself. I heard he used to get in fights years ago but
hasn’t for a long time. And runs that bar he bought.”
“Oh Leah. He’s so much more than that.” He sighed. “It wasn’t easy for Caridad
Moreno to raise an illegitimate child as a single Mexican mother. She barely made ends
meet cleaning house for Morgan’s Creek ranchers. Your father never even
acknowledged her after their affair and denied the child was his.”
“He was ahead of me in school,” Leah broke in, “but I used to see him around. He
always seemed sort of…sad.”
“Or angry,” Amos told her. “But after a while he learned to keep that rage to
himself. Anyway, he was cowboying around when his mother took sick. Cancer, you
know. He got himself hired on at one of the ranches so he’d have steady pay, and spent
every minute he wasn’t working taking care of Caridad.”
“I’d heard she was sick,” Leah said. “Not much privacy in a town this size, no
matter where you sit on the social ladder. Just out of curiosity, why didn’t he ask my
father for money to help his mother?”
“She never told him about his relationship with Joe. And if you don’t mind my
saying so, Joe was a hard man. He resented the fact that he’d had the affair with a
Mexican woman and made it clear she was never to contact him again.”
43
Desiree Holt
Leah felt pain stab at her. She’d known her father was unemotional. Definitely not a
people person. But it was hard for her to swallow the fact that he’d let a woman he’d
had a child with suffer so much, when a little money would have made things easier.
“Anyway,” Amos continued, “Mac did what he could for her those last months. I
think he was totally shocked to discover she’d somehow managed to pay on a small life
insurance policy. He paid for her funeral and a proper burial, then used the rest of the
money to buy that bar.”
“How did he react to this news?” Leah wanted to know. “He didn’t seem too
friendly in your office.”
Amos shook his head. “I think he wanted to dig Joe up and kill him all over again.
He was still thinking about Caridad and how much she suffered from her illness. Then
he wanted no part of this. Nothing to do with you or the ranch. But Joe’s will is pretty [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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