LITMIR.BIZ

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away, off to the distance. “What’s taking Gage?” he asked as if he hadn’t spoken before.

      “He said he had a few things to do. Any time now, I’d think. This place belongs here,” Adam went on, obviously unable to keep totally silent about the purpose of this meeting. “The folks’ ranch is great, bigger and newer, but it doesn’t fit into the land like this does. Grandpa knew what he was doing.”

      His words echoed the way Jack had always felt. Their grandfather’s ranch was right where it should be, and he wanted to be here, too. “All I’m going to say until Gage gets here is, I’m sorry.” He squeezed Jack’s shoulder then drew back, looking out beyond the stables.

      The heat seemed to hum in the silence until Jack finally cleared the lump in his throat. “Did you ever bring Faith out to see the place?”

      Adam shook his head. “When she was here it was too cold, too much snow and not enough time.”

      “When is she coming back?”

      Adam stood abruptly, flexing his shoulders under the tailored uniform shirt. “I don’t know.” His voice seemed tight, and Jack had a fleeting thought that maybe things weren’t right between him and Faith, that maybe Adam coming back without her had nothing to do with Jack, or with the job.

      “Hey, there!”

      The loud shout from the west startled Jack and he looked toward the heavy stand of trees in that direction.

      “He couldn’t just drive over like the rest of us, could he?” Adam said.

      Jack watched Gage walk toward the house, leading his black horse, Grenada. “Sorry to be late,” he called out, kicking up dust as he got closer. He stopped by an old stone hitching post their grandfather had hewn from a long rock he’d lugged down from the Rez, and secured the large horse to it.

      Jack knew if any strangers saw them, they’d see three men who looked like possible triplets, all tall, dark and strong looking. But those strangers would never know how very different all three were. “Day from night,” their grandfather had said more than once. And that was true. It was incredible that all three of them were back in Wolf Lake at the same time. That timing was perfect for Jack.

      As Gage strode to the bottom of the step, he actually smiled up at his brothers. “Merry soloed this morning.” he said.

      “I never thought she’d ever get back in a plane after your scare on the mountain.” Jack said, remembering the haunted look on the woman’s face during the rescue helicopter ride after she and Gage had crashed in the high mountains last February.

      Gage nodded. “I wasn’t sure, either, but now she’s doing great and is even thinking about taking Erin up. That little girl is in love with planes.” Another flash of pleasure lighted his face. Gage, Merry and the little girl they were adopting were already a family, even though their wedding date hadn’t been set.

      Jack felt a wave of jealousy, but blocked it. “Good.”

      As suddenly as he’d smiled, Gage sobered. “So, tell me what’s going on.”

      “Let’s go inside,” Jack said, turning to lead the way to the great room, the ceiling low with heavy beams, the worn tile floor starting to get dusty after the last monthly visit from the cleaning crew. The air in the adobe was at least twenty degrees cooler than outside, the natural insulation of the thick bricks doing a good job against the dry heat.

      They passed the massive stone fireplace in the middle of the room, getting glimpses of the well-worn leather furniture where the dust sheets had slipped a bit. All the furniture in the house had been handmade on the Rez by friends of his grandfather’s and was still sturdy and usable. They walked into the small kitchen at the back of the house.

      An old-fashioned yellow Formica table, its faux marble pattern almost worn away by use, stood by a window that overlooked a stand of huge pines, parted to expose the panorama of the distant mountains. If you knew where to look, you could see part of the Rez from there, a deliberate decision by his grandfather when he’d cleared some of the pines.

      Once they were all seated on the high-backed wooden chairs, Jack leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table beside two large manila envelopes that he ignored for the moment. He had to figure out exactly how to say what he had to say. He didn’t want that anger to come again. He didn’t want to destroy their family.

      “It seems like forever since the three of us have been in here together.” And he meant it. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed this connection with the past and his brothers.

      Gage nodded. “Yeah, it’s nice. It’s been a while what with Adam catching criminals and me building the complex and you....” His voice died off before he added. “I hear you’re doing a bit of law now and then.”

      “I do, now and then.”

      Both brothers sat silently, giving him time. Finally, he just started to talk. Whatever he said, he’d live with. “I talked to Mom and Dad a couple of weeks ago. I asked about this place, about me buying it out of the trust, and they said they’d thought about it before and they agreed that they wanted to deed it over to me.”

      His brothers didn’t say anything. After clearing his throat, Jack pressed his hands palms down on the dull yellow table top. He spoke to Gage. “Seems you’re thinking of living in town, getting an office going, and that acreage out by Delany’s Stables that you bought years ago, you could build on that.” He turned to Adam. “And you’ve always wanted that parcel over by Natchee’s spread—word is, he’s thinking of heading back up the hill. It could become available.”

      Adam nodded, but his face was tight. “Yeah, I’ve had my eye on it.”

      “And this has always felt right for me.” If he’d been able to talk Robyn into coming out here to live, he would have already been in possession of the land. But her teaching position was on the Reservation, and being in town let her tutor the kids more easily. Their loft above his law offices had been right for them until they had their own kids. Kids that would never be born now. “This place feels right for where I am now,” he admitted. His heart started to race, as if he was running full tilt.

      “Go on,” Gage said. “Right after you hung up, and Merry and Erin drove off for town, Mom was there, crying, and said Dad was locked in his office. When I asked what was going on, all Mom said was, ‘Ask Jack.’”

      “I didn’t want Mom to be in on it,” Jack muttered. “I really didn’t, but I couldn’t get her out, and....”

      He looked from brother to brother. “Okay, this morning I found out that they don’t own this land anymore.”

      Both brothers looked surprised. Adam said. “But it doesn’t make sense.”

      “Dad lost it,” Jack said bluntly. “It’s gone.” He looked around the house, then back at his brothers. “We’re trespassing, in the eyes of the law.”

      Adam shook his head, took off his uniform cap and hung it on the back spindle of the chair beside him. “It can’t be gone.”

      Jack pushed the papers toward Gage and Adam. Swallowing hard, he finally managed, “Just read these.”

      Both men hesitated, but mercifully didn’t ask any questions before picking up an envelope and taking out the four papers inside. Jack closed his eyes, not able to bear watching them read the words. He didn’t open them again until Adam spoke.

      “Dad wouldn’t have done something like this, he wouldn’t.” He tossed the copy of the new deed onto the table top. “He couldn’t,” he muttered tightly.

      Gage simply lowered his copy of the enclosed letter from the county offices and met Jack’s gaze. “How did you get these?”

      “I finally put in the papers to switch the deed on the property. I know someone in the county offices, and she sent them to me, telling me I didn’t have any right to transfer it into my name since it wasn’t

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