The Cowboy's Valentine Bride. Patricia Johns

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СКАЧАТЬ and planning, trying to save Brody from the brunt of this, Kaitlyn was now faced with the fresh heartbreak her sister had caused. She could only imagine what Brody was feeling—humiliation, loneliness, disappointment—and she couldn’t make it any better. She couldn’t bake her sister’s cake, and she couldn’t replace her sister’s love.

      She opened the medication bottle and shook out two pills.

      Brody accepted them with a nod, and in the split second when his eyes met hers, she saw the depth of his pain. This was the problem with being half in love with her patient—that look in his eyes cut her to the core. If there was any other possibility—if Bernice weren’t already working with three elderly patients—Kaitlyn would step back, take some space of her own. But there weren’t any other nurses available, and Kaitlyn owed him.

Chapter Three

      Brody glanced in the direction Kaitlyn had gone, and he adjusted himself to angle his hip toward the warmth of the crackling fire. The back door opened and shut as Kaitlyn left, and Brody felt the emptiness of the house settle around him. He didn’t need constant babysitting, but he was still disappointed to see her go.

      I’ve got to stop that.

      He didn’t need another woman to take Nina’s place, least of all Nina’s sister. But that wasn’t why he missed Kate. He missed her for all the reasons he’d missed her while he was overseas. She had been a good friend for years, and right now he needed that friendship more than ever.

      The fire was comfortingly hot, while outside the window frost crept up the glass like creaking fingers. It was bright and sunny outside, with that pale, watercolor sky that promised extreme cold. This was the kind of day that made a man want to be by a fire anyway.

      “I wanted to talk to you,” Dakota said, slipping into the chair opposite him and tucking her feet up under her.

      Brody startled and his heart pounded in his throat. “Don’t do that to me.”

      “Do what?” Dakota asked.

      “I didn’t know you came in.” Things that didn’t used to startle him did now—it was hard to explain to someone who hadn’t been in a battle. He liked to know where people were—exactly. He didn’t like being snuck up on, and the pain meds were making him less able to hear the tiny sounds his soldier’s training told him to listen for.

      “I came in when Kaitlyn left.” Apparently, she still felt like this house was her own, and frankly, he wasn’t positive that it wouldn’t be hers again. He couldn’t see a marriage to Andy Granger lasting. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

      “About what?” Brody asked.

      “Andy.”

      Of course. What else? Brody had never had much of an issue with Andy Granger until the day he sold out to those moron land developers. Their big representative had swaggered around Hope wearing neon cowboy boots and a belt buckle the size of a dinner plate, and everyone had the good sense to steer clear, except Andy Granger. If it weren’t for Andy’s sellout, their crops wouldn’t be failing and their ranch wouldn’t be drying into dust.

      “What about him?” Brody asked blandly.

      “He’s not as bad as you think,” she said with a small smile.

      “Apparently, he’s convinced you of that,” Brody retorted. What had Andy done on that cattle drive—brainwashed her? And the rest of the family, too, because they’d all been at the wedding.

      “He had no idea what would happen to our land, Brody. You know that. He didn’t have a crystal ball, and it was complicated.”

      “I doubt it was that complicated.”

      Dakota fiddled with her wedding ring—white gold and diamonds. At least Andy hadn’t cheaped out on the jewelry.

      “Which one of us will get the ranch when Mom and Dad go?” she asked.

      This was an abrupt change of topic, and he eyed his sister curiously.

      “You always wanted to run this place,” he replied. Before she married Andy, that is. He’d thought they’d already agreed on that much. Had she changed her mind now that she’d joined the Grangers? Or was Andy angling to take over their land, too?

      “But you’re back now,” she countered.

      “Mom and Dad aren’t exactly dying, are they?” There was no point in discussing all of this now. He wasn’t planning on sticking around for the long term anyway, and six months from now, Dakota might have left Andy and be back home.

      “But think about it,” she pressed. “Dad doesn’t have any cash tucked away. This ranch is the entire inheritance. So, yes, I always wanted to run this place, but what about you? When our father dies—and let’s pray that’s not for a long, long time—do you really want to be cut out of everything?”

      “Of course not.”

      “So how would we split it?” she asked.

      This wasn’t something he wanted to talk about. He’d just had his best friend die in front of him, and he couldn’t grapple with his parents’ eventual passing right now. They’d figure something out, he was sure. He and Dakota had always been close, and he didn’t for a second suspect that she’d try and steal his half of anything.

      “Why are we talking about this?” he asked irritably.

      “The point is,” Dakota said, “that inheritances can be tricky. Andy and Chet had a ranch to split, and their father gave them each half the land.”

      “Sounds fair to me,” Brody muttered.

      “Except Chet was using Andy’s land for pasture. In essence, Andy had nothing. He technically owned land that he couldn’t do anything with.”

      “Then sell to his brother,” Brody said. “That’s what people do.”

      “The developers could give him twice as much as the land was worth,” she said. “And he was faced with a chance to buy a business at the same time. He and Chet had this massive falling out, and Andy sold for twice as much money. If he’d sold to his brother, he’d still owe the bank for his business. He sold to the developers, and he owns his company free and clear.”

      “Your point?” Brody asked testily.

      “I’m saying, Andy isn’t as bad as you think. He and Chet are trying to patch things up, but I can see how complicated one ranch and two heirs can make things.”

      “Tell you what, Dakota,” Brody said with a small smile. “You have my promise that I won’t do anything like that to you.”

      “Dad’ll leave you the land, Brody,” she said simply. “It doesn’t matter what you and I agree to. Legally speaking, you’re going to inherit.”

      “Maybe not,” he said with a frown. He’d always known that his dad intended to leave the ranch to his son, but Dakota was the one who wanted it so badly she could taste it. When Brody up and left for the army, he was pretty sure his dad’s plans would СКАЧАТЬ