Declan stood and disappeared down the hall. When he came back, he was holding an envelope. "I found Dad's will."
Kayden's face lit up. He rubbed his hands together. "Finally."
"Dad's not dead yet, dickhead," Cassidy said, scowling at him.
"He could be. Open it," Kayden said.
Declan looked troubled as he broke the seal and pulled out the papers. He read silently for a moment.
"Cut the crap, Declan. What does it say?" Kayden said.
Declan cleared his throat and read the details of Dad’s will that, according to the date at the top, he’d only written six months ago. I wondered what had prompted him to write the will then?
"Koolaroo Ranch is to be given to Frank's oldest child,” Declan said, his gaze going to me.
The words hung in the air.
Kayden's face went from confused to furious in a heartbeat. "What the hell? You get the land? You've been gone for ten years while I busted my ass keeping this place running, and you inherit Koolaroo?" He shoved back from the table. "Fuck this! And fuck this family."
He stormed out.
I sat there, numb. "Why would he give Koolaroo to me? Kayden’s right. I don't deserve it."
Charlie rested her hand over mine. "Maybe it's his way of saying sorry for what he did to you."
I cringed.
"What did he do to you?" Cassidy's voice was sharp.
Charlie's eyes went wide. "Oh shit! I'm sorry. I thought?—"
"What did he do, Mitch?" Declan's tone left no room for evasion.
I looked at Cassidy. "You want to get Kayden back in here? He needs to know what kind of man Dad really is."
"We know he’s a bastard." The fire in her voice made me look at her harder. Maybe she had seen the real Frank Branson after all. If he'd ever laid a hand on her, I'd kill him. But slow, so he’d feel his life pouring out of him.
"Kayden needs time to cool off," Declan said. "Talk."
I took a breath. As I told them about Frank and Hannah, the woman they'd known well, Charlie's hand tightened on mine.
"He's an asshole." Cassidy's face went pale. "That's why you left?"
I nodded. "Got as far away as I could."
"You could’ve told us, you know." Cassidy looked so hurt. I wanted to punch myself.
I shook my head. "I couldn't think straight after that. I wanted nothing to do with this place."
The silence stretched.
"So, are you going to stay now?" The pleading in Cassidy's eyes nearly ripped my heart out.
"Maybe. Depends on whether Frank's dead or not."
"You going back to the army?" Declan asked.
"Don't know about that either. Officially, I'm on extended leave. When Dad went missing, I requested time off. First time in a decade. My CO said no. So, I decked him and walked out."