Heartsong (Singing to the Heart Book 2)

by Sara Walter Ellwood

  “Coffee? Or would you like something stronger?” Reese lifted a carafe into the air.

  “Coffee’s fine. Black. Thanks.”

  Reese poured two mugs full, then added cream and sugar to his own. He handed Gabe a mug and sat on the couch facing him. They’d met six years ago when he’d hired Reese as his divorce lawyer. He’d managed to save Gabe from owing Andrea more than a year and a half of his life, which he’d paid in spades while married to the witch.

  The lawyer studied him for a moment over his cup as he sipped. “Okay, tell me what’s on your mind.”

  Gabe looked into his mug contemplating where to start. He pulled the letter from the judge in Texas out of the back pocket of his Levis and handed it to his friend.

  Reese read it, then refolded it and handed it back. “That’s tough. I’ve heard of Lemont Finn. But I don’t know him.”

  Gabe glanced at the letter in his hand. “He’s a hard man. My father wasn’t a saint. Far from it, but Lemont is the devil. His family made a fortune in cattle and oil, and he’s expanded it at the expense of anyone who stands in his way. His first wife was killed in a car accident, which has always been suspected of being a suicide. He divorced his second wife after she discovered she had MS. Then he disowned his daughters when they decided to stay with Loretta rather than him after they were old enough to decide. I may not have liked Frankie, but I know she wouldn’t have wanted Lemont to have Jesse. And I damn well know my father didn’t. Not after Lemont stole most of my family’s fortune when he swindled Dad out of his partnership in Finn Energy. Michaela Finn is good with Jesse, and it’s logical she should raise him. She and Frankie were close, and if she’d made a will, that’s who she would’ve wanted him to live with.”

  Reese sat forward. “What about Miss Finn? Is there anything you haven’t told me about her?”

  Gabe ran his free hand through his hair. “She and I were engaged seven years ago. A couple of days before our wedding, I played a honky-tonk gig in Brownwood. I had no idea Andrea Rose was in the audience.” He signed and leaned his head back on the couch, suddenly exhausted. “Michaela broke my heart when she handed my ring back and telling me if I left we were done. All I wanted was to go to Nashville and see if Andrea was as good as her word. If she made me as famous as she promised, Michaela and I could start a new life away from all the shit we had to live with on the ranch.” With a shake of his head, he rid himself of the painful memories. He sipped more of his coffee. “Michaela didn’t believe in my dreams. I refused to be stuck punching cattle in Bluebonnet Creek, Texas, for the rest of my life.”

  “She sounds a little unreasonable.” Reese leaned over his legs. “You really believe she’ll be a better parent for Jesse than you?”

  “I love that boy, but of the two of us, she’s the stable one. She was unreasonable when she left me, but that was a long time ago. She loves Jesse and can give him what he needs.” He stood and moved to look out over the city he called home. “My life is no place for a kid.”

  Reese stood and headed for the coffee pot. After offering more of the strong brew to Gabe, who shook his head, Reese refilled his cup. “She lives on the ranch, correct? Isn’t it to be sold?”

  Gabe sighed and set his empty mug on the windowsill. “Yeah, on both accounts. Lemont supposedly wants to put a bid on the place.”

  “Emm... interesting...”

  Looking over his shoulder, Gabe frowned. “You know I hate when you do that.”

  “Most people do.” Reese retook his seat on the couch. “Think about it. If Finn buys the ranch, the funds would go to Jesse, correct?”

  “Yes. In a trust fund.” Gabe rubbed the back of his neck as he paced in front of the windows. He’d no doubt find a way to steal Jesse’s trust fund, especially if the boy ever broke away from him as his daughters had. “Damn. Lemont won’t just get the ranch and Jesse, but his money, too. He’ll get my family’s ranch for nothing.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking. I’m assuming the money can’t be touched until Jesse’s adopted?”

  “That’s how I understand it.” Gabe fisted his hands by his sides as another thought came to him. “Goddamn it. Finn has wanted to put the screws to my dad for over thirty years for various reasons. Lemont’s been biding his time until he can destroy everything my family’s worked for. And what better revenge than to turn my father’s young son against his family.”

  Reese watched him for a few passes. “But aren’t you afraid Miss Finn would take Jesse’s money? I mean, from what you’ve told me, it sounds like she doesn’t have much.”

  With a scowl, Gabe stopped and faced the lawyer. “No. I’ll provide for Jesse. But I doubt she’ll take my money. She hates my guts and believes I somehow cheated on her.”

  Reese stood next to him at the window with a skeptical expression. “All the more reason for her to take Jesse’s.”

  Gabe sighed and looked back out over music city. “She would never touch the money. She’s too proud to. But life would be hard, even with any survivor benefits he would receive.” He tapped the plate glass with his knuckles and turned to Reese. “Thing is, Michaela will be homeless after the sale of the ranch. She will also be out of a job since she manages it. Her mother’s MS is bad, and Michaela takes care of her, too.”

  “A court will never grant her custody of a child. Why don’t you sue for him yourself?” Reese sipped his coffee and pinned Gabe with a probing gaze.

  “I already told you why.” He stared out the window at the city without really seeing it and shifted his feet. His chuckle was short-lived and without mirth. “I’m a rock star in cowboy boots and a Stetson. I can’t take on a ten-year-old.”

  The lawyer shrugged. “Then your options are pretty clear. Lemont Finn will adopt him. You send an occasional birthday gift and life goes on.” He set his cup on a low table. “No need for you to feel guilty.”

  “He’s my brother, Reese.” A hard lump formed in his chest. Was he out of options? “I love him.”

  “I know, buddy.” Reese patted Gabe’s shoulder. “I’m leaving for my Dallas office in the morning. I might be able to get the court to extend the joint guardianship, but with the situation with Miss Finn and Lemont, it will be a long shot.”

  Gabe didn’t like the twist in his heart. “Michaela’s good with him.”

  “You would be, too.” Reese lifted his hand to forestall any protest. “Look, there are a lot of single parents out there in the business, Gabe. They take their kids with them on the road with a good nanny. Schedule their tours around their kids’ schedules, and they’re fine because of it. My father is a lawyer. Mother was a singer. They split when I was three and each of them married a half dozen times after that. I spent summers with my mom and whatever husband she was with while she toured. The winters were spent with my dad and my latest, and increasingly younger, stepmother.” He smiled and spread his hands. “I think I turned out just fine.”

  Gabe turned his back on the view of the city and laughed. “That’s debatable. You’ve been divorced twice. Besides, you’re a freakin’ divorce lawyer.”

  “I already had tons of experience with divorce by the time I graduated law school. I figured it was the perfect career path.”

  Chuckling, Gabe shook his head. “Hey, I’ll be in Dallas on the fourth of October. You bringing your kids to the concert?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.” Reese spent October through May in Dallas with his kids from his second marriage. The summer months he spent in Nashville with his daughter from his first wife. He checked his watch. “I hate to cut this short, but I’m due in court in less than an hour. I have to make sure the bank accounts of a certain cheating husband are cleaned out by the mother of his three kids.” Gabe smiled. “I’m so glad you’re my friend.”

  Reese laughed. “Representing you was fun, but if Andrea had hired me...” He shrugged and cuffed Gabe on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, buddy, you’d definitely be singing the blues.”

 
“Ouch.” Gabe winced at the thought. She’d sabotaged his career by dropping him from Rose and Thorn Records and castrating him in the tabloids. “I don’t want to imagine what damage she would have done if she’d had a better lawyer.”

  After a moment, Reese asked, “So, what do you want me to do about Jesse?”

  Gabe picked up his hat from the couch and turned it in his hands a few times before putting it on his head. When he looked up at Reese again, he knew what he had to do. “I can’t let Lemont Finn poison Jesse. If you really think Michaela and I don’t stand a chance at adopting him together, then I want to do it on my own.” He pulled his keys from his pocket and looked at them. “And, Reese, there’s something else I need you to do.”

  “Why am I not surprised?”

  Chapter 5

  Micki came out of the turn around the third barrel and leaned over Beau’s neck as they raced back to the starting point, but she knew they weren’t fast enough. Despite retiring from barrel racing two years ago, she had kept Beau in shape and hoped that someday she might return to the sport she loved. Besides, racing had always been a great stress reliever.

  She brought the gelding around and stopped before Cash. Standing near the high rail fence, he waved and smiled. “You looked pretty impressive. Thinking about going back on the circuit?”

  “No. I just needed to think about something other than what’s happening around here.”

  Cash stroked the neck of the bay. The horse’s black-tipped chestnut hair and dark mane glowed in the morning light. Beau pranced under her, wanting to run again, but the horse hadn’t been worked this hard since Sam and Frankie’s death over two weeks ago. He needed to rest.

  “I can understand that. I figured you could use some help around this place.” Cash squinted up at her from under the brim of his old felt hat. “Sorry for not being around much, but I had some school stuff I needed to take care of.” He’d helped out around the ranch as much as he could, but she hadn’t seen him in about three days.

  She’d encouraged the ranch hands to look for other jobs, and the last one was leaving today. The men and women employed by the Lazy M didn’t want to go, but they refused to work for the corporation buying the place. She couldn’t ask them to stay. “Thanks for coming today. I can really use the help.”

  “So, what’s going on?” Cash entered through the gate, closing it behind him. She dismounted and led the horse around the corral. Cash walked along with her. “I heard about the sale. Is your daddy going to let you stay?” Cash lifted his hat and ran his hand through his short red hair. A few strands stuck to the sweat on his forehead. He resettled the hat.

  “Lemont wasn’t the buyer.”

  Cash stopped, his wide eyes making his round face more boyish than normal. “Who bought it?”

  “No idea. Tom Fleming said a feedlot corporation bought it.” She led Beau around the corral one last time to cool down. Glancing over her shoulder at Cash, she sighed. “Apparently, they out-bid Lemont and he let it go. Probably because he figured if he couldn’t have it, one of those damned feedlot corps would be just as perfect to destroy the place.”

  “Damn…” He let out a long breath and looked around. “What about the animals?”

  “They bought all the stock and the horses, too. Hell, even Frankie’s stupid chickens and her prized peacocks were sold to these people.” She looked away and blinked her eyes, fighting the burn in her sinuses. “I imagine they’ll resell them or have them slaughtered. I don’t know who’d want to eat a scrawny peacock, but I suppose there’s folks out there that do.”

  “What happens to you?” He set his hand on Beau’s lead rein to stop him.

  “I’m trying to decide if I want to stay or leave.” She shoved her hands into her pockets and leaned her back on the top rail of the fence, suddenly too tired to move. “I’ve been offered a job by the corporation, but honestly I hate that so many ranches are being bought and turned into feedlots.”

  “I can’t even imagine that happening to the Lazy M.” His voice deepened with a malice she’d never thought him capable of.

  She envisioned what the ranch could look like in a few months. When too many cattle were crammed into fenced areas and fattened up on subpar grain rather than allowed to graze as natured intended. All the horses sold or sent to Mexico for slaughter, as had happened to a ranch over in Coleman County. The thought not only made her angry, it sickened her.

  With a mental shake to get the horrible images out of her head of her beautiful Angus cattle dirty and living in mud and their own excrement, she nodded. “I tried to call the head of the company to find out what they have planned for the place, but I got nowhere. I’ve left at least five messages since the sale and haven’t gotten a single call back. What would you do if it were you?”

  He shook his head and watched as Beau reached under the bottom rail with his tongue to capture a few blades of grass growing around the fence post. “I wouldn’t do it, but I don’t have the responsibility you do.”

  No statement was ever truer, but she wasn’t signing any contracts yet. The idea of leaving the ranch scared her to death. Would the judge think she was stupid for not taking a good-paying job on the ranch? Or could she prove that she can make it on her own merit?

  “I haven’t decided, but I can’t wait until I do. If I leave, I have to have a job.” She’d cashed out the retirement fund Sam had set up for her. It wasn’t much and wouldn’t last her more than two months if she decided to leave the ranch, but it added a bit of padding to her bank account.

  As she reached for Beau’s reins, a wave of sorrow hit her. There wouldn’t be anything left of the ranch she loved in a few months. She’d seen too many beautiful spreads destroyed by the corporations buying them up and turning them into nothing more than cattle factories.

  “These people even bought Jesse’s Bobo.” She swallowed at the lump in her throat.

  “That goofy duck you gave him for Easter a few years back?”

  “Yep.” When Jesse was five years old, he’d gotten the biggest thrill from the duckling following him around the yard as he looked for the eggs Frankie had hidden. For the past several years, the duck had seemed more content to stay on the small lake in the pasture closest to the house rather than waiting to waddle after Jesse, but Jesse still loved it and letting it go would be just one more hurtful thing. “I’m so glad your sister took Frankie’s cats and you took Sam’s dogs. I would’ve loved having them if Momma wasn’t so allergic...”

  “You know we’ll love them, Micki.”

  She knew, but it seemed like she was giving away everything her sister and husband loved. Looking toward the big white house through the orchard, she sighed. She wasn’t ready for starting over. “The household goods are going to auction on October first.”

  “I saw the sign at the gate. I’m sorry, Micki.”

  Not wanting the sympathy she heard in his voice and wishing she’d kept the sorrow she felt to herself, she glanced back at him and headed toward the barn with Beau trotting beside her. “C’mon. I’m done here.”

  Once they were in the breezeway, he began to remove the bridle and saddle. She led Beau into his stall. Cash filled the trough with water, then the feed bucket with grain. While she used a currycomb to groom Beau, Cash took the horse’s protective boots and bridle into the tack room. He had been unusually quiet for the past few moments. For as long as she could remember, which had been most of his life, Cash was a chatterer.

  Hoping she hadn’t hurt his feelings, she leaned against a stall door and crossed her arms over her chest. When he returned from the tack room, she said, “What’s on your mind?”

  He glanced down at his boots and kicked the straw covering the concrete floor. “I wish I could’ve bought this place--stock and all.”

  She pushed away from the stall and dropped her arms. “Why?”

  He looked at her, and she wished she could see his brown eyes, but the brim of his hat hid them in a shad
ow. “Then you wouldn’t need to worry about anything.”

  She swallowed so hard it hurt. Cash was one of her closest friends. “Cash, I...”

  He let out a sigh loud enough she’d heard it from across the space of the breezeway. “I know you think I’m a kid. I love this place, too, Micki. I’ve been working here since I was thirteen.” He cleared his throat and closed the distance between them. When he was standing before her, boot to boot, he pushed back her hat and met her eyes. “I hate seeing you like this. You worry about everyone, but you don’t think about yourself.”

  Glancing away, she bit her bottom lip. “I’m okay.”

  But she wasn’t okay. Ever since Gabe had walked back into her life, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. He’d promised to help her with Jesse, but he went back to his high life, leaving her to work everything out again.

  Her heart ached over losing Jesse to her father, and the loss of her family in the crash. Helping the women from church pack away Sam and Frankie’s life had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done. She was also scared her mother wasn’t being truthful about her level of pain. Momma had become withdrawn, her speech more slurred, and her appetite was nearly nonexistent.

  Closing the stall door, she met his skeptical expression and reiterated a little more forcefully, “Cash, I’m okay.”

  They left the barn together, and he looked around. “What do you have in mind for today?”

  “We need to get some hay out to the cattle across the creek. With this drought, they’re burning through that piss-ass poor grass over there.”

  He rubbed his hand over the back of his sunburned neck. “How much hay do we have?”