Chase’s temper flared. No matter how hard he’d tried to make amends, his father had never forgiven him for that one crazy year. “So he gets back at me by forcing me into a sham marriage?”

“He believed marriage had a stabilizing influence. He hoped that would keep you from running away again, should things get tough.”

“You don’t think gamblin’ was Pa’s way of runnin’ away?”

Baxter grimaced. “After Michael died and you took off, your father felt like he’d lost both sons. That’s why he turned to gambling. That was his escape, though I don’t think he saw it that way. Grief does funny things to people.”

“I thought he blamed me for what happened to Michael. That’s why I left.” God knows, Chase had blamed himself.

Baxter shook his head. “He didn’t blame you for the accident. He only blamed you for leaving.”

Chase’s jaw hardened. It had been wrong of him to run off as he’d done. He would regret it until his dying day. Still, he had spent the last ten years trying to make up for it. Why hadn’t his father taken that into account? Why had one year carried so much more weight than ten?

“I’m surprised Priscilla went along with the way Pa wrote up the will.”

His uncle shrugged. “She didn’t want to, but that was the only way your pa agreed to marry her. He would rather have lost the ranch than split it between the two of you.”

Chase could understand that. Sharing ownership with Royce would have been disastrous. “Why didn’t Pa change the will after Priscilla died?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he thought he owed her something for bailing him out when he most needed it.”

Chase clamped down on his jaw. He had never been close to his father. Until now, he’d never understood why he’d remarried. Priscilla was nothing like his real mother, and Chase had never gotten along with her. Finding out the role she’d played in saving the ranch was a blow.

His uncle’s pitying gaze didn’t help. “I don’t trust Royce. Never have.”

Chase frowned. “I met the terms of the will. The ranch is safe.”

“Just make sure it stays that way. Royce and his new bride are putting on quite a show as a happy couple. You might consider doing likewise.” His uncle tugged on his reins and galloped off.

Watching him, Chase slapped on his hat and cursed beneath his breath. He was more concerned about Royce than he’d let on. The man refused to back down, and Chase sensed trouble ahead.

22

Emily hardly saw Chase for days on end. More cattle were missing, and this time, rustlers were at fault. Trying to track down the thieves had taken up most of his time. Not having much confidence in the sheriff, Chase felt obliged to check out every lead himself.

Whenever Chase made an appearance, the two of them did their best to show a united front for Cookie and Peggy Sue. Yet there were times when Emily noticed Cookie staring at her like he knew more than he let on.