The Cowboy's Second Chance (eBook)

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Chapter 1

“And to my grandsons, I leave Cornerstone Ranch in its entirety.”
Luke held his head in his hands, unable to lift his gaze to those in the lawyer’s conference room. Each of his brothers sat around the table, making noises ranging from shuffling to the occasional cough.
The room smelled like musty carpet and freshly lacquered wood. It wasn’t the office of an expensive lawyer, as was evident by the small size. The air felt thinner with each passing second. Hotter too. He couldn’t breathe. He felt tempted to rip off his sports coat and loosen his tie.
This couldn’t be happening. His grandfather hadn’t been that old. At least it didn’t feel that way. Robert had been the one constant in his life since his parents had died. Since becoming an orphan, Luke had lost far too many important people.
“Mr. Stone?” The lawyer cleared his throat. “Luke.”
He lifted his head weakly, finding the lawyer staring at him with concern. The man was about as old as his grandfather had been but not nearly as rugged. He was clean-shaven and wore an affordable blue suit. There was no chance he was getting paid nearly enough, which meant as soon as this reading was over, he’d move on to the next group with little thought.
“I know this is difficult. For all of you.” He let his gaze sweep through the room, landing on each of Luke’s brothers. “But there are some conditions I have to read in order for you to take over the ranch.”
Luke nodded. “Sure. Go ahead.” He didn’t care what the conditions were. Cornerstone Ranch had been his home, and he wasn’t about to let it fall into the hands of the bank. They’d worked far too hard to keep it in the family. It belonged to them, and it would stay that way.
The lawyer nodded and reached for another piece of paper. “There is one condition for the deed to be handed over to my grandsons. They must all agree to work and run the ranch together.”
Dalton snorted as he slumped back in his seat. “Ha. That just goes to show that Gramps didn’t know us at all.” He glanced around the room with amusement. “There’s no way we’re all going to work that ranch. I can’t remember the last time I rode a horse. Can you?” He tossed his question to the room in general, but none of his brothers responded.
Despite the fact that Luke and his brothers had cleaned up nicely for this meeting, the lawyer suddenly appeared more uncomfortable than he’d been when the Stones had arrived. The five of them had grown to an average of six feet tall, and the poor lawyer probably felt dwarfed simply by sharing the space with them. He tugged at his tie and shot another concerned look toward Luke. “I’m sorry, but if that’s how you feel about it, then the deed isn’t going to be handed over to you.”
Luke stared hard at the man, straightening in his chair. “What do you mean the deed won’t be given to us? We’re the next of kin.”
The older gentleman gestured toward the paperwork. “Just what I said. Your grandfather specifically stipulated that the ranch would be put up for auction and the proceeds would be donated to a charity in Paige’s name in the unlikely outcome that his grandsons refused to take over the property together.”
Luke shot out of his seat, his fists landing on the table. Six glasses of water shuddered. “That can’t be legal!”
The lawyer jumped and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before he settled back in his seat. “I assure you, it is. A man has every right to do with his property what he will. If Robert wanted to give it away to the city, he’d be within his rights to do even that. With his wife gone, these were his wishes.”
Luke pointed a finger at the man. “I’m going to hire my own lawyer. Something’s not right about this whole thing. You can’t just keep that property from us. We grew up there!”
“Luke,” Colt murmured quietly, “this isn’t his fault. Gramps—”
“You can’t possibly believe that Grandpa would do this to us!” Luke whirled around to face his younger brother. “This was our home.”
“Was,” Colt emphasized. “Cornerstone Ranch was the place we grew up, but then, we all moved away. Even you. Gramps didn’t do anything to us. He probably just thought this was the best way to get us all home.”
Dalton snorted again, earning a sharp look from Colt.
Luke raked a tired hand through his hair. “I don’t care what Grandpa was thinking when he did this. But I do care about the ranch, and I know for a fact that not everyone will be on board with this idea.”
“You got that right.” Dalton got to his feet and yanked his leather jacket from the chair. He smirked at Luke as he shrugged it on. “Gramps didn’t care much for me in his later years. I highly doubt he would want me anywhere near that property. If you guys want to band together and be the perfect little family, be my guest. I did my part. I showed up. Now, I have a plane to catch.” He slipped out of the conference room before Luke could stop him.
The room was eerily silent. Luke thought for sure the lawyer would have a thing or two to say about Dalton’s comments, but not even he spoke. Luke shot a glance at the remainder of his brothers. Colt wasn’t looking at him. He’d been dealing with his own issues—namely the loss of his wife a mere four months ago. They’d only been married for two years, and dealing with another will reading was hitting him hard.
Colt’s twin, Wyatt, had been unusually quiet. True to his nature, he was more of an observer. He’d always been really good at figuring out a situation before making a decision.
Luke gave him a pointed look. “Well? What’s it gonna be? Are you willing to stay and help at the ranch?”
Wyatt glanced at Colt, who still refused to look anyone in the eye. “I don’t know. It’s like Dalton said. We haven’t exactly been around the horses lately. Do you know anything about running a ranch?”
“We did well enough when we were younger.”
Wyatt crossed his arms. “That was nearly a decade ago, Luke. We all have our own lives and different career paths. I’m not just going to leave my job so I can ride horses and wrangle cattle all day.”
Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. This was like trying to walk uphill on a street covered in grease. He took a deep breath, reminding himself to stay calm and collected—something he’d been finding increasingly difficult. Then, he looked over to their youngest brother. “What about you, Caleb? Are you going to stay?”
Caleb grinned. “You know I’m always up for anything. It’s not like I have anything better to do.”
Relief flooded through Luke’s body. He offered the lawyer an uncertain smile. “We have two yeses and two maybes.”
The lawyer shook his head as he got to his feet. “I’m sorry, Luke. That’s not good enough.” He gathered up the documents on the table. “The instructions clearly stated that all five of you have to agree to running the ranch.”
Luke snatched the documents the lawyer was about to reach for. “What if we have a majority? I’m sure I can get one or both of them to agree to staying.” He jerked his head toward the twins. “They just need a little convincing.”
The gentleman glanced at the twins as if considering what Luke was trying to accomplish. Then, he shifted his focus to Luke and once again shook his head. “All five of you. That was the deal. You need to convince Dalton to run the ranch as well.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Luke’s voice rose again. “You heard him—”
Colt got to his feet too. “What are the parameters for this agreement? Surely, we have some time before we have to make a decision.”
The lawyer paused. “You’re right. You have four months to make your decision.”
“And after that?”
“I beg your pardon?”
Colt gestured to the paperwork. “I’m not so naïve as to believe there isn’t some rule that states we have to work together for a minimum amount of time. It would be too easy for us to accept the terms up front then part ways when we had the documentation.”
Understanding filled the man’s face. “Of course. Yes, there is another rule.”
Luke groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “And what is this rule?”
“You must agree to work the ranch together for five years. After that time, you are free to part ways, sell the property, or do whatever you please with it.”
“Five years?” Luke demanded. “You can’t be serious. You’re asking us to uproot our lives for half a decade.”
“With all due respect, Mr. Stone, this isn’t up to me. I’m just the messenger your grandfather hired to deliver the information to you. What you decide is purely up to you, and only you could understand where your grandfather was coming from when he decided to give you these options.”
Luke opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, he felt Colt’s hand on his forearm. He shot his younger brother a warning look, but Colt seemed unfazed by it. Instead, he turned to the lawyer. “Thank you for meeting with us. We have a lot to think about before we make a decision. We’ll let you know when we’ve figured it out.”
The lawyer’s eyes landed on Luke as if he wanted to say something, but he decided against it. He nodded to the door then addressed the whole room. “You’re welcome to use this space to discuss your plans for the next ten minutes. At that time, I have another appointment, and I’m going to have to ask you to vacate the premises.”
“Thank you,” Colt murmured. He watched the lawyer leave, shutting the door behind him, before he turned to address his brothers. “I think we all know where Luke stands on the subject. As for Caleb, as he said, he’s up for anything.”
Caleb beamed at them all.
Colt turned to Wyatt. “That leaves the two of us.”
“You can’t be considering walking away,” Luke blurted. “What about—”
“Look, Luke, I’m not really in the best mindset to run a ranch with the brothers who didn’t really support my marriage anyway.”
“Hold up,” Luke stammered. “That’s not fair. I supported you—”
“You told me that I was getting married too young.”
“Exactly! I never said you shouldn’t marry her.”
Colt waved a dismissive hand through the air. “That doesn’t matter. Right now, all we need to figure out is if we’re willing to run the ranch together or if we’re just going to let it go to auction.” He gave Wyatt a firm look.
“What? I said I wasn’t sure. That wasn’t a no. At least I didn’t storm out of here like Dalton.”
Luke couldn’t control himself. He rolled his eyes as he leaned against the desk with folded arms. “Dalton is just being stubborn. I’m sure we can get him to come to the table if we phrase it in the right way. It’s the two of you that I’m worried about.” His eyes shifted from Wyatt to Colt and back. “You guys are the ones who always ganged up on us.”
Colt lifted a brow. “Ganged up? I’m sorry, but when did that ever happen?”
Luke worked his jaw, the tension in the room rising. If there was anything his grandfather was capable of, even posthumously, it was stirring up family drama. The five of them hadn’t exactly been getting along in recent years, and Robert Stone had known that.
“Look,” Colt muttered, ignoring his own question, “one way or another, we have to make a decision before the four months are up. I say we go our separate ways and think on it. In a couple weeks, we can meet back at the house and make a decision.”
Caleb hopped out of his chair and brushed off his pants, though there wasn’t any need. “Sounds good to me. I guess I’ll see you all in a couple weeks.”
Luke watched both him and Wyatt leave the room then turned his attention to Colt. “I never said—”
“It doesn’t matter, Luke,” Colt said wearily as he gathered his belongings. “She’s gone, and I’m never going to get her back. Let’s just drop it and start worrying about what really matters.” He grabbed his baseball cap and pulled it onto his head. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Luke turned his back to his brother, grinding his teeth until his jaw ached. He could already feel the ranch slipping through his fingers.

(Prequel) The Cowboy's Tattered Heart
1. The Cowboy's Second Chance
2. The Cowboy's Forbidden Love
3. The Cowboy's City Girl
4. The Cowboy's Love Bet
5. The Cowboy's Redemption