“My father had more than one affair. As you well know. And he’s responsible for his own behavior. He’s the one who made vows to my mother, not you. And ultimately, while I don’t blame my mother for trying to keep you away from him, trying to protect what little she did have, it wasn’t the right thing to do. She shouldn’t have done it. We should have had the chance to get to know our half brothers. And so, I want to make sure I fix that. And I want to make sure that...when it comes to inheritance, and all of that...he deserves a cut when the time comes. Because if the money is Hank’s, and not ours, and it’s going to his children...then that should include all his children.”

“Well, aren’t you an honorable one,” she said, her voice tight. “That’s a surprise.”

“I’m not honorable. I’m Hank’s son, through and through. But I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

“Well, he doesn’t live here anymore. He’s in Texas. I don’t have his current address, but if you want to try to get in touch with him his name is West Caldwell.”

“Can you get in touch with him?”

She shook her head. “We are not on speaking terms.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said.

“Family,” she said. “What are you going to do?”

“You’re telling me,” Gabe said. “Here’s how you can contact me. If you need anything. You’re right. Family’s complicated. But in a way, you’re part of mine.”

Gabe was glad he had the whole drive back to the ranch to get a handle on himself.

* * *

JAMIE HAD TAKEN every single horse out for a brief ride—very brief—but every single one, and was getting antsy by the time Gabe’s truck pulled into the property. She didn’t know why, but she had a strange feeling of intense anxiety over his whereabouts. The fact that he hadn’t answered her texts hadn’t helped.

It wasn’t like she didn’t expect him to have other things going on, but normally, he would have just answered the text and told her where he was, rather than ignoring her, or being all cloak-and-dagger. Which was what this felt like. The fact that he hadn’t been at the ranch when she had arrived that morning had seemed... Well, it was weird. And she had no real reason to think that, except that her gut was telling her it was a little bit messed up. And she was going to have to go with her gut on this one. She put Gus away, and then walked out to the front of the barn, hands on her hips. “Where have you been?”

“I went to talk to Leonora Caldwell.”

She frowned. “I don’t know who that is.”

“The mother of one of my half brothers.”

She blinked. “I thought you were going to... I thought I was going to help with that?”

“I found her easy enough, and I didn’t see the point to trouble you.”