“Caleb died over three years ago.”
“Apparently, Dad—along with three of our five uncles—think the will is negotiable.”
Thankfully two of their uncles, Gage and John, were on Abe and Luke’s side.
Luke cursed under his breath, low and vicious. “Dad didn’t care about any of Caleb’s properties until he realized their worth. He let Caleb rot while he was dying of cancer.”
Abe nodded. “Now that we’re building something good, Dad wants a piece.”
He studied the Shenandoah Mountains in the distance, quiet and snow-covered. Somewhere up there was the cabin he and Daphne were headed to, the one his granddad, Caleb, had built with his own hands and left to his youngest son Gage.
Gage allowed his nieces and nephews to use the cabin whenever they wanted because he was kind and generous… unlike Abe’s father Isaiah who was a ruthless, greedy bastard.
Not far from the cabin was a piece of property nicknamed the old fairgrounds. Caleb had hunted from that property, survived winter storms in it, and once hid there when a federal agent got too curious about his outlaw motorcycle club activity in the ‘80s. During the summers, Caleb had even allowed a traveling circus to set up there until something bad happened to Abe’s mother.
That ground was in his blood, in the blood of his five brothers. So, of course their father wanted to claw that property away out of spite.
Luke kicked a patch of slush. “We don’t just lose a legacy, Abe. If this goes sideways, we lose our investment. Everything we’ve poured into the business will disappear.”
Abe had recently left his army officer commission behind, and Luke had given up his law career and his surf shop in Miami for one reason. To open an outfitter business on the old fairgrounds Caleb had left them.
Their four older brothers, who’d inherited other properties, had offered to invest in the outfitter business. But Abe and Luke had wanted to do this together, on their own. It was a twin thing.
“I know.” Abe’s voice was flat. “I got the same letter.”
“Did you call the lawyer?”
“Yeah. He’s not optimistic. Says if it gets in front of the wrong judge, we’re screwed. Uncle Gage gave me the name of another lawyer in D.C. who can help us. But it’ll cost money.”
“We don’t have a choice. We need to fight Dad on this.”
Abe sighed. “I’ll set up a meeting for next week, after Christmas.”
Luke was quiet for a beat, then he looked sideways at him. “You bringing the ring to the cabin?”
Abe hesitated.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to propose to Daphne. He did. He wanted to wake up next to her every morning for the rest of his life. Wanted to see her dance again, not for the world, but for herself. Wanted to eat her terrible scrambled eggs and hold her while she overthought everything.
But marriage? When everything was this uncertain?
Luke raised a brow. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
“No,” Abe said. Then after a breath, “I’m not sure she’s ready.”
“She’snot sure she’s ready,” Luke corrected. “There’s a difference.”
“She’s deciding what comes next. Her therapy in Manhattan is going well and she’s working out like a beast. But she may never again dance at the highest level. She may never reclaim her crown as one of the world’s best prima ballerinas. I don’t want her to feel like she owes me something because I stuck around her when she was at her lowest.”
“She doesn’t.” Luke clapped a hand on Abe’s shoulder. “And she’ll say yes, bro. You two have that... I don’t know. Old-soul stuff.”
Abe looked toward the dance studio across the street. The glass was slightly fogged, but she stood near the barre, surrounded by girls in pink leotards.
The shape of her eyes and tilt of her head told him she was laughing. With her sweater hanging off one shoulder and her hair in a bun, she belonged in that room. Not just center stage.Not just spotlighted. Just present. Whole, even if she didn’t know it yet.
Luke followed his gaze. “See? That look on your face? You’re gone.”
Abe didn’t deny it. “Let’s hope she doesn’t run when I ask her.”
