Mama’s casket had barely been lowered into the ground when Grams and DB had told me that the fate of the ranch rested on my shoulders, and that my brothers were looking up to me. Dad had the company to worry about.

I’d done it. I’d raised my three younger brothers and run the ranch that Mama had managed from when I was thirteen until I’d left home at eighteen. Then I’d poured myself into the company. Because that had been what was expected too.

Now that included getting married?

I wasn’t against the idea, but the few times I’d tried to see someone, I’d been left disappointed. They wanted to date Aiden King, the prince of an oil empire. Aiden King, the face that graced the billboards with his dad—only once, but that had been more than enough. Aiden King, the guy who’d built a big house to go with that massive paycheck.

They’d heard about the private jet. They’d heard about my salary. They’d seen the local magazine feature about the custom home I’d built outside of town along the Yellowstone River. They wanted the lifestyle. Not me. And certainly not my schedule.

“That’s not the worst of it.” Grams’s heel dug into the carpet. If she wasn’t careful, she’d shred a hole in the material.

Ellis’s head did a passable imitation of a bobblehead’s. “Right. Um, if the stipulations aren’t met, the trust will go to Daniel Cartwright, or his daughter, Bristol, if Danny has passed.”

The money would go to the neighbor responsible for Mama’s death?

“Sarah set this up?” Dad’s incredulous tone made it clear I wasn’t the only one losing their mind.

Ellis tipped his head. “She did. Made me draw up a confidentiality contract as soon as she entered my office. Attorney-client privilege wasn’t enough for her. Truth be told, I forgot about it not long after. Your kids all turned out to be decent young men. I had no doubt they’d each find someone and get married.” He cleared his throat and his eyes darted to me, then skated away.

None of us were married, or even close to it. My brother Beck hadn’t been in a relationship that lasted longer than six months. Was he seeing someone now? I didn’t talk to him enough to know.

Xander was somewhere in the world. He could be married, but I doubted it. That’d take commitment and Xander didn’t commit to anything, much less anyone.

Dawson had come the closest with his college girlfriend, but he’d been running the family ranch for almost two years now. And that college girlfriend was long gone. He dated, and that was it. He never mentioned anyone special.

“You need to get married, Aiden.” Grams stared me down like she’d tasked me with saving the world.