Dearest Son:
I write this on my deathbed, the first communication we have had in years. The fault, however, is not mine. Had you been a dutiful son and stayed at home we would never have suffered so bitter an estrangement.
Here is your chance to redeem yourself. I’ve always cared for you the most of all my sons, and I prove this now by the offer I’m making.
Every cent I’ve made is yours provided you meet one small condition. You must forsake living in the wilderness like a simple savage and return to New York City. Prove your mettle by making something of yourself. Erase the dark blot put on our family name by yourself and my misguided brother Zeke.
None of my sons have turned out as I had hoped. You have all let me down with your stubbornness and stupidity. Prove that you, at least, have some sense. Accept my offer. Go into business for yourself. Justify my selfless love. Be a man for once.
Your devoted father
Nate stared at the scrawled signature for the longest while, swept up in a whirlpool of memories and feelings and thoughts. Only when the attorney coughed did he look up.
“Well?” Worthington prompted eagerly. “What is your decision?”
“Just this,” Nate said, and methodically tore the letter into tiny pieces that drifted to the ground around his feet.
Worthington conveyed sincere shock. “Do you realize what you have done? Now your brothers stand to inherit the money.”
“Thank you for traveling so far to see me,” Nate said, and headed toward the house where Winona was waiting in the entrance.
“Do you realize what you have done?” Worthington called after him.
Nate paid no attention. He inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of the grass and the trees and a hint of moisture wafting from the Mississippi River. At the doorway he halted and put his hands on Winona’s waist. “I love you,” he said.
“What was that all about?”
“Nothing,” Nate said. “Nothing at all.” He gave her a kiss to stifle further questions, then stood back and smiled. “I’m ready to go home. How about you?”
“I was waiting for you to ask.”
You’ve reached the last page.
But the adventure doesn’t end here …
Join us for more first-class, action-packed books.
Regular updates feature on our website and blog
The Adventures continue…
Issuing new and classic fiction from Yesterday and Today!
More on David Robbins
Hawken Fury (Giant Wilderness Book One) Page 27