The Maverick. Carrie Alexander

Grandmother.”

      She shook him off once she was on level ground. “I might have one foot in the grave, but I’m not dead yet. If you’ve come back to inherit, it’ll be a long wait, young man.”

      You wish, old lady.

      Luke refused to rise to her bait. “No problem. I assumed you went to the lawyers and changed the will years ago,” he said, then couldn’t help adding, “Leaving it all to Heath. As it should be. He deserves it.”

      She stiffened her neck. “I reward loyalty.”

      “But you revere blood.”

      She refused his bait as well. “Rightly so. The Lucases have an honorable history in this state. Jefferson Lucas homesteaded this land at the turn of the century. His nephew was a state senator during the days when politicians were honorable. Even your father has managed to double our net worth.”

      “Pretty good, considering he’s only a Salinger.”

      “The Salingers are an important family as well. I approved the match.” Mary nodded, her cane tap-tapping up the stone steps. They’d never had the confrontation he’d intended, so Luke couldn’t figure out whether she didn’t know or simply didn’t care that he’d discovered the dirty little secrets that hadn’t made it into the public version of the Lucas family history.