The Wyoming Inheritance
by
Caitlyn Edwards
A Newsite Web Services Book
Published by arrangement with the author
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2011 © by Caitlyn Edwards
This book may not be reproduced in whole or part, by
mimeograph or any other means, without permission of the
author or Newsite Web Services, LLC
Published by Newsite Web Services, LLC|
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This book is a work of fiction.
Any resemblance to actual persons, places,
and events are purely coincidental.
E-book Edition ISBN 978-1-60850-323-0
Cover art by Korey Johnson
Cover image Credits: “In the Dark”
by denverphotopro/www.bigstockphoto.com,
“Tetonranch#Two” by mikenorton/www.bigstockphoto.com
All persons depicted on cover images are models and the
content is being used for illustrative purposes only.
Ch 1
Ch 2
Ch 3
Ch 4
Ch 5
Ch 6
Ch 7
Epilogue
Chapter One
Jenna Davenport climbed the stairs and opened the door to the office of Sutton and Sutton. She’d received a letter last week from the attorneys, requesting a meeting for some reason known only to them. When she’d called the number as the letter had instructed, the secretary couldn’t give her any information, and both Mr. Suttons were out of the office. But the girl had told Jenna that she needed to come into the office to talk to Mr. Sutton.
Jenna looked around the formal office for a few seconds before her gaze landed on the secretary, busily typing at her desk.
“Hello. May I help you?” the lady asked. Jenna couldn’t help but notice that not a single hair on the woman’s head dared to be out of place.
“I’m Jenna Davenport; I have an appointment with Mr. Sutton.” Jenna bit back a nervous giggle as she pictured the stuffy secretary asking, “And is that with Mr. Sutton or Mr. Sutton?”
“Oh! Hello, Ms. Davenport! Mr. Sutton’s waiting,” the secretary gushed, getting to her feet.
“Is that Mr. Sutton, or Mr. Sutton?” Jenna asked with a grin.
“I beg your pardon?” The lady blinked.
“Oh, never mind,” sighed Jenna, turning to follow the secretary’s rigid back down the corridor. What a stuffy place, Jenna thought to herself.
Jenna watched as the woman lightly rapped on a solid wood door, and then flung it open, motioning for Jenna to enter.
“Ms. Davenport is here to see you, Mr. Sutton,” the secretary informed her boss in a frosty tone.
“Thank you, Ms. Miller. Please have a seat, Ms. Davenport,” Mr. Sutton told Jenna after he stood and came around the desk to shake her hand.
She took the offered seat, then clasped her hands in her lap and looked expectantly up at him.
“You’re probably wondering why I asked you here today,” he said, shuffling papers around on his desk.
She nodded, “I was awake all night trying to figure out why you’d want to see me. The only thing I could come up with, was that you had the wrong Jenna Davenport!”
He gave her a gentle smile. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
She rolled her eyes, and then quickly dropped them to the floor, so he wouldn’t think she was being rude.
“Do you remember your uncle, Tim Davenport?” Mr. Sutton inquired.
Her head shot up, and she stared into space as the memories flooded through her brain. “I remember Uncle Tim. I used to spend summers on his ranch in Wyoming until he and Dad got into a big fight. That was the last any of us saw him, since nobody knew where he was.”
Mr. Sutton’s eyebrows shot up at her comment. “Now that’s really strange, because up until the time of his death, last month, he was still at the ranch!”
Jenna gasped, “Uncle Tim is dead?”
Mr. Sutton groaned, “I’m sorry, my dear, that isn’t how I planned on telling you.”
“What happened?” She asked, blinking back tears. She couldn’t believe he’d been at the ranch all this time, and even her Dad didn’t know it. Or did he? she wondered.
When her parents had divorced ten years ago, they’d used her as a pawn in some game of revenge against each other. When she turned eighteen, she informed her parents that she was moving in with a friend. That was the first time that her parents had ever agreed with each other, as they’d tried to keep her from leaving her mother’s home.
Her father had threatened to disinherit her, and she’d told him, “I don’t need your stupid money; I’m tired of you thinking that you can use it to run my life!” All through her teen years, her parents were always threatening her with disinheritance. She was so tired of hearing it, and she didn’t need her parent’s money; she had a job, and she could support herself without their help!
Her parents had been livid when she’d moved out, anyway. It was only about a year later when they both remarried, that they’d started leaving her alone. Now she only heard from them once every few months, which suited her just fine!
“Ms. Davenport? Are you all right?” asked Mr. Sutton in a worried voice.
“I’m sorry. I was miles away,” she apologized.
“That’s quite all right, my dear, I know you’ve had quite a shock; can I get you a glass of water or anything?” The elderly man asked gently.
She smiled and shook her head, “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. I’m fine.”
He stared at her for a moment before saying, “Then let’s continue—your uncle had a fatal heart attack last month, and according to his will, you, Ms. Davenport, are your uncle’s sole beneficiary.”
“Oh, my gosh!” She murmured.
“He’s left you the ranch, and all its holdings, along with his bank accounts, stocks and bonds that he owned.”
Jenna just blinked; she was again in a state of shock.
“There’s one stipulation, though—according to the will, you must live at the ranch for the next six months to inherit it. Otherwise, it’ll be sold, and the proceeds will go to charity.”
Jenna blinked back tears as she thought of her uncle leaving her the ranch, “If Uncle Tim wanted me to run his ranch, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.” She remembered how he’d always been so gentle with her; when she was afraid to get on a horse, he slowly worked with her until she was over her fear. She’d loved the summers she’d spent on the ranch, even if she couldn’t remember much about it now!
Mr. Sutton looked pleased at her decision. “That’s what your uncle was hoping for.” He glanced at his watch and sighed, “You have some livestock that the men from the neighboring ranch have been tending to, but I’m sure they’ll be glad to have you take over.”
Livestock? What was she supposed to do with livestock? Were dogs and cats considered livestock? She sure hoped so because that was as far as her animal knowledge went!
“Does anyone else live on the ranch?” Please say yes, she thought to herself.
“Your uncle had some ranch hands, but they all left after he passed away.”
“How about a manager?” Surely her uncle had someone who ran the ranch for him.
“That was your uncle,” he replied softly.
She frowned at his answer. This wasn’t looking good—how in the world would she manage a ranch with no experience? She sighed. Oh well; she’d always been a quick learner
!
He opened the desk drawer and pulled out a key ring “These keys go to the ranch, but I have no idea what they’re all for. I guess you’ll just have to try them all.” He thumbed through a few, “Now, a couple of these look like they might be for vehicles. I know your uncle had a couple of trucks, a car, and I’m not sure what else. I guess you’ll just have to let me know!”
Jenna groaned and took the huge ring of keys from his outstretched hand. Just think of the adventure this is going to be, she thought, heading out to her car.
The next afternoon, Jenna drove down the gravel road heading for the T Bar Ranch. She’d stopped in Sheridan and picked up a few groceries, and now was carefully watching the roadside for the turn that she knew would be coming up soon.
She looked out at the fenced pastureland full of grazing cows. She sure hoped that wasn’t part of her uncle’s land because she had no clue what to do with all of those pretty black and white animals! She sighed in relief when she passed a turnoff sporting a huge sign over the entryway that read, “Lazy C Ranch.” She slowed down and turned when she came to the sign that said “T Bar Ranch.” Finally, she was home!
Jenna blinked back tears as she looked at the farmhouse. She remembered the last time she’d arrived here and how her uncle had been waiting on the wide porch for them. They’d all hugged and had been so happy to see each other; what in the world had happened to break the family apart?
She’d made a desperate call to her father the night before and had been furious when he’d informed her that he’d known all along where his brother was, and that he could care less that he’d passed away.
Words had passed between father and daughter when he’d tried to forbid her from going to the ranch. She was furious, remembering that when she’d asked questions about her uncle years ago, she’d been brushed off with a lie that his whereabouts were unknown. She informed her father in no uncertain terms that she was going to the ranch, and per her uncle’s wishes, she’d be living there for six months. She didn’t expect to hear from her father again for a long time, and truthfully, she didn’t care!
Jenna climbed out of her car and went up the steps to the front porch. Her gaze fell on a worn rocking chair, and she smiled, remembering how her uncle always sat out here in the cool evenings enjoying “nature,” as he liked to call it. Jenna was happy that it only took her three trips to carry in all her luggage, food, and the cleaning supplies she’d brought. As she looked around at all the dusty rooms, she grabbed her duster and went to work.
The sun was just going down, leaving a beautiful sunset, as Jenna sat in her uncle’s rocker on the front porch. She was close to nodding off, listening to the birds chirping, when she was awakened by the sound of a vehicle coming down her road.
Jenna saw a late model pickup truck stop in front of the ranch house, and a young man jumped out.
“Hi! You must be Tim’s niece,” he said, giving her a friendly smile.
She watched as his long legs climbed the stairs in two steps, “I am, I’m Jenna.”
“Hello, Jenna, I’m Calvin.” He sat in the hardback chair next to hers.
“We have the Lazy C Ranch that borders your land,” he told her.
“Oh, I saw your ranch when I was driving here!” she told him with a grin.
“Yeah, it’s hard to miss,” he chuckled. Then he grinned and stood up. “I just stopped by to milk your cow since me and my brothers didn’t have any spare time earlier today. But now that you’re here, I guess we won’t need to do that anymore.”
She blinked, “Wait a minute! Milk a cow? What for?”
He looked at her, “Why for fresh milk, of course, just put it into your refrigerator to keep it cold, and all you need in the morning is a box of cereal!”
Her eyes got even wider, “You expect me to drink that stuff?”
“Unless you’re planning on saving it to bathe in,” he chuckled at her shocked expression.
“Do I have to milk the cow?” Jenna had no clue how to milk a cow. She didn’t remember her uncle having cows when she was last here. But then that was so many years ago, it was possible.
He looked at her quizzically, “Who else is going to do it?”
“Can’t the cows do like dogs always do, and just raise their legs and go?” She blurted out.
Calvin stared at her for a second before he burst out laughing, “I don’t think so, sweetheart!”
Still chuckling as he headed for the barn, he made quick work of it. Then after handing the bucket of milk to her, he mentioned that he or one of his brothers would stop by tomorrow to do the chores. Jenna watched wordlessly as he jumped into his truck and left.
She stared down at the bucket of milk with a small moue of distaste. How could anyone drink something that came right out of a cow, she wondered aloud, as she headed for the kitchen to pour it into a couple of jars she’d seen in the cupboard. She knew there were some kittens in the barn—tomorrow she’d give them a bowl of milk, she decided, placing the jars into the refrigerator.
That night, Jenna slept like a baby; she was so tired. She woke up fresh and raring to go. She wondered about her neighbors at the Lazy C; Calvin had mentioned that he had two older brothers and a sister that was about her age. Their ranch, seemingly, was a family run business, and from what she’d seen from the road, it was thriving!
Jenna sighed as she dressed—she didn’t know what she was going to do about her ranch. After pouring a cup of hot coffee, she headed for the front porch. How could she expect to live here, if she didn’t know anything about ranching? She didn’t even know what, if any, animals she owned!
She looked dejected when Calvin rode into view on his horse. He jumped down and grinned at her. “Why the long face, Jenna?”
Jenna blinked back tears, “Calvin, I have no idea what I’m even doing here. I don’t know if I own any animals. I don’t know how far my land goes, and I don’t even know what to do with the land that I own! How am I supposed to run a ranch, when I’m clueless?”
In all of Calvin’s nineteen years on this earth, tears were the one thing that always got to him; he couldn’t stand to see a woman crying.
“Jenna, I’ll talk to my older brother, Cord, tonight; I’m sure he’ll have an idea of what you can do. He’s the major shareholder of our ranch, now that our mom and dad have retired. Sometimes, I think that he knows everything,” Calvin told her with pride.
Jenna wiped away a tear, “Thank you, Calvin, I’d be so grateful if you’d talk to him.”
“Meanwhile, I can tell you that you have at least a couple hundred head of cattle, there’s two horses, a few chickens in the chicken coop, and one milk cow,” he informed her. “I know that Tim was planning on adding to his herd right before he passed away, but I don’t know how far he got in negotiations. I’m sure Cord knows, so I’ll ask him for you.”
Jenna felt a headache coming on; it was too much to handle. What was she going to do with all those animals? What did she feed them? She wondered if they liked fresh milk!
“I’ll have a couple of our hands come over and do your chores for now, and maybe later today, or tomorrow, we can find out what Cord thinks you should do. I’ll talk to ya later,” he told her, and then he climbed onto his horse and rode away.
Jenna spent the rest of the morning cleaning out her uncle’s study. She was glad when she noticed he had an up-to-date computer on the desk. Thank goodness for small mercies, she thought with a grin, as she sat in front of it and hit the power button.
It was early afternoon when she heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. She walked to the screen door and opened it to see a young woman exiting her car.
“Hello! I’m Cassandra Cummings from the Lazy C Ranch. I guess you’ve already met my brother, Calvin!”
Cassandra climbed the steps and handed her a coffee cake. “I thought we could have cake, coffee, and get to know each other!”
“Oh, Cassandra, this is so sweet! I’m so happy to meet you—please come in, and I’l
l put on a pot of coffee!” Jenna told her.
“Only if you call me Cassie,” was the laughing reply.
“And you must call me Jenna, especially since it’s my name,” Jenna told her, and they both giggled like schoolgirls.
“I’m sorry to hear about your uncle, Jenna,” Cassie told her with a gentle smile.
“Thank you, Cassie, I wish I’d known that he was still on the ranch,” Jenna murmured.
“What do you mean? He’s been here since I was a little girl,” replied Cassie.
Jenna took a deep breath, and then explained how her family had let her think they’d had no idea where he was. Cassie was shaking her head with disgust when Jenna finished her story.
“All those lost years,” moaned Cassie, “I know Tim once mentioned that he wished you’d get in touch with him. He knew that his brother had a lot to do with not being able to talk to you. He tried calling you a few times when you were younger, and they hung up on him. You were his only niece, and I know he adored you.”
“And I adored him. That’s why; somehow, I’m going to keep this ranch. It was his legacy to me, and I’m not giving it up!” Jenna told her with tears in her eyes.
Cassie reached out and touched her hand. “I know Calvin talked to Cord last night. I’m not sure what the outcome was, but I’m sure one of them will be over to talk to you today about your options. Cord is a great guy,” Cassie grinned, “Even if he is my bossy older brother!”
Jenna sighed loudly, “I thought that Uncle Tim’s attorney, Mr. Sutton, would give me some ideas on running the ranch, but he didn’t know anything. The only information he could give me was what my uncle’s holdings were. I don’t want to lose the wealth that he spent a lifetime building up!”
“Well, just wait and see what Cord says. I’m sure he’ll come up with some good ideas; he always does!” gushed Cassie.
Jenna was beginning to think that Cord sounded like some God! It wouldn’t surprise her, if they said he could walk on water!
The house seemed quiet after Cassie left, and Jenna couldn’t believe how much she liked the bubbly girl. She headed for the barn with the jar of milk, entered the dark, cool building and set a plastic bowl filled with fresh cow’s milk in a corner close to where she knew the kittens were. She figured someone or something should enjoy the milk because there was no way she was drinking it! She grinned as she watched the little kittens come running out from their hiding places in the hay and start lapping up the milk. She laughed delightedly when a little gray one kept trying to push the others out of his way. He was adorable; she might bring that one in the house when it grew a little bigger.
The Wyoming Inheritance Page 1