by Linda Turner
“Well, it looks like you all survived the year,” he told them with a smile as he joined them in the family room. “Hilda would be proud of you. There was nothing she admired more than courage in the face of adversity.”
“So she knew just about everyone in the county would try to drive us away?” Katherine said, surprised. “She put us through all this on purpose?”
Sobering, he frowned. “I wouldn’t say on purpose, no. But she felt it was important for you to know who your enemies were. And she wanted to make sure that you wanted the ranch badly enough to fight for it. From what I’ve heard, that’s exactly what you’ve done.”
“What about Sherm Clark?” Buck asked. “Was he telling the truth about Hilda being his mother or was that just a crazy lie he dreamed up to justify trying to kill us?”
Harvey hesitated, only to sigh. “When Sherm Clark tracked her down and demanded to know if she was his birth mother, she was shocked. She wanted nothing to do with him, nothing to do with the terrible memories she’d tried so hard to forget. She meant him no ill will, but she had no feelings for him. Considering the ordeal she went through, I don’t think anyone can blame her for that.”
“She was entitled to her feelings,” Katherine said quietly. “She must have been horrified when he showed up on her doorstep and told her who he was.”
“She had a very difficult time with it,” the older man admitted. “I’d never seen her so distraught.”
“If that was the case, then why did the sheriff think he was the unnamed heir?” Elizabeth asked, puzzled. “Surely, he could see how she felt.”
“The man’s crazy,” Donovan said flatly. “He seemed to have this fantasy that because Hilda was his birthmother, he was a Wyatt and she really wanted him to have the Broken Arrow. It didn’t seem to enter his head that she’d have left it to him outright if that was the case.”
Remembering the fury in Sherm Clark’s eyes, Priscilla shuddered and was thankful for the reassuring warmth and comfort of Donovan’s arm around her shoulders. “Maybe he thought she left the place to us because we’re the last of the legitimate heirs, but she really wanted him to have it.”
“It’s easy to see why he would think that,” Buck added. “She left a loophole for an unnamed heir, and in his twisted mind, he deduced that it had to be him. If we didn’t meet the conditions of the will, then the ranch would still go to a Wyatt.”
“Even if it was one who was conceived as a result of a rape, then given up for adoption,” Elizabeth said dryly. “Of course, the sheriff didn’t see anything wrong with that. He just wanted the ranch and was willing to do just about anything to get it.”
“And was the sheriff the unnamed heir?” Katherine asked Harvey Pritchard. “Or did he do all this for nothing?”
“I don’t know,” the attorney replied. “Hilda wrote the letter herself, and as far as I know, she never confided who the unnamed heir was to anyone. She certainly didn’t tell me. And now that the conditions of the will have been met, and the paperwork completed, giving the four of you full ownership of the ranch, I see no reason why we can’t open the letter and find out.”
And with no further ado, he pulled out the letter that had caused so much trouble over the course of the past year and broke the seal on the back. Pulling out the short missive written entirely in Hilda’s handwriting, the attorney read, “To whom it may concern. In the event that Buck, Elizabeth, Katherine, and Priscilla Wyatt do not meet the conditions of my will, I hereby bequeath the Broken Arrow Ranch to the University of Colorado Department of Anthropology.”
For a moment, there was nothing but stunned silence. Then Buck laughed. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“The University of Colorado,” Elizabeth said, frowning. “Why…oh my God, the Indians! She wanted the university to excavate the springs!”
“I should have guessed,” the attorney said, chuckling. “She loved the ranch, loved the history of it, and was always intrigued with the Indians who lived here long before the Wyatts ever moved to Colorado. I’m not surprised that she would have left the Broken Arrow to the University if you’d decided you didn’t want to leave England in order to meet the terms of the will.”
“So the sheriff could have killed us all,” Elizabeth’s fiancé, John, said, “and he still wouldn’t have gotten his hands on the ranch.”
“And neither would the rest of the local bozos who thought they were the unnamed heir,” Elizabeth retorted. “They did everything they could to make our lives a living hell, and all they’re going to get for it is a rap sheet.”
“So the rumors I’ve been hearing are true?” Harvey said. “Sherm Clark kept a record on his home computer of all the attacks on you and the ranch and who did what?”
Buck nodded grimly. “Apparently so. The FBI found the files when they searched his house. He planned to use them for a plea bargain if anyone ever discovered he was behind the more serious attacks.”
“What a moron,” Donovan said. “Now the FBI has his files and enough evidence to arrest not only him, but Judge Garrison, the mayor, the county tax assessor and at least five neighbors.”
“And the sheriff’s claiming insanity,” Katherine said. “Yeah, right. He’s crazy, all right. Crazy like a fox.”
“And desperate,” Harvey said. “Prison isn’t a nice place for former law enforcement officers. For some reason, the other inmates have it in for them.” Smiling slightly, he snapped his briefcase shut and rose to his feet. “I know it’s been rough, but the ranch is yours now. Enjoy it,” he said as he shook hands all the way around. “You all earned it. Hilda would be pleased.”
Just that simply, it was over. With his leave-taking, they all looked at each other and grinned. “How about some champagne?” Buck asked with a grin.
Just that quickly, the party began. The women quickly collected champagne glasses for everyone while Buck and John produced the champagne they’d put on ice earlier. Corks popped, the champagne flowed, and within minutes, they were all raising their glasses.
“To the Broken Arrow Ranch!”
“To Hilda!”
“To us!”
“To us!” Donovan repeated, and pulled Priscilla to his side for a kiss.
When he let her up for air, tears filled her eyes as she saw the love in his. “I love you,” she said huskily. “I won’t ever do to you what Jennifer did.”
“I know that, sweetheart,” he murmured, kissing her again. “I would never have asked you to marry me if I hadn’t known I could trust you completely.”
“Hummpph!” Buck said, clearing his throat. “It seems like there’s another announcement to be made.”
Blinking back tears, Priscilla turned to find the entire family grinning at them. “Oops.” She laughed, and held out her hand and the diamond engagement ring that sparkled on her finger. “We’re getting married!”
“Oh, my God! Why didn’t you tell us? That’s wonderful!”
“We can have a triple wedding!”
That drew a laugh from everyone as they surged forward to congratulate the two of them. They were passed from one family member to the next for hugs and kisses and pats on the back, and everyone was talking at once. It was Buck, however, who asked the question everyone else was thinking. “So where are you going to live since your job takes you all over the world?”
“We haven’t even talked about that,” Priscilla said. “With everything that’s been going on, we haven’t had time to work out any details. There’s always London, of course. And Donovan has a place in San Diego—”
“Actually,” Donovan replied, “I’m going to give up the bounty hunting.”
Surprised, she blinked. “You are?”
“I’ve been giving it a lot of thought,” he told her, “and I’ve been thinking of going back into law enforcement.”
The announcement caught her totally off guard. “And you don’t think we should have discussed this?” she asked, frowning.
“Not really,” he said with a grin. �
��I thought you’d be pleased.”
“Pleased?”
Her tone was anything but that, and he almost laughed. “Well, yeah,” he said with feigned innocence. “The Willow Bend Sheriff’s office is looking for a sheriff, but if you don’t want me to apply…”
For a moment, his announcement was met with nothing but silence. Then Priscilla laughed in delight and threw herself into his arms. “Are you serious? That’s perfect! You’ve got to apply!”
“Good,” he said, “because I already have. So start making plans to shut down your flat in London, sweetheart. I got the job!”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2673-3
BOUNTY HUNTER’S WOMAN
Copyright © 2009 by Linda Turner
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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*The Lone Star Social Club
*The Lone Star Social Club
*The Lone Star Social Club
*The Lone Star Social Club
**Those Marrying McBrides!
**Those Marrying McBrides!
**Those Marrying McBrides!
**Those Marrying McBrides!
**Those Marrying McBrides!
†Turning Points
†Turning Points
††Broken Arrow Ranch
††Broken Arrow Ranch
††Broken Arrow Ranch
††Broken Arrow Ranch