Needing to think of something else, she glanced around the room and saw that Garlan had Shauna Barnes all to himself. Just like Dylan Emanuel had garnered a lot of attention when he arrived last night, so did Shauna today. Although the Westmorelands were accustomed to her presence in their midst, because Shauna visited frequently due to her close friendship with Pam, they thought it was wonderful she could attend today’s event, despite her busy schedule in Hollywood.
Iris smiled upon remembering when, in his early teens, Garlan had a serious crush on her. Shauna had graduated from the same university as Pam and Iris and had immediately begun auditioning for roles in Hollywood. Rental property in LA wasn’t cheap. Iris, who had two extra guest rooms in her home, had offered Shauna a place to stay after she graduated, so she could afford her first car to get to her auditions. Shauna was a wonderful houseguest and would often pick up Garlan from soccer and baseball practice whenever Iris worked late.
Although it appeared that Shauna was hanging on to Garlan’s every word, Iris could tell her focus was elsewhere. Iris followed her gaze and lifted a brow when it settled on Graham Ives, the drummer in Dylan Emanuel’s band. Graham was crossing the floor to where the other Techstones band members stood in a huddle. He seemed totally unaware he was being watched with such intensity. Just that morning, Iris had overheard a group of young teenage girls commenting on how cute the drummer was. Yes, she would have to concur that he was definitely that.
“You’re ready to begin, Iris?”
She turned when Pam approached her, claiming her attention. Grinning, she said, “Yes, I’m ready.”
“Then let’s get this show on the road.”
* * *
“We really wish you would reconsider, Matt.”
Matt glanced into the faces of his three triplet cousins. Clint, the oldest of the three, was doing the talking, but the expressions of the other two were just as serious. They had an issue with him not accepting the property his father had wanted him to have. Namely, the three thousand acres of land on the south ridge of Clint’s property. Presently, the land was operated by the Sid Roberts Foundation as a reserve. A significant number of wild horses were saved from slaughter by being shipped to Clint. He would turn them loose to roam free on the south ridge.
“That tract of land belongs to the foundation, and I want to keep it that way. I refuse to take land from the horses,” Matt said.
“And you won’t be,” Cole chimed in. “We recently looked at the surveyor’s report of the property, and there are four hundred acres adjacent to the south ridge that are not being used for the horses.”
“And it will be perfect for you to build your home,” Casey added, smiling brightly, as if that settled it. She and her husband, McKinnon, were expecting their fourth child. They had three sons after giving birth to twins just over a year ago.
“My home?” Matt asked, trying to keep up with what they were saying. What in the world would he do with four hundred acres of property in Texas?
As if he’d spoken that question aloud, Casey said, “Although Cole and I live in Montana, we still have homes on the Golden Glade Ranch. We know that’s how Uncle Sid would have wanted it, to be part of our legacy, and we know he would want it to be a part of yours. Think of it as a vacation getaway when you need one.”
Matt released a deep sigh. This wasn’t the first time the triplets had cornered him about this issue, and he figured it wouldn’t be the last. He would have to admit the thought of a getaway place in Texas sounded nice. He eyed the three and then asked, “And you’re sure it won’t take away from the horses?”
“Positive,” all three said simultaneously with eager smiles.
He drew in a deep breath while shaking his head. When he first met them, he doubted he knew anyone else like them. Their love and devotion to family, especially for their Uncle Sid, was extraordinary. It was also contagious.
They had explained how, when their mother, Carolyn Roberts, first discovered she was pregnant at twenty-four, she had moved to Beaumont, Texas, to live with an older aunt and uncle who were deeply religious and would not have accepted her being an unwed mother. For that reason, she had fabricated the story that she had married a man who had been a bronco rider in the rodeo, who had been killed while competing. That man’s name was Corey Westmoreland, and she was a widow, Carolyn Roberts Westmoreland. The only nugget of truth in her story was that Corey Westmoreland had fathered her babies.
While living with her aunt and uncle, she discovered that when her parents divorced, the father she hadn’t known had taken her brother from his first marriage—who was ten years older than her—with him. At the time of the divorce, her father hadn’t known his wife was pregnant. Carolyn Roberts had been born seven months later. Her mother never contacted her father to let him know that he had a daughter.Also, according to her aunt and uncle, her brother was also on the rodeo circuit. She wrote to him. Timing was perfect because the day before her brother, Sid Roberts, showed up in Beaumont to meet her was the day her aunt and uncle demanded she show them her marriage license and Corey’s death certificate. If she couldn’t do so, they wanted her to leave.
Her brother, upon discovering their demands, offered her a chance to leave with him. He had purchased land in Austin and had built a ranch there. He took her to his ranch and suggested she stick with the fabricated story that she was Carolyn Roberts Westmoreland. When the triplets were born, their last name was Westmoreland. Sid and his sister had made up for the time they had been apart and became very close.
The triplets told him how their Uncle Sid, along with Chester, had been there for them from the day they were born; and how their uncle had passed his love of horses on to them, as well as teaching them all that he knew. He ensured that they, along with their mother, not only had a place to stay but also a place to call home.
Matt appreciated all the personal information both his godmother and the triplets shared about his father. The only thing he’d known about Sid Roberts was a young boy’s fascination with him as a cowboy. Now he was learning more and more about his father from the people who’d known him—his rodeo friends, Chester and the triplets—as the kind man he’d been.
“The three of you won’t let up until I agree, will you?” he asked.
“No, we won’t,” Cole said, grinning. “When our father, Corey, discovered we existed, he didn’t hesitate to include us as part of his legacy on his mountain.”
“Dad explained he wasn’t taking away what he planned to give anyone else, he was sharing it,” Clint added. “By now, you know the Westmorelands have no problem sharing.”
Matt could believe that. He had met their father, Corey Westmoreland, and his wife, Abby, the night of Cheyenne’s birthday party. The older man had welcomed him to the Westmoreland family and said that when you are connected to any Westmoreland, you become an honorary member of the family. The man’s words had been moving and similar to what all the other Westmorelands had said.
Casey then spoke, intruding on Matt’s thoughts. “That land is your birthright, Matt. Yours and Deena’s, who is Sid’s granddaughter. A granddaughter that he would have been proud of.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute, too emotional. They were right, Deena was Sid Roberts’s granddaughter, and he believed his father would have been proud of her, just like he was. “I’ll think about it and promise to give you my answer.” Before they could ask when that would be, he quickly added, “Soon.”
“And you better believe we will hold you to that,” Clint said, smiling. Cole and Casey were smiling as well.
He returned their smiles, knowing they would.