Tracie Peterson - [Heirs of Montana 04] Read Online Free

dark.”
    Chester was curious about what would bring the boy back to the ranch he had so hated. “All right. You can wait for me, but I want you gone before night.”
    “I promise you, Father, I will be long gone.”

    “So the prodigal returns?” Jerrod Lawrence said to his brother Roy. He nudged him and pointed to the house, where Joshua was dismounting.
    “Never thought we’d see him again,” Roy said, spitting to one side. “Think he’s come for money?”
    Jerrod laughed. “He’d know better’n that.”
    Their father rode up to the barn. “You finished with that shoeing yet?”
    “These premade shoes just ain’t as good. We oughta take the horses into town and have’em properly fitted. Better still, we oughta hire us a decent smithy,” Jerrod said, putting aside his tools.
    “I’ll be the one to decide what we need and what we don’t need. You two are no better than Joshua if you can’t follow my instructions and treat me with respect.”
    Jerrod straightened and looked his father in the eye. When Jerrod had been a boy, the man had absolutely terrified him.
    Now Jerrod simply saw the fading glory of a once strong and powerful man.
    “You get all the respect you deserve. Don’t try to bully me around.”
    Their father narrowed his eyes. “You two are always thinking yourselves too good to take orders. I don’t need the grief.”
    “We’ve taken your orders and taken care of your ranch, but we’ve just about reached our limit. That’s why we called this meeting. Me and Roy are leavin’.”
    Their father’s expression remained fixed—stoic—but Jerrod noticed him pale ever so slightly.
    “What in the world do you think you’re doing spouting such nonsense to me? You two have a past that you don’t need folks finding out about.”
    “A past that clearly implicates you, old man,” Jerrod said, pointing his finger at his father’s chest.
    “You can’t prove that.”
    “You’d like to believe that, but it ain’t true.” Jerrod pushed his hat back off his forehead. “There isn’t a court in this land that would find you innocent when Roy and I start talking. So before you think to threaten us into staying on this ranch, think again. We know who set that fire five years ago.”
    “Set the fire? That fire came on the heels of a dry thunderstorm.”
    Jerrod laughed. “That fire came at the hand of your devious bride, Portia.”
    Chester shook his head. “She would have told me if she’d had such plans.”
    “Well, apparently she figured you didn’t need to know. Roy and I followed her out that day. We figured she needed a dressing down—she’d gotten us in too much hot water with you. You believed her story about us beating her when we hadn’t even laid a hand on her. So we figured we’d teach her a lesson—give her a scare.”
    “Like that woman could be scared of anything.”
    “Oh, she looked pretty frightened when that fire came over the mountain.”
    Chester’s expression changed. “You were there? When she died?”
    “Yep, we were there. Her horse fell and trapped her underneath. We figured it fittin’ and left her to burn. We also figured she was doin’ your bidding. That fire was set directly in line to burn the Selby ranch. She carefully calculated the wind and the location. That fire was deliberate, and we’d happily tell the court that you instigated it—even helped her accomplish it.”
    “You would turn traitor on your father?”
    Roy laughed. “Like you wouldn’t sell either one of us any day of the week and twice on Sunday if it meant makin’ you cattle king of Montana.”
    “You’re calloused and without loyalty,” their father accused.
    “And just where do you s’pose we might’ve learned that, old man?” Jerrod asked. “You’ve only lived it by example every day of our lives. You taught us that holding anyone or anything too dear was a weakness. You taught us to think of ourselves first—and others never.”
    “So go then. If it’s