Chadwick Ranch, Book 1: Winter Holiday Romance

by Bonnie Marlewski-Probert

  “Sorry Bear, I didn’t mean to insult Dad, it’s just that, you know, Dad and I never got along. We were like oil and water. Anything I said or did pissed him off. He couldn’t have been happier to finally see the back of me when I left for college, so I have to say, there’s no love lost between us and I’m not going to pretend there is.”

  Once again, Bear gave Carter a studied look, “Son, you might be the dumbest horse’s ass I’ve ever met. With all that book learning, you sure don’t know much.”

  Carter was surprised by Bear’s comment, “What are you talking about?”

  “Your daddy didn’t hate you. He was grooming you for big things and look how it all turned out,” Bear stood up taking Wynona’s hand. The two walked away leaving Carter stunned and confused as he watched the couple disappear into the house.

  When Bear and Wynona entered the house, she said, “Baby, I’m glad you didn’t hit him,” kissing him on the cheek. Wynona had been the owner of the Silver Dollar Bar in town for decades. She and her husband had sunk every dime they had into buying the place and ran it together for only a few years before he was killed trying to break up a bar fight. With nowhere to go, Wynona decided to stay and make a go of the business on her own.

  “I wanted to but I figured it was a bad time to do it, what with today being Buck’s funeral and all. Maybe I’ll kick his ass tomorrow, he could use a good ass whooping,” Bear said smiling, his arm affectionately wrapped around her waist in a familiar way that only longtime lovers would recognize. The two had been seeing each other exclusively since a year after her husband’s death, nearly 20 years ago. They made a beautiful couple; Wynona with her long, wavy salt-and-pepper hair, caressing the shoulders of her statuesque body and Bear, nicknamed that because he had the body and the strength of a bear and was feared by most men. Bear was also a gentleman, his cowboy gear always meticulously kept. The two were also very similar in temperament: quiet, wise, easy-going folks ― unless you got them angry, and then tangling with a hornet’s nest would seem like a vacation in comparison.

  As they stood close to the fireplace, one of the neighboring ranchers approached. “Hey Bear … Wy … sorry to hear about Buck. You going to be able to stay on the ranch now that he’s gone? Has his son Buck said anything about selling the cattle or any land?”

  “Can’t say. I won’t know what’s happening for a few more days. All I know is that we lost a good man and a good friend.”

  “I agree,” the man said awkwardly as his wife approached.

  “Hi Bear. Hi Wynona. Do you know who the artist is? I haven’t been in the house since Betty passed and I don’t remember seeing this painting before.” She pointed to the large landscape on the nearby wall which depicted the rolling Texas hills, cattle and the signature bluebells the state was known for.

  “Billy Chadwick painted it long ago, Buck’s youngest son. The kid has a lot of talent with a paint brush, too bad he can’t do something with it,” Bear said sincerely staring at the painting on the wall. He recognized that everyone is gifted with at least one talent. The challenge is to figure out what that is and then to do something with it. At 29, Billy hadn’t figured anything out yet.

  “It’s beautiful. Do you know if Buck junior is going to be selling off any land or cattle now that his dad is gone?”

  “Honey, I already asked,” her husband said, trying to hush her.

  “Sorry Bear. I was just asking. There’s no harm in asking,” she stammered.

  “Like I said, I can’t say one way or the other. Won’t know for a few more days. The only thing that matters today is that we lost a good man and a good friend. The rest is just cow shit. Come on hon’ let’s get something to eat,” Bear said to Wynona, placing his hand at the small of her back as they walked toward the dining room where the entire table was covered in cold cuts, hot turkey and beef, salads and an array of desserts too numerous to count.

  As they left the room, Wynona turned her head to see the husband and wife they were just speaking with arguing back and forth. She smiled a knowing smile, leaning her head against Bear’s shoulder in appreciation for having found a good man.

  Chapter 2, Reading of the Will

  Tuesday, December Fourth

  It was three days later when the family lawyer, Johnathon Edwards arrived to read the will. The brothers had all slept in their old bedrooms each night since the funeral while Mary came over each day to cook and clean.

  “I’ll be glad when this day is over so I can catch the first plane to the Coast in the morning.” Carter said, dressed impeccably in yet another Armani suit.

  “I need to get back to the college as well but I might stick around for another day or two before I head back,” Adam said.

  “Why bother? Once the will is read, if the old man split the ranch between the four of us, we just need to decide which realtor we all want to handle the sale and then we can head back to civilization and wait for the check.”

  “Nobody is selling the damned ranch Carter,” Buck insisted as the three brothers took their seats at the dining room table a few minutes before Mr. Edwards was scheduled to arrive with the will.

  “Buck calm down. We don’t know what Sad had in mind for the ranch so let’s just wait and see what Mr. Edwards has to say. If Dad did want to split the ranch evenly, Carter has a point. Both he and I live thousands of miles away and Billy is not the most reliable man around so that leaves you to run the whole place, which is hardly fair to you.”

  “Adam, that’s bull shit and you know it. This isn’t about who’s going to feed the cattle, it’s about carrying on the family tradition and that’s all that should matter. If any of your kids decides they want to ranch, it’ll be here waiting for them.”

  Just then, Billy rolled in after a night of drinking with the boys, “If I have a vote in the matter, I don’t give a damn what happens to this place. It’s just filled with bad memories for me anyway.”

  “I can’t believe you showed up to the reading of your own father’s will hungover. What the hell is wrong with you Billy?” Carter asked incredulously.

  “Let’s not pretend the guy gave a damn about me or anyone other than those stinking cows out there.”

  “Shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you,” Buck replied with a look on his face that made it clear he wasn’t kidding. Billy was smart enough to know not to cross Buck. Just then, Mary emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray filled with coffee mugs, a carafe of freshly brewed coffee and a tray of cinnamon strudel coffee cake she’d baked earlier that morning.

  A few minutes later, Bear arrived, followed a couple of minutes later by Mr. Edwards, who sat at the head of the table.

  “Mrs. Ferris,” Mr. Edwards called out toward the kitchen.

  “Yes, do you need something?” Mary said, coming out of the kitchen.

  “I need you to join us at the table for the reading of the will.”

  “Why?”

  “Mr. Chadwick mentions you in his will.”

  “Oh,” Mary whispered, moving slowly toward an empty chair next to Adam.

  “Before we get started, Bear wanted to say something,” Mr. Edwards stated.

  Bear stood and said, “I worked side-by-side with your dad for more years than I can count. Buck senior was real proud of all of his sons. He wanted you all to follow your dreams. His only regret was that you weren’t closer as a family after your mom died. He used to say he knew how to pull a calf but didn’t know how to pull his own family together without her. Whatever happens today, know that he loved you all, and he did the best job he knew how to do,” Bear took his seat again and Mr. Edwards began to read the will.

  “I’ll save the legalese and get to the heart of the will. Buck senior left Bear Dalton his new truck, one hundred head of prime heifers and twenty-five thousand dollars. He left this note as well for Bear.” Mr. Edwards pulled a sealed envelope from his briefcase and handed it over to Bear.

  “Thanks,” Bear said, studying the handwriting on the envelope as
though it were a priceless piece of art before placing it in the inside pocket of his farm coat, the same farm coat he'd been wearing for years. Bear was not careless with his money. The brothers used to joke that Bear could squeeze a dime out of a penny.

  “Moving on, Buck senior also left Mary Ferris twenty-five thousand dollars to be used as a college fund for her son Beau.” Mary sat with a dumbfounded look on her face as the tears slipped down her cheeks unchecked.

  Adam leaned over and whispered, “Are you okay?”

  She nodded while wiping her tears. “He was such a good man, I can’t believe he left me anything,” she whispered into Adam’s chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

  “He obviously appreciated everything you did for him in his final years. I know I appreciate that you were here to take care of him, too,” Adam whispered sincerely.

  “The final item in the will concerns the four sons of Buck Chadwick. Buck senior has decided to split the ranch equally between his four sons with only one stipulation.” As Mr. Edwards looked around the table, he could see Carter, Adam and Billy visibly relieved but Buck was anything but happy about the split.

  “What’s the stipulation?” Buck asked.

  “The four of you must agree to live together on the ranch for a period of six months which commences on the first of the month immediately after his death. If any of you fails to maintain your daily residence on the ranch during that six-month period, the entire ranch will be donated to the Nature Conservancy non-profit group in the county.”

  “What the hell?” Carter shouted, “He can’t do that. I’ve got a career and a life on the East Coast. I can’t believe that son of a bitch wanted to stick it to me one last time before it was over. I’m a damn lawyer, I’ll contest it.”

  Adam noticed that Bear was about to get up out of his seat. He removed his arm from around Mary’s shoulder and placed his hand firmly on Bear’s arm to encourage him not to beat the hell out of Carter. “Look, we’ve all got our own life off the ranch, except for Buck of course, so, Carter, you’re not the only one whose life is about to be turned upside down. Mr. Edwards, let me make sure I understand what you just said. Are you saying if any of the four of us refuses to stay for the six months, the entire ranch is given to a charity and we get nothing?”

  “That’s what he stipulated in his will. I should also mention that Buck senior knew you were a very good lawyer Carter so he made certain his will was ironclad. You can certainly try to contest it but as a fellow lawyer, I assure you, you’ll lose.”

  “Thank you for the clarification,” Adam said. Sitting right next to Bear Dalton, he was not about to voice his true feelings and risk getting hit. As a young boy, he’d seen what Bear was capable of doing to a man and he wanted no part of that.

  “Makes no difference to me. I don’t have to pay rent, and the ranch is a pretty nice place to be as long as dad’s not here,” Billy chimed in looking like something the cat dragged in after a night of heavy partying.

  Again, Adam put his hand on Bear’s arm to stop him from getting up and beating the crap out of another Chadwick brother.

  “Is there anything else in the will that we need to know about?” Buck asked.

  “No, that covers it. To be clear, your father passed away early in the month of December which means, the four of you need to be sleeping in this house by January first and you must remain living here on the ranch full time until the end of June of the coming year. Are we all clear on that?”

  “Perfectly clear, thank you Mr. Edwards for coming,” Adam said, getting up from his chair and leaning over to shake the lawyer’s hand. His body position provided another opportunity to block Bear from beating the hell out of Carter who was directly across the table from him.

  “Bear, I’ll be in touch with you to finalize the transfer of the truck title, the cattle and the financials. Mrs. Ferris, I’ll be in touch with you next week to set up the trust fund for your son Beau’s college fund.”

  “Thank you for your help,” Bear said.

  “Thank you Mr. Edwards,” Mary said softly.

  A few minutes later, Mr. Edwards left the house. Bear exited with him. That left the four brothers and Mary shell-shocked at the dining room table surrounded by a house filled with memories, some good and some bad. The memory of today’s reading of the will was sure to become one of the worst memories they’d shared in this house.

  The silence was deafening as each brother’s mind was scrambling, trying to figure out how they would manage living on the ranch with their three other brothers for six very long months without killing each other. Mary, on the other hand was mourning the loss of her boss and dear friend. She got up quietly from the table and headed back into the kitchen to busy herself with anything she could find to take her mind off her loss.

  “I can’t believe that son of a bitch managed to stick it to me after he died,” Carter shouted in anger, slamming his fist on the table before taking a long swig from his beer bottle.

  “You think he did this just to screw you? Don’t flatter yourself. If you haven’t already noticed, we’re all getting screwed in this deal Carter. You think I want three slackers hanging around the ranch for the next six months?” Buck demanded. “This is a working ranch. Anyone or anything that doesn’t pull their weight is either fired or sold at auction by the pound, so, if you’re thinking of sticking around, let me be clear, you’re going to pull your weight or there’s going to be hell to pay.”

  Billy laughed, “what’s so funny?” Carter barked, the anger palpable in his voice. He was looking for a reason to hit someone and Billy looked to be providing the perfect motive.

  “You’re all sitting around here whining about how Dad screwed you for the first time. He’s been screwing with me since I was a kid. Welcome to my world boys.”

  Buck stood up and announced, in his classic, cut-the-bullshit manner, “I figure the ranch is worth at least a few million dollars, probably more. Divided by four brothers, that comes out to at least one million per brother that will be lost if any one of us walks away. This ranch isn’t a bunch of land and buildings, it’s three generations of Chadwick blood, sweat and hard work that will also be lost if one of you decides to bail. If any one of you is willing to screw your three brothers out of one million dollars or more because you don’t like the deal, speak now or shut the hell up and let’s figure out how to make the next six months work. I’m going out to work horses. I expect your answers in the morning.”

  With that, Billy got up to head into the kitchen to get another beer.

  Once he’d left the room, Adam said to Carter, “Look, our choices are pretty clear here. We either stick this out for six months to make sure the ranch stays in the Chadwick family or we walk away today, screw our brothers and never look back.”

  “So, what are you suggesting?” Carter asked as Billy reappeared from the kitchen, carrying a fresh beer.

  “What I’m going to suggest has nothing to do with Dad. I’m suggesting that the four of us come together, follow the codicil in the will and make the most of the next six months, not for Dad’s sake, but for each other.”

  “Dad is screwing with you Adam. Don’t fall for his games,” Billy urged, sitting back down at the large dining room table, taking a swig from his beer.

  Adam stared at Billy with a perplexed look on his face, “I don’t know what Dad was thinking when he put that codicil in the will. If you want to believe that he did this to screw with us, let’s assume he did. Let’s assume he’s in heaven or in hell laughing his ass off at his last shot at screwing with all of us. If any of us walks away, he wins and the four of us are the big losers. I'm suggesting that since we have no way of knowing what Dad was thinking when he did this, let's not waste any time second-guessing his motives. Instead, I suggest we focus on making this work, so at the end of the six-months, the four of us own Chadwick ranch. If at that point the four of us decide to sell it and take the millions and walk away, we win.”

  Wit
h that Adam rose from his seat and announced, “This has been a long day, I'm going to relax out on the deck.” As he walked across the dining room heading for the back door, he stopped in front of a small photograph hanging on the wall. After studying it for a moment he said, “I can't believe Dad still has this photograph.”

  “What photograph?” Carter asked.

  “The photograph of the four of us at 4-H.” Adam removed the framed photo from the wall and brought it over to the dining room table so his brothers could see it. Billy moved into the chair closest to Carter so they could both look at it together.

  “Damn! Look at how young we were,” Billy laughed.

  “Is that Crystal from next-door?” Carter asked.

  “Yeah, I think it is. All I remember about Crystal Hodges is that she's had a lifelong crush on Billy,” Adam laughed, placing his hands on Billy’s shoulders and rocking them.

  “Hopefully, by now, she's come to her senses and was smart enough to find a good man!” Carter laughed.

  ”She's like my little sister for God's sake and while I love sleeping with as many women as I can get my hands on, I don't do incest. Besides, she's not my type. I like them hot, blonde and easy!”

  While his brothers tried to wrap their heads around what was happening, Buck retreated to the one thing he knew best: horses. For many years, Buck had managed the equine breeding operation on the ranch. Primarily, he bred for their own ranch horses but occasionally he would sell a horse or two to the local ranchers who were always eager to buy stock from Buck Chadwick.

  He pulled a large chestnut colored mare out of her stall, hooking her halter to the crossties in the aisle, “Hey Sassy,” Buck said, petting her on the neck. Because she was stabled indoors and deeply bedded in shavings, Buck was able to run a quick brush over her back and girth area before saddling her up in his favorite Billy Cook roping saddle. He released her halter before buckling it around her neck while he bridled her. Buck preferred to work his horses in a plain snaffle bit. Depending on the horse and what they were going to be doing, he would increase the shank length but when working in the arena on bending and cues, his bit of choice was a plain eggbutt snaffle with a copper mouth piece.