Wrangling The Cowboy's Heart. Carolyne Aarsen

don’t want to stay, you lose your part of the inheritance. If none of you want to stay, then I made other plans. Drake will let you know what happens if that’s the case. Dad.’”

      Jodie clutched the paper, stifling her annoyance. “This is so typical of Dad. Has he ever given us anything without a proviso attached? It seems as if every job or chore he wanted us to do was issued as a nonnegotiable decree.”

      “You might be reading more into this than meets the eye,” Lauren replied, ever the peacemaker. “You and Dad always had a volatile relationship.”

      Lauren knew only the half of it. When she and Erin turned eighteen, they’d stopped coming to the ranch. Both had gone to college and took on summer jobs, leaving Jodie to spend two more summers alone with their father. They’d fought at every turn, Jodie often on the receiving end of his anger.

      She tamped down the memories, as she always did when they threatened.

      And how are you going to keep them at bay for two months if you stay?

      “I always figured Dad and I never got along because I was the only one who got to see the big fight that changed everything,” Jodie said, fingering one edge of the letter.

      Jodie had been in the barn loft, playing with kittens, when she’d heard her parents’ raised voices below her. She’d come down to see her father yelling at their mother to leave the ranch and take her daughters with her. Jodie, shocked and defensive of her mom, had yelled at him not to talk to her that way. But he’d ignored her, walking away. Her mother and sisters had left the ranch the next day and Jodie had never forgiven him. She was only seven at the time.

      “It didn’t help that you always egged him on,” Lauren continued.

      “It also didn’t help that he never believed me when I told him I’d just been out with friends, and not partying like he always accused me of.”

      “Well, you were partying, toward the end.”

      “Only because I figured I may as well do what he always accused me of, and have fun.”

      “Was it fun?”

      Jodie caught the unspoken reprimand in her sister’s tone and looked down at the letter.

      It was an echo of the one she’d voiced whenever Jodie had tried to tell her sisters about what had really happened those summers alone on the ranch. They’d often questioned her, citing the steady antagonism between Jodie and her father as the reason. So she’d kept her mouth shut, endured her father’s alternating stony silences and spewing anger.

      And, increasingly, his physical punishment.

      “So what do we do about this?” Jodie said, resting her elbows on the scarred Formica table.

      “I’m too busy to take two months away from work,” Lauren said, clutching her coffee mug. “Things are too iffy with my job. Would it stand up in court if we don’t agree to the terms of the letter? Could we still sell the ranch and get the money?”

      “This document was verified by the lawyer...” Jodie let the sentence fade away as she skimmed the letter again. Her father’s distinct scrawl covered the page, and below that was a note from Drake Neubauer proving this was indeed Keith McCauley’s handwriting and that this was a legal and binding document. “I can see why Dad wanted us to read this after the funeral. I’m sure if I heard it before, I would have had a hard time concentrating on the service.”

      Not that Finn’s presence had made it easier.

      “What do you suppose the ranch is worth?” Lauren asked.

      “Enough to help us out in our own ventures, I would guess,” Jodie said. “Might be something you’d want to look into before you decide you can’t do this.”

      “And you?”

      Jodie shrugged. “Money’s never been that important to me.”

      Lauren looked as if she was about to say something more when their waitress brought a bowl of soup and a salad for Lauren, pizza and onion rings for Jodie.

      “That is the most unhealthy combination of foods I can imagine,” Lauren sniffed as the waitress left.

      “It feeds my soul as well as my stomach,” Jodie said, grabbing the bottle of ketchup to douse her onion rings. “Comfort food.”

      “I guess we could both use some of that.” Lauren gave her a rueful smile, then bowed her head.

      With a guilty start Jodie realized her sister was praying a silent blessing over her food. Belatedly she followed suit.

      Forgive me, Lord, she prayed. I haven’t talked a lot to You lately. I’m sorry. I haven’t felt as if I have the right. My life’s been a mess, so I guess I could use some help there. Regret and remorse rose up again as the memories surfaced. But she caught herself in time. The past was done, even though the pain and repercussions lingered.

      She finished her prayer with a thank-you for her food.

      “So tell me about this music gig you’ll be doing?” Lauren asked. “Any future in it?”

      Trust her to cut to the chase. Ever the older sister, Lauren had always been after Jodie to find something that gave her a career.

      “It’s not a huge job and there’s no guarantee,” Jodie said. “But if it goes well, there’s a good chance that the band will open for this new breakout group. We might be touring with them.”

      “Might be.”

      Jodie waved off Lauren’s comment. “Everything in this business is hearsay or odds. Besides, I’ll find work waitressing if I need to fill in any gaps.”

      “And what about your composing? Would you be able to keep doing that?”

      “I don’t know if I’d have the time,” Jodie said, feeling a vague pang. “If this gig doesn’t happen, I’ll work enough to save up for a trip to Thailand. Maybe write some music there.”

      “Running again?”

      Jodie felt a flare of indignation at the censure in her sister’s voice. “It’s called traveling. Expanding your horizons. You should try it sometime instead of tying yourself to your job.”

      “My job gives me security. Something you don’t seem to have. Besides, I don’t know how you can afford all these trips.”

      “Simple. No obligations. Nothing pinning me down. Free as a bird.” Jodie waved her hand as if underlining her mantra. “Driving an old car and taking in tips help.”

      “You’ll never settle down, living the life you do. You’ll never find anyone.”

      “Don’t need anyone. Not after Lane.”

      “Lane was a mistake. I don’t think the two of you were suited to each other.”

      Though she knew Lauren was right, her sister’s comment struck at Jodie’s latent insecurities. It had taken her almost a year to get past the anger and pain she felt when her former fiancé had broken up with her.

      He had asked for his ring back after he saw a stranger flirting with Jodie while she worked her second job, playing piano at a bar.

      Lane had always wanted her to quit that job. He’d felt that, as the son of a US senator, he had a reputation to uphold.

      But Jodie knew she had no other marketable skills. She valued her independence and the money she made, so she’d stayed with it. Then one night one of her regular patrons had sat down beside her, put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek just as Lane had come in. Jodie had denied there was anything going on between them, but Lane had chosen not to believe her and had asked for his ring back.

      Two weeks later she’d found out he was dating the daughter of a minister. A much more suitable woman for someone like him.

      Jodie hadn’t been in a serious relationship