Sherryl Woods - After Tex

He pulled a sheaf of papers from a briefcase. “Want me to do a formal reading of the will or would you rather scan it yourself?”

She held out her hand for the papers. The document in a blue folder was the will, she concluded after a glance. An envelope held a letter from Tex. Her fingers trembled as she took out the pages and stared at his familiar scrawl.

“Darling girl,” it began, as his letters always had, even when he’d been mad at her. Tears stung her eyes. She wouldn’t break down now, not in front of Jake. Swallowing hard, she lifted her gaze to his. “I’m not so sure I can do this right now, after all.”

He took the papers. “Let me.” Putting the letter aside, he started with the will, reading through a lot of legal jargon that held no surprises. There were bequests for Mrs. Gomez and other employees, a trust fund for Tess, and the legal guardianship arrangement putting Megan in charge of Tess’s future.

“Is that it?” she asked when Jake paused.

“Not quite. On this last part, though, I think the letter spells out his wishes better than all the legalese that’s in the will. Maybe you’ll understand his reasoning better. If it’s too painful, I can read it aloud for you.”

His words, his tone alerted her that what was to come wasn’t going to thrill her. Perhaps she could do a better job of concealing her reaction if she read the letter to herself, after all.

“I’ll read it,” she said, taking the letter from Jake’s outstretched hand.

It began with a plea for her understanding about Tess, an apology of sorts by Tex’s standards.

I know I’m leaving you with a burden that, by rights, isn’t yours to shoulder, but I’m counting on you, girl. Be a mother to that child. Lord knows, she hasn’t had much of one up till now.

Megan glanced at Jake. “Do you know anything about Tess’s mother?”

“Her name—Contessa Florence Olson.”

“Contessa?”

“A name, not a title, I assure you,” he said wryly. “She goes by Flo. From what Tex told me she was waiting tables at a restaurant in Laramie when he met her about nine, maybe ten years back. They saw each other from time to time over a year or so. A matter of convenience, I believe he called it.”

So, Megan thought, it had begun about the time she’d gone away to college. Tex had been lonelier than she’d realized and had turned to a stranger for companionship. Funny, Megan had never thought of Tex as being lonely. He’d seemed like the most self-contained man she’d ever known.

“He had no idea she was pregnant?” Megan asked.

Jake shook his head. “Not until Flo appeared one day about six months ago, said she was tired of the hassle, that it was his turn to take responsibility for the kid. Off she went without a backward glance. She hasn’t been heard from since. I’ve checked and there’s no sign of her in Laramie. No one there has heard from her.”

“Poor Tess,” Megan murmured, knowing precisely how she must have felt the night she’d been left behind. Pity wasn’t what Tess needed, though. She needed a home, and Megan wasn’t the least bit convinced she could provide one. Tex, however, hadn’t given her much of a choice. She returned her attention to the letter.

When I’m gone, give the child some time right here on the ranch to adjust. Don’t go dragging her off to New York. Thanks to the way her mama dumped her here and ran off, Tess’s world has been turned upside down too much as it is. You should remember what that was like, Megan. It’ll be a bond between you. Seems to me you’ll be good for each other. You both need family whether you realize it or not. It’s been sorely lacking in both your lives. I regret that more than I can say, but I did the best I could by both of you.

So far, Tex’s request wasn’t much of a shocker. It made sense to stick around for a couple of weeks to give Tess a little time to get her feet back on the ground again. With Todd and Micah to handle things in New York, Megan could juggle her responsibilities and make that work.

Then she recalled Tess’s earlier reaction to the idea of going to New York, and she realized with dismay that her grandfather hadn’t intended this to be a temporary adjustment at all. He wanted Megan back here permanently. Jake had pretty much laid that out for her, too, when he’d said if she didn’t follow her grandfather’s wishes, the ranch would be up for grabs, and that he was first in line to claim it.

A terrible sinking sensation settled in the pit of her stomach as she read on.

Whatever it is you have to do to keep all those balls you’re juggling in the air can just as easily be done from here. That’s what faxes and computers were made for, leastways that’s what you’re always telling me. Put technology to good use. Make this one of those challenges you’re always talking about. You can make it work, Megan, if you want to badly enough.

Could she? Tex certainly had more faith in her than she had in herself, at least in this one area. Megan glanced back at the page and saw that there was more.

If you choose to go, if other arrangements need to be made for Tess, well, Jake knows what to do. You’ve made your own way. You don’t need anything I could leave you. I have to take care of the child, Meggie. I have to see to what’s best for her.

He’d phrased the letter in the form of a request, but it was evident from this final paragraph that it was a whole lot more than that. Megan was to stay on the ranch with Tess indefinitely, become the rancher he’d always wanted her to be—or lose everything. Her choice, or so he wanted it to seem.

“He expects me to stay here?” she demanded, staring at Jake for confirmation of her own interpretation of the letter.

“Yes.”

“Or?”

“The ranch will be sold—to me—and the money will be put in trust for Tess.”

“He can’t mean it,” she whispered, even though she knew that he had.

“He did.”

“But I can’t go on living here. I can’t just walk away from my career, everything that means anything to me.”

Jake shrugged. “You have a choice. Stay, or go and lose the ranch. Tess can stay on here with me.”

“That’s no choice. I don’t give a damn about the ranch. I never have.”

“Then walk away. You certainly don’t need his money or his land, right?”

“No,” Megan agreed. She didn’t need land or money, but she had always craved Tex’s approval, and she knew that even from the grave he’d withhold it if she didn’t at least try to do as he asked.

Besides, she thought, who else was there? Not Jake, no matter how calmly he had declared his willingness to step in. She wouldn’t have him doing what was by rights her duty. She—Lord help them both—was all Tess had, just as Tex had once been all Megan had had. She would manage just as Tex had. O’Rourkes always did what was expected of them. It had been her grandfather’s mantra.

“So, what’s it going to be, Meggie? Will you stay or go?”

“You’d just love it if I left, wouldn’t you? You’d stay here, do the noble thing, be a hero.”

“I’m not sure I’d be declared a hero, but your leaving would ease the way toward me getting this ranch.” He shot her a lazy grin. “But I can wait. Having you around again might be even more fascinating.”

That night was the longest of Megan’s life. She felt as alone and every bit as afraid as she had when her mother had abandoned her on Tex’s doorstep years before. The only thing that kept her from sinking into despair was knowing that, as bad as she felt, Tess probably felt worse—more frightened and even more alone.

Not that the child would show it. Tess had avoided her for most of the evening, and when Megan had offered to go upstairs with her and tuck her in, the girl had jeered, “I ain’t no baby,” and stalked off with shoulders squared proudly.