Where There's a Will (7 page)
Bailey Bradford
41
“Carlos, this is my brother, Rory Calhoun. Rory, the…foreman?” Carlos started to nod, stopped and shrugged instead. He didn’t know if he still had a job. “Of the Mossy Glenn,”
Nick finished weakly, narrowing his eyes at Carlos.
Rory offered his hand, which Carlos took and shook firmly. “We talked to you when Dad died,” he said in a soft, deep voice that held echoes of pain.
Carlos nodded. He’d not thought about how this might hurt Nick’s siblings, the ones who’d been cut from the will when their dad died, leaving the ranch to Nick, a brother neither Rory nor his sister Annabelle had even known existed. “You’re right, I did,” Carlos murmured, his other hand tightening around the papers he held.
Everything had just got a lot more complicated. He debated for a moment internally then decided Nick, who’d given up the ranch in order to have a chance to know Rory and Annabelle, would probably want to include them in this shit hole of a mess. Family drawing together and such, which Carlos didn’t know a hell of a lot about, but he wasn’t stupid.
“Got some bad news about the Mossy G,” he began, only to have Nick hold up a hand.
Carlos closed his mouth and clutched the papers tighter.
“Can we wait until Annabelle gets here?” Nick asked. “She shouldn’t be but a few minutes longer. We can have some iced tea while we wait on her. She and Rory both should know about whatever’s going on at the Mossy Glenn.”
“Yeah, sure. I ain’t going anywhere for now.” Carlos didn’t know where he’d go after he told Nick and his siblings what was going on, either. Antonia had been a screeching, pissed off, threat-hurling bitch when Carlos had told her he was going to talk to Nick. The scratches and bruises on his chest still throbbed when he thought about the nasty scene back at the Mossy G.
“Come on in, then, and meet Chance and Josh,” Rory offered. He started to turn then stopped and flicked a glance at Nick before pinning Carlos with a look that was surprisingly, to him anyways, fierce. “Annabelle and her husbands will be here. If you have a problem with someone being in a relationship like theirs, you might ought to go ahead and just tell me and Nick what’s going on.”
Carlos about rolled his eyes, the very thing he detested and had wanted to smack Martine for doing. Well, now he kinda understood the reason for doing it. Like he could say anything about someone else having a ménage, although—he was a bit surprised with the www.total-e-bound.com
WHERE THERE’S A WILL
Bailey Bradford
42
‘husbands’ part. Seemed to imply Annabelle and her fellas were serious and in a long-term relationship. Carlos hadn’t known if that was possible.
“Not gonna say anything about it,” Carlos said when it dawned on him he’d better speak before the silence stretched any thinner. “I don’t care what other people do with their parts, or who they love.” Carlos shrugged. Doing so would be the height of hypocrisy, considering. Hell, he’d have to run for political office if he were gonna go being all hypocritical. He’d rather be shot in the ‘nads. “I give my word,” he added when Rory still hesitated.
“He’s fine.” Nick squeezed Rory’s shoulder. “Carlos doesn’t look fazed, does he? I imagine he’s seen a lot.”
Which was a nicer way of saying Carlos had lived a long time and seen everything, which was nicer too than saying he was fucking old. Carlos didn’t think forty-six was as old as Nick seemed to be implying—and Nick wasn’t too damned far behind him, anyway. If Carlos glowered a little at the brothers’ backs, he figured he was allowed.
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WHERE THERE’S A WILL
Bailey Bradford
43
Carlos set the papers beside him on the couch and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.
He’d thought he was just going to be talking to Nick, then Nick and Rory, then—well hell, he hadn’t realised he’d be giving a speech to a large audience. He looked over the men and woman gathered in the living room and forced himself not to gulp.
He scratched at his chest, then grunted when a hot spike of pain shot out from the scratches Antonia had left behind. God, he was so tired. The fight with Antonia, the drive, the stress, then the physical activity from earlier—Carlos was about ready to drop. He’d been mildly uncomfortable thanks to Antonia’s freak out, but had managed to forget about it thanks to the incredible endorphin rush of having two handsome men wanting to play. Now he wondered if he hadn’t overdone it. Or maybe he was just old.
One of Annabelle’s men—Justin, if he hadn’t got the names screwed up—leaned over and kissed Annabelle’s cheek while rubbing a hand over her protruding stomach. The other man, Evan, then, caught Carlos looking and raised an eyebrow at him. Yeah, Carlos could just imagine all the gossip and questions the threesome must face, especially with her being pregnant and all.
“Congratulations,” he said, tipping his chin at the trio when Evan’s expression started to turn into a glower. Carlos hoped his smile conveyed his sincerity, and maybe it did since Evan’s features melted into a face-splitting grin.
“Thanks. We’re pretty happy about it.” Evan rubbed Annabelle’s stomach then twined his fingers with Justin’s over her belly.
Annabelle rolled her eyes. “Happy, and overprotective. You’d think women didn’t give birth every damn minute somewhere.”
Carlos was old enough and wise enough not to comment on her statement, but he understood wanting to protect someone you cared about—in theory, at least. He hadn’t ever been in love, so it was kinda hard to imagine, but he thought he’d probably be pretty protective himself.
“Aren’t they just cute?”
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WHERE THERE’S A WILL
Bailey Bradford
44
Carlos looked at the dark-haired man dressed in a vibrant pink shirt so tight Carlos could see the man’s pointed nipples as well as the delineated muscles of his abs.
He’d be
trouble. Not the bad kind, but the kind that changed your life and shook you up.
That was Josh, and Nick looked at him with such adoration it made Carlos’ chest ache.
His thoughts flicked back to the two men he’d left behind at the club and he glanced at Annabelle and her men again. Could something like a threesome really work out? They seemed happy enough, but would they still be together in a few years? Carlos kind of thought so, if the sappy look the men wore was any kind of a tell. Annabelle was a harder read, but he suspected there was a big heart behind her tough façade.
Rory was saying something about being an uncle twice over as he gave his sister a fond smile. Carlos wondered if he’d keel over from all the sweet, syrupy emotions passing between all the couples…and the trio. When Rory’s partner, Chance, hooked an arm around Rory’s hips and pulled the blond back against him, Carlos looked away, unable to watch, afraid the longing he hadn’t even known existed in him would be easily detected by the others.
Someone cleared their throat and Carlos looked up to find all eyes on him, which was unnerving. He shrugged it off—he’d never failed to do what was necessary. Carlos picked up the papers and centred his attention on Nick.
“You’re mama has about run the ranch into the ground.” Carlos held out the financial records he’d brought, including the ones listing all the loans and the mortgage Antonia had all but sunk the Mossy Glenn with.
Nick darted a glance to his siblings. Annabelle and Rory got up—well, in Rory’s case, the man disengaged himself from Chance’s hold—and they gathered around Nick as he took the papers.
“Shit,” Nick muttered, Annabelle echoing the curse word and Rory biting his bottom lip. “What the hell has she done with all the money? This is…this is more than the ranch would sell for! And—” Nick grunted as he looked at the other papers. “She had you sell most of the stock?”
Carlos shook his head. “No, I had to sell most of the stock just to pay the men and the bills. Clively’s was threatening to shut off our account with them, and no one else was gonna take us on if they cut us off.” Clively’s was the feed store the Mossy Glenn used. They were the closest store, too, and screwing over Clively’s was unthinkable. It was ironic, really.
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WHERE THERE’S A WILL
Bailey Bradford
45
Carlos had to sell off a good portion of the livestock in order to pay the past-due bill, but if he hadn’t there’d have been no pay for the men and no food for the remaining stock.
“I didn’t know how deep she’d run the place into the ground, Nick.” Carlos felt the guilt of his wilful ignorance, as if he’d been the one to all but destroy the Mossy G. “There were rumours and stuff about your mama’s crazy spending. I just figured…” He stopped. It wouldn’t be polite to say he’d figured she was an evil pendeja and crazy to boot. And he was a sorry son of a bitch, wasn’t he? Because he didn’t think he’d have bothered to come back to the Mossy Glenn if Antonia hadn’t begged.
“There’s no figuring her out,” Nick said as he handed the papers to Chance. “She’s the most hateful person I’ve ever met.”
“Then her and Daddy must have made a perfect pair,” Annabelle snarked. “If they’d stayed together they’d have probably killed each other. Or taken over the world.”
Rory sent Annabelle a chiding look even as he tried to muffle a chuckle. Nick nodded and Carlos rubbed at the scratches because they suddenly seemed to be burning his skin.
Chance’s low whistle drew all of their attention to him. The handsome older man—not older than Carlos, he didn’t think—looked at Rory.
“This is… I don’t know if we can do anything to stop the ranch from going under.”
Chance rubbed his forehead as if something was thumping on the backside of his brow. “I know it’s y’all’s—should be y’all’s, but I just don’t see how we can save it.”
Carlos tried not to cringe. He should have come sooner, but he hadn’t known until he’d grown a pair and rifled through Antonia’s office just how fucked the finances were. The evil woman had borrowed and borrowed with no thought to how the money had to be paid back.
And for what? So she could have more shoes than any woman could wear in a lifetime?
Honestly, Carlos didn’t know what she’d spent it on, besides a new car. He wished he’d looked for receipts or proof of what she’d done with so much money, but he’d been thunderstruck when he’d found the loan papers and the past due notices for them.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, guilt tightening his chest. He didn’t know what else to say, not with everything tangling up in him like it was.
“Do we want to try to keep the Mossy Glenn?” Annabelle asked, and even Carlos could hear the sadness tingeing her voice. “What are our options, anyway? Buy it? Would your mother sell it to us?”
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WHERE THERE’S A WILL
Bailey Bradford
46
Carlos dragged his gaze up from his boots to find Nick staring at him. His former boss frowned. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. I left there knowing she didn’t know jack shit about ranching. If anyone’s at fault, it’s me.”
There were several objections to Nick’s claim, and Carlos, feeling like the odd man out, stood and started to make his way out of the living room while the siblings and their partners all seemed to be talking at once. He almost made it to the front door before rapid footsteps behind him and the sound of Annabelle calling his name stopped him. Carlos clenched his hand around the doorknob but didn’t turn around.
“Where are you going? Nobody blames you for this crazy bi—woman’s actions.”
Carlos blamed himself enough for all of them. He jumped when Annabelle laid a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, come back in here. I’m sure Nick would like to talk to you.
Where are you staying while you’re here?”
“Hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Carlos admitted before he could think better of it.
“Don’t know if I’ll be going back to Montana, either. Least not to the Mossy G, since Antonia fired me over wanting to contact Nick.”
“God, what a bitch,” Annabelle muttered. “I was trying not to cuss so much, but sometimes there’s just no other words.”
Carlos agreed, but he wasn’t going to say so. When he still didn’t move or speak, Annabelle moved around to his side until she could look at him. Carlos couldn’t refuse to meet her gaze. He wasn’t a coward, despite what it might have looked like. Her dark blue eyes seemed to sear right into his head.
“I’m sorry no one told you
you
had no reason to be sorry.” Annabelle scowled and shook her head. “We can be a bunch of idiots, sometimes, and we were all a little flummoxed about what Nick’s mom has done to the ranch. Still, that’s no excuse, is it? I swear, I have got to get my head out of my as—butt.”
Carlos almost smiled at the slip, since Annabelle slapped one hip and muttered something about how wide that particular area had become. “It’s okay, I’m just, I dunno, not in the best frame of mind, I reckon.” He was tired and guilt-laden and frustrated, and his damn chest hurt, and he kept thinking about Troy and Will and wondering if the two men had hooked up after he’d left and if they’d have their own happy ending without him.
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Bailey Bradford
47
“Jesus,” he snorted, shaking his head when Annabelle gave him a questioning look.
“Too much going on up here, and none of it making any damn sense,” Carlos said as he tapped the side of his head, below the rim of his hat.
Annabelle frowned at him. “You look kinda sweaty and flushed. Are you feeling okay?” Her eyes widened. “You’re not having a heart attack are you? Pain in your left arm?”
Carlos didn’t know whether to be offended or touched but was kinda leaning towards the first when Annabelle hollered loud enough to wake the dead three counties over.
“Joshie!”
“Holy shit,” Carlos grumbled, lifting off his hat and swiping at his forehead. He was kind of sweaty. “No, I ain’t having a heart attack, or I wasn’t until you about stopped my heart with your shrieking.” What he was, was tired to the point of exhaustion, and sore, and despondent, which he really didn’t want to think about.