“She came to me last night in tears. I thought it was likely something in her own letter from Brett, but obviously it wasn’t,” he said, and Peony waved her hands.
“I don’t mind. I figured she would’ve pestered me until I gave it to her anyway. Was quite a letter. Brett was never very verbose in life, but his flair for the written word was always a bit less restrained. He had a beautiful soul. I wish it hadn’t been buried so deep inside him.”
“He loved you, Peony,” Jake replied, and she nodded, a frown flitting over her face, quickly masked, her steel back in place.
“Brett gave me a second chance at a decent life. He gave my daughter and me a place to call home, and a living. I can never repay him for that, other than to ensure his memory isn’t lost.”
“It won’t be. I don’t think it could be,” Jake admitted, and sighed as he slouched, realizing that what Brett was to this place was now on his shoulders in a different way. Now it wasn’t about solving a problem; it was about not letting the place fail. The work ahead of him was daunting. He hoped he could handle it.
“What is it?” Peony asked, and he smiled tiredly and shrugged.
“Justhope I can get it right, is all. This is going to be a huge change for me.”
Peony leaned into him and patted his leg as she held his eye. “You have us, my dear. Besides, you’re a West. It isn’t in your nature to be wrong.”
He let that sink in as she took a sip of coffee, then took another breath and finished her thought. “You have Liz too. And if I am not mistaken, I think that is for life.”
Jake grinned then and bowed his head. “Yeah, I think so. Or as long as she’ll put up with me. I’m not the easiest man out there, I can be a stubborn prick sometimes.”
“As I said. You’re a West, my dear. Comes with the territory,” Peony quipped back. “Now, let’s get moving on today’s lunch, shall we? I think you have a lot of paperwork to get to.”
* * *
Frank drove out just after lunch, canceling his entire afternoon to come and see for himself. As he and Jake sifted through all the documents, Frank muttered and cursed under his breath, shaking his head and groaning about how sneaky Brett had been. Ultimately, as he finished sorting it all, he looked relieved.
They decided to get the letters amended so all three brothers were equal partners. The will didn’t need to be challenged with the new documents they’d found, so it was an easy fix from Frank’s end.
“I wish you’d found this sooner or at least made this damned decision before now.”
“You and me both, Frank. It would have solved a lot of headaches. But I also think, in some way, this entire episode was necessary, and Brett knew what it would do. It did bring me here, which was what he wanted. We’ll never know why he just signed it all over to me but never once contacted me.”
“Maybe he was afraid you wouldn’t want anything to do with him and his plan would fail if he did,” Frank mused. “As a parent, it’s a constant fear of mine that I’m letting my children down. For Brett, he had regrets, and it colored everything he did, I think.”
“I wish to hell we could ask him what happened with Brady,” Jake said. “That’s still a mystery, but we’re not pushing him to talk about it. He needs time.”
“Thatisa mess, isn’t it? Any idea who his father is?” Frank asked, stretching his shoulders. There was nothing in any of the paperwork that indicated Brett knew. Other than the omission of Brady’s name from the documents.
Peony appeared in the doorway with fresh coffee and set the steaming mugs down in front of them. She looked over the documents, which included her letter.
Frank had reluctantly asked for it because it was in Brett’s writing and would prove the life insurance policy was to go to her without any further need to investigate. Peony had handed it over, and Frank had read it, wiping his eyes afterward.
“I know who it is. I’ve known for a long time,” Peony answered as she sat across from them.
“Oh? Who?” Frank asked, leaning forward. “A dalliance with the rancher next door? Do we have any legal worries to come from it?”
“No. It’s long settled, and unless Brady decides he wants it known, I’ve already told him I’ll keep it to myself.” Peony chided Frank, and then changed the subject. “Remind me to give you the stack of books I have for your wife before you go.”
“We’re just about done here, so why don’t you grab them now?” Frank replied andhmphed as she left. “She’s a tease, that one.”
Jake laughed as they finished the to-do list and gathered everything up. Frank had to file some forms and said he would be back out next week with the partnership documents to wrap up.
Jake walked him out to his car, and Frank stopped in the middle of the gravel driveway in front of the house, looking out around him, squinting into the bright sunlight.
“Brett was an interesting man. Known him a long time, and even I was blindsided by all this,” he mused.
“I’ve gathered that,” Jake replied. “I’ve come to know a little about who he was, being here, rummaging through his life. Learned more about myself than I expected too.”
“It would have been a thing to see you two beside one another, standing man to man and making amends,” Frank remarked.
