LITMIR.BIZ

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his car was designated transfer-at-death.”

      “Did you bring a copy?” he asked.

      “I did.”

      “Tell you what,” Thad said to Lillie Jean. “Why don’t you let my nephew and me have a few minutes and then I can take a look at the document?”

      “Sure.” Lillie Jean pushed her chair back and stood, leaving her barely touched coffee sitting on the table. “I’ll take a walk.”

      “It’s cold out there.”

      “I don’t mind.”

      The little dog looked like he minded. When Lillie Jean pulled her coat off the chair, he gave her a startled “Again?” look, but trotted after her when she headed for the mudroom. Gus waited until she stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind her before turning to Thad and saying, “I had no idea you had a partner.” He sounded harsh, but then he was feeling harsh. All the times they’d talked about Gus taking over the operation of the ranch and never a mention of a partner. And now that partner was dead and who knew what his heir was about to do?

      “Not something I talk about.”

      “Obviously, but if I’m the manager of the place, don’t you think it would have been good for me to know there’s someone else involved?”

      “It’s only been on paper.”

      “Kind of more than paper now.” He turned to the window, watched Lillie Jean pace near the trucks, giving them the privacy he needed to process this gut-wrenching turn of events. “What kind of agreement did you and Lyle make?”

      “A thorough one.”

      “Can she sell?”

      “Yeah.” The answer came out on a short definitive note. “If her claim is legitimate, she can sell.”

      Gus let out a breath, pushed his hands over his forehead. Cursed under his breath. So much for the business plan he’d drawn up. And the comfortable feeling of knowing his future.

      “I don’t blame you for being mad,” Thad said.

      “I’m not mad.” He had no right to be mad. He didn’t own any part of the ranch. He’d lived there, worked the land, managed the animals since he was a teen. It felt like his place...but it wasn’t.

      “Yeah. You are.”

      Yeah, he was. But more than that he was stunned that Thad had never told him any of this—and hurt. Mad felt a whole lot better than hurt.

      Thad was studying him with a tight look on his face, waiting for a response of some kind. Gus did his best to focus on the main issue in front of them.

      “This woman showing up out of nowhere concerns me. She could be anyone.”

      “I’m pretty sure she’s Lyle’s granddaughter.”

      “Why?”

      “Well, for one thing, his name was Lyle Gene. Her name is Lillie Jean.”

      Gus stared at his uncle. “I hope you have more than that.”

      “There’s a resemblance,” Thad said in a low voice.

      “How long’s it been since you’ve seen this guy?” When Thad gave him a questioning look, he added, “Memories fade.”

      “Some don’t.” There was a tone in his uncle’s voice that brought a frown to his face. “She doesn’t look like Lyle...she looks like her grandmother.”

      “You know her well?”

      Thad gave a small snort. “You could say that...we were married for three years.”

      That was the point where Gus felt the need to sit down. “You were married to Lillie Jean’s grandmother?” It was no secret that Thad had divorced long ago, before Gus had been born.

      “Yeah. Married Nita and started the ranch the same year. Three years later, Lyle and Nita left for Texas, and I had the ranch all to myself.”

      “Son of a...” Gus blew out a breath. Shook his head as if to clear it. “But you guys remained partners.”

      “We communicated through accountants and lawyers. I couldn’t afford to buy Lyle out.”

      “In all these years.”

      Thad turned his coffee cup in his hands. “It was something I’d always meant to address...but never did. I let the days slip by. Sent him a check every year.” He raised his gaze in a quick jerk. “I never had enough to buy him out, okay?”

      But he’d managed to buy the pub they now owed together. That was telling.

      Gus tilted his head toward the window where Lillie Jean was walking near the barn. “Even if she is a carbon copy of your ex-wife, you still don’t know she’s who she says she is. Maybe she’s a niece or something. Someone who doesn’t have claim.”

      “You’re right.”

      The words didn’t ring true. Thad was already convinced of Lillie Jean’s identity.

      “Get some ID and take a long hard look at that will. Better yet, let your lawyer take a long hard look.”

      Thad nodded, but his gaze was still fixed on the table. “Lyle never asked anything of me...he felt guilty because he and Nita fell in love.”

      “Must have been a hell of a guilt to have let that much money lay fallow for so many years when he had the right to sell.”

      That seemed highly unlikely. Yeah. There was a lot to be ironed out, checked out and generally dealt with. Although...maybe this did solve one mystery.

      “Is this why you moved to town?”

      “I never liked it here after Nita left. The place felt empty. Sad.”

      “But you kept it.” He could have sold for a major profit in recent years, but hadn’t. Instead he’d bought the bar, poured his time and energy into it, building it from nothing while Salvatore ran the ranch.

      Thad gave him a fierce look. “I worked like hell to keep my head above water for years. Just to show Lyle and Nita that I could do it without them. I was angry. Bitter. Buried myself on the place. Went a little nuts I think. I didn’t realize just how bitter I was until I had that accident. Didn’t know if I was going to make it back to the ranch.” He gave a laugh. “I had a lot of time to think as I dragged myself back to the trail.”

      The accident had happened right around the time Gus had been born. Thad’s horse had lost footing on a steep trail, rolled down the mountain, landed on Thad and broke his leg. Tough old Thad pulling himself back up onto the trail was part of the family lore.

      “I realized that I had to get off the ranch, find a new purpose. I hired Salvatore, bought the bar and moved to town.”

      Thad and Sal had continued to do the seasonal work—haying, branding, moving cattle—together, but he spent most of his time making the Shamrock Pub the most popular bar in Gavin. And because he didn’t care about the ranch, it had slowly gone to seed.

      Gus drummed his fingers on the table, then abruptly stopped. He needed time to work this out. Needed to know if Lillie Jean was legit and if she planned to remain a partner or sell. From the way she shivered every time she hit the Montana air, he was guessing she wasn’t planning to take up residence. He met his uncle’s gaze. “I don’t know what to say.”

      “Nothing much to say. This is the way things have been since long before you were on this planet.”

      “Still kind of a shock.”

      “Yeah.”

      “Tread lightly,” Gus advised, not liking the way Thad was watching Lillie Jean through the window, looking as if he was staring into his past. Judging from his expression, the bitterness he might still feel

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