No Accounting for Cowboys

by Leah Braemel

  “Not that I’ve heard of. Jake, why don’t you sit down?” Randy’s voice had that patient tone of someone about to deliver bad news.

  He settled on the couch between Paige and his mother, feeling like he needed to brace himself but against what he hadn’t a clue.

  After another careful glance at Cissy, Randy exhaled and ran his hands over his head. “You know how I said the lab had screwed up the DNA tests?”

  “Yeah. Is that what this is about? Is Gabe not really Pop’s kid?” Wow, that would cause a real shit storm. Though wouldn’t that result have left his mother beaming? Not looking like she was about to be drawn and quartered? And wouldn’t Ben be here? Or maybe they’d already told Ben and he’d gone back to work.

  “The tests confirm that Gabe is Ed’s son.” Randy squared his shoulders. “They also—”

  “Please don’t,” his mother whispered. “I’m begging you, Randy. It doesn’t serve any purpose to tell him.”

  “I have to tell him, Ciss. It’s going to come out if we end up going to court.”

  “Oh for Pete’s sake, just rip the bandage off, will you?” Jake snapped in exasperation. “Will someone just tell me what the fu—dge is going on?”

  “I’m sorry, son. I’m afraid there’s no way to sugar-coat this, but according to the tests Ed Grady wasn’t your father.”

  The floor dropped out from beneath his feet, leaving him suspended as the room raced around him. Paige reached for his hand, and he clutched at her like a life raft. “That’s bullshit. Momma, tell him he’s wrong.”

  Randy withdrew an envelope with the lab’s logo on it from his pocket and held it out. “I thought they had to be wrong too. That’s why I had you go to a second lab. They confirmed the results.”

  His hand shaking, Jake took the outstretched papers and unfolded them.

  While the genetic data support a half-sibling paternal relationship between Benjamin Grady and Gabriel Larson, the test does not support a half-sibling paternal relationship involving Jacob Grady who shares only maternal genetic data with Benjamin Grady.

  He read it again—and again—but the words didn’t change. Shares only maternal genetic data—he was only a half-brother to Ben? And nothing whatsoever to Gabe?

  “I’m so sorry, baby,” Cissy’s tortured whisper slammed into Jake’s chest like a sledgehammer.

  “Jake?” Paige touched his hand. Strange how hers seemed so warm and his so cold. Like all the heat had leached out of him. “Are you okay?”

  How the ever loving fuck was he supposed to be okay with this? He didn’t dare look at his mother. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t stop looking at the results. Hoping, praying that the words would change. Disappear. Except they didn’t “Momma? You want to explain this?”

  “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t know either. I was positive you were Ed’s.”

  Which meant she’d slept with the guy real close to sleeping with his father. No, not his father. With Ed. Her husband. “How could you have cheated on Pop? You were so fucking pissed off at him when you told us about how he cheated with Gabe’s momma and yet you’d cheated too.”

  Please let him wake up. Let this be a nightmare.

  “I thought we’d broken up.” Tears slid down his mother’s cheeks and her breath began to hitch. “We’d agreed we were getting a d-divorce so I didn’t think of it as cheating. And I only did it o-once—I regretted it as soon as I’d d-done it. I realized what a mistake I’d made so I went back to your father the next day.” She closed her eyes. “I mean back to Eddie.”

  His world spinning around him, he lurched off the couch, unsure where to go, what to say. What to think. Paige moved to follow him but unable to stand the pity in her eyes, he waved her off.

  In avoiding Paige, he stumbled toward his mother, who caught his arm. “Even if Eddie wasn’t your father by blood, he was your daddy in every other way. He loved you, baby. He raised you as if you were his own. You couldn’t have asked for a better father.”

  No, he couldn’t have.

  “So who’s my...” real father. No, he couldn’t say that. If he said it aloud that made it real. “Who was it?”

  “What will you do if I tell you?” Her voice strengthened, anger biting into her tone. “Search for him and...what? Ignore how Eddie raised you? How he held you when you were sick? Or how he went to all those school meetings? Put you on your first horse and picked you up when you fell off? Are you going to pretend Eddie didn’t exist?”

  Everyone in the room stiffened at Cissy’s rebuke, even Randy.

  “I don’t know what I’ll do. But I need to know. I need to know who I really am. If I’m not a Grady, Momma, then who am I?” Dear God, his father had broken the legacy and ended up giving part ownership to someone who wasn’t a Grady. Maybe his grandfather had been right all these years.

  The sting of his mother’s fingernails as they dug into his skin forced him to focus on her. “You’re my son, Jacob. Why isn’t that good enough?”

  It should be. Except all his life he’d thought he belonged to the land, felt sorry that Gabe hadn’t had the same connection. Yet now he was the one who didn’t belong.

  Paige touched his shoulder. “Just breathe, Jake. It’s a lot to take in but you’re still you.”

  How could he be him? He wasn’t Jake Grady anymore. He had no idea who he really was. He shook off her hand and faced the lawyer. “You said this could end up in court. Why? Are you going to take my share of the ranch away from me on Ben’s behalf?”

  “No, son. But Gabe’s lawyer might try. The lab will be sending her a copy of the tests too.”

  Shit. “Could they try to kick me off the ranch entirely?”

  Randy shook his head. “I doubt it, but given the tension between you, if he does have a grudge against you, there’s a slight possibility his lawyer might go that route. Now listen, I don’t want you to worry about it. It doesn’t matter if they try to use the Grady Legacy or argue that since you’re not technically a Grady by blood you have no right to own any of the ranch. Your father was very specific in his will that you inherit your fair share. The court doesn’t care about blood relationships of heirs. Just that Ed specifically named you as his heir.”

  “See, baby?” His mother took a shuddering breath. “Bull’s Hollow will still be your home. It will always be your home.”

  “That doesn’t mean that they may not still sue, however.” Randy ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to lie to you, Jake. Gabe’s lawyer could still sue both you and your mother for acting in bad faith.”

  “What’s that mean?” Paige asked.

  “Gabe knows Pop left another will naming his unknown child, and that Momma destroyed it.” He lifted his head and met Randy’s eye. “I’m guessing they’d claim that the will Momma destroyed might have cut me out and put Gabe in my place? That she destroyed it to protect my share?” To protect me?

  The lawyer gave a single nod. “It would be a struggle to prove—other than what you’ve said to Gabe, they have no proof the new will ever existed—but good luck, the right jury or sympathetic judge—they might even win.”

  Holy shit. His legs folded under him. He could lose everything still. Lose the only home he knew. His mother could lose everything, too, since Gabe technically owned part of all the buildings on the land—he could turn her out of the Monstrosity. “They can’t go after Ben’s share, though, right?”

  “It depends if they believe Ben didn’t know anything about the holographic will or what part he played in it. Or they might try to invalidate the will entirely and go for a much bigger share.”

  “How could they do that?” How could Paige ask the questions so calmly? Thank God she could, because there was no way his head was processing half of this.

  “They’d have to find some way to prove the will legally invalid—which it�
��s not. I wrote it up myself. I guess they could try to prove Ed was insane. Or coerced. More likely, and what I’d do is ask the judge to award Gabe punitive damages—those would come from you two, not Ben’s share. Unless he’s proven to be part of the cover-up. But let’s not go borrowing trouble. Gabe may be happy with being cut in for an equal third and instruct his lawyer to do nothing with this information. Not that I expect Victoria Taylor-Massey will accept that option. That woman is a mercenary who uses her law degree like a goddamned machine gun.”

  The phrase “Jake’s not technically a Grady by blood” ricocheting in his brain, Jake’s whole body went numb. He sank onto the couch and buried his hands in his hair, letting it fall to hide his face. Who the hell was he? If not for Pop’s—Ed’s—will, he had no legal claim to the land, hell, he had no right to even live on Bull’s Hollow except as an employee.

  Randy squatted in front of him. “Son, I know this has been a shock, but nothing’s changed. You are still legally a part owner of the ranch. And Cissy’s right. Even if Ed had known you weren’t his, he wouldn’t have loved you any less.”

  And he’d loved Ed. Respected him. Trusted him. Until he’d discovered his father—Ed—had cheated on his mother. Now to find out both his parents weren’t the people he’d believed them to be? Even Paige had kept who her father was a secret from him. Was there anyone left he could trust?

  But Paige did tell you when she didn’t have to, his conscience chimed in.

  He forced himself to meet Randy’s gaze. “Do you think he knew? Pop?” Fuck. He couldn’t call him that anymore, could he? “I mean did Ed know? That I wasn’t his?”

  Was that why Gramps treated him the way he did? Gramps had known about Gabe’s existence. Maybe he’d known Jake was the poser all along.

  Randy held both hands out, palms up. “Son, I have—”

  The front door flew open with a bang.

  “Where the fuck is he?” Gabe stomped into the room—his head swiveled like a damned heat-seeking missile as he thundered toward Jake. Ben was hot on his heels, a mixture of confusion and caution filling his expression.

  “Just what the fuck type of game are you playing calling yourself JT Larson, huh?” Gabe demanded. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

  Paige hissed in a breath and muttered “Oh fuck, this has to come out now?” matching Jake’s exact thoughts.

  His momma stepped between him and Gabe. “You will not come into my home and assault my son, Gabriel Larson. If you have something to say, then you get your lawyer to call Randy and he’ll relay the message to my Jake. Now get out and don’t you dare come back in unless I invite you.”

  Fuck it, he did not want to be doing this right now. Why didn’t Gabe just go the hell away? He buried his face in his hands. Everyone just go away and leave me the hell alone.

  “I have to agree with Cissy.” Randy put himself between Gabe and Jake. “You need to leave until you’ve calmed down.”

  “I ain’t leaving. Not until hot shot here explains why he’s using my name.”

  “I used it as a stage name. It was meant to be a joke.”

  “My name is a joke to you?”

  “No.” Oh fuck it all. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing that started over a year ago—one of the places we played at wanted to introduce us individually and I didn’t want to use my real name. I didn’t mean it to be disrespectful. I thought you’d think it funny.” At the time. “And if you’d shown up when I invited you back then, you would have known.”

  “Don’t put this on me, asshole.”

  “Stage name?” Randy shook his head. “I don’t understand. Are you acting?”

  “Take a look at this.” Gabe thrust his phone at Randy. Ben peered over his shoulder.

  “...sure are glad to be here tonight. I’d like to introduce you to the band, I’m Cam Adair, the drummer’s Drew Foley, the guy on bass over there is Hunter Landry, and our lead singer is none other than my friend and soon to be yours, JT Larson. Take it away, JT.”

  Ah, shit. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone found one of the videos fans had posted, but why did it have to be Gabe who found it?

  “The damned thing’s been viewed over a quarter million times. In less than a week.”

  “What?” Paige asked, leaning over Gabe’s shoulder. “It’s gone viral?”

  Ben took the phone and restarted the video. “You’ve got talent, bro. Why didn’t you use your real name?”

  Wow, chalk one up on the side of the barn. Ben had actually complimented him about something. Finally. “Because I didn’t want you to know, remember?”

  “I remember. Because of something I said when you were a kid. Jesus!”

  “Because you’d tell me I was wasting my time. Time that should be spent doing chores. Just like Gramps used to say. Especially since...” He took a deep breath. “After Pop died. You’ve been riding me about every second you think I’m not working. I’m a part owner of this ranch. I’m not about to let it go to ruin. I’ve worked my ass off, but most of the time you treat me like I do nothing around here.”

  Hurt flashed over Ben’s face. “I would have supported you. And I know you work hard.”

  “It doesn’t matter now.” It probably wouldn’t matter ever again. He threaded his hands in his hair and tugged. Thank God it hurt. Not a lot but it was proof that he could still feel something other than the numbness creeping over him. “As for the name, I may not be JT Larson, but I’m not Jake Grady either. I’ll just find another name so I won’t embarrass either of you.”

  Ben frowned, as did Gabe. Then both said “what the fuck does that mean” in unison.

  He opened his mouth to explain, but the words congealed in his throat. Too many people looking at him. He had to get out of here. Now.

  Legs don’t let me face plant in front of everyone. Ignoring Ben’s repeated question, and his mother’s worried expression, he lurched to the front door. The late summer heat blasted him, yet he welcomed it. Maybe it could warm the ice filling his bones. He stumbled to his ATV and rode it to the top of the ridge, looking over the land that an hour before he’d thought was his heritage and his future.

  Chapter Eleven

  When they’d first started the conversation, Paige hadn’t been sure she should have let Cissy talk her into staying. Until she’d heard the lab results and had seen the color drain from Jake’s face. She left the explanations to Randy and Cissy, pushed past Ben and Gabe to race to the door, just in time to watch Jake ride his ATV over the ridge.

  Go after him? Or would he prefer to process everything in private? Screw it. She needed to make sure he was okay.

  She raced around the house to the garage and turned the key in Cissy’s ATV. She zoomed over the ridge, following the path she’d last seen him. Damn it, no sign of him. Only the lake... Oooh. She knew where he’d gone.

  It took her ten minutes of trolling along the shore before she saw him. Her heart clenched to see him slumped over the handlebars of his quad, his shoulders bowed. She got off her machine and walked over to him.

  “Hey.” The shoulder muscles beneath her hand when she touched him stiffened.

  “Go home, Paige.”

  “No. You need someone with you right now.”

  He straightened without looking at her, but flipped the brim of his hat around so the shadows hid his eyes. “I’m not good company right now.”

  “I know. I don’t care. You don’t have to talk or anything. Just know I’m here for you.”

  His head bowed for a minute. A long shuddering breath later and he swung his leg over the quad. Paige caught his hand, lacing her fingers with his. They’d picked their way halfway around the lake before he finally stopped.

  He tilted his head back, staring at the mansion. “I can’t fucking believe this. I’m an accident fr
om when Ma fucked some other guy while she was married to Pop...Ed. Fuck, I don’t even know what to call him anymore.”

  Wow, the number of times she’d had the same mental conversations. But while she’d wondered about who her father was for the first seven years, she’d been lucky enough to meet her father before her self-image was set. Even if Dan Reynolds didn’t turn out to be the charming fairy-tale hero she’d envisioned, the who’s and why’s had been answered. For the most part.

  Was it worse to not know as a kid, or to have the image of your father ripped from you as an adult? So many questions running through Jake’s mind right now were probably the same she’d asked herself before she’d met her father, and yet so many would be different. He must be questioning everything he’d been told, everything he believed. Yet there was one constant. Ed Grady himself.

  “I’ve seen the pictures of you with your father in the office, the ones over at your place. It’s plain to see how much he loved you. So he’s not your biological father. He was the one to raise you. It doesn’t change what he means to you. Or who you are.”

  “Look, it all sounds real good when you say it but...” He sat on the shore, the movement so fast she wondered if he’d intended to sit or if his legs had just given out. “When I was little, I used to wonder if I was standing on the same soil that Bull Grady stood on when he first claimed this land. If he camped in the same spot, swam in the same water. I had a connection to this land. Now it’s gone.”

  He picked up a rock and hurled it in the water. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up. That it’s all going to be some nightmare that’ll go away, but it’s real, isn’t it?”

  “I’m so sorry, baby.”

  “I wasn’t supposed to be here anyway, remember? Not if Gramps had had his way.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Hell, maybe this is his way of getting back at Pop for changing the legacy. Oh fuck.” Tortured eyes met hers. “Do you think Gramps knew about me? Not being a Grady I mean. Maybe that’s why he was so insistent I not inherit any of Bull’s Hollow.”