The Virgin and Zach Coulter

Surprised, Zach’s gaze flicked across the room just as Mariah turned from the stove with a steaming plate of food. She met his gaze calmly as she slid the plate of steak, eggs, hash browns and toast on the tabletop in front of him.

“Thanks,” he murmured. “Looks great.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiled and went back to the counter, returning with a carafe of coffee and setting it in the center of the table before slipping back into her chair.

Zach wasn’t sure how he felt about his grandparents cabin being given away outside the family, but Cade seemed fine with it. He decided to question his brother later, outside Mariah’s hearing.

“Go on.” He nudged Cade as he cut into the steak and began to eat.

“As I told you earlier, Dad left each of us individual assets that we solely control. He left me the livestock except for the horses, Eli gets Mom’s studio and the contents and Brodie has the horses. And you got the Lodge.”

Zach lifted his head, his attention caught. “What horses? Are the Kigers still here?”

Cade shrugged. “I don’t know—haven’t gone looking for them. Figured I’d leave that for Brodie to find out.”

“Hard to believe Dad didn’t sell the Kigers,” Zach commented. “Mom loved those mustangs and he got rid of everything she loved when she died.”

“That’s what I thought,” Cade agreed. “But since I’ve been back, I learned he did several things that didn’t make sense. For instance, he left longhorns in the far pasture. They interbred with Brahma stock and Herefords that probably escaped the lower pastures and climbed into the rough country. We rounded up enough rodeo stock and whitefaces to make a payment on the taxes.”

“Why didn’t Dad sell them years ago?” Zach asked, puzzled. “It wasn’t like him to let an asset sit idle, especially not cattle.”

Cade glanced at Mariah, then back at Zach. “Mariah says he was sick for several years before he died. It’s possible he didn’t have the energy to drive them in and brand them.”

“Hmm.” Zach considered Cade’s words. It was hard to picture his father without the physical strength and energy to run the Triple C. The last time he’d seen Joseph, he was a strong, physically powerful man. He shook off the questions that rose with the thought and looked at his brother. “So tell me the bad news. None of this sounds like you’d need my input. What’s wrong?”

“The inheritance taxes are astronomical and there are no cash assets.”

Zach went still, eyes narrowing over Cade. “So we have to sell?” he asked slowly, surprised at the instant rejection of the idea that slammed into him.

“That’s one option,” Cade agreed. “But it’s one we can’t take without all four of us agreeing. And, so far, you and I are the only ones here.”

“You mean we all have to agree before we can sell any sections of land?” Zach guessed shrewdly.

“Exactly.” Cade nodded and leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table, his mug cupped between his hands. “As I said, I rounded up cattle and sold off all I could to make a payment on the taxes. Anderson said it bought us some time, but we’re going to need a hell of a lot more to clear the tax debt.”

“No other assets?” Zach asked. “What about Mom’s collections—and Dad’s. Did he sell them all off after we left?” Zach had vivid memories of the art, antiques and historical artifacts his parents had gathered. His favorite had been the dozens of wagons, buggies and other conveyances that had filled a huge storage building a mile from the ranch house.

“If any of Mom’s sculptures were in her studio when Dad locked the doors and sealed the building after she died, they have the potential to be very valuable. Mom’s more famous now than she was when she was alive and working. And if Brodie decides to sell some of the horses—if there are any horses—they could be worth quite a bit.” Cade paused to lift his mug and drink. “And if you find a way to raise money with the Lodge, it could go a long way to paying off the tax debt. I’m assuming you don’t have a few extra million sitting in a bank account that you’d be willing to use?” he added drily, his lips quirking.

“Me?” Zach shook his head. “I have investments, but nothing I can liquidate to get that kind of cash.” He eyed Cade. “Exactly how much money are we talking about here, in round figures?”

The amount Cade quoted had Zach whistling softly.

“That’s a hell of a lot of zeroes,” he said. “If we all agreed, what about selling off some acres of land to raise the money?”

“We could do that,” Cade told him. “But if we do, the size of the Triple C would be radically reduced. And if we want to keep it, we’d have a hard time making it profitable.”

“So we either find a way between the four of us to raise the money to pay the taxes, or we sell the ranch intact, pay off the taxes, split what’s left between the four of us and walk away.”

“That’s about the size of it,” Cade agreed.

“Hell.” Zach pushed his empty plate away and leaned back in his chair, frowning at his brother. “I vote to keep the place. But I don’t like the odds of our being able to raise that kind of money.”

“And we can’t have a definitive plan until we talk to Eli and Brodie,” Cade finished for him.

“Exactly.” Zach crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes over his brother’s face, considering. “But I’d bet my life neither of them will want to sell.” He looked at Mariah, then back at Cade. “It’s unlikely I’ll stay in Montana when all this is over. But you two—” he gestured at them “—you’re going to live here and work the ranch, right?”

Cade’s gaze met Mariah’s and she smiled faintly, nodding at him.

“Yeah,” he said with surety. “We’d like to raise our kids here.”

“Kids.” Zach was suddenly sidetracked by the memory of himself and his three brothers swimming in the creek on a hot summer day, riding horses at breakneck speed over the prairie, or climbing the butte behind the house to get closer to the stars hanging in the velvety black night sky. Yeah, he thought, this would be a good place for kids if Cade was their father. “You plan to make me an uncle?”

“Sure.” Cade grinned him, deep green eyes lit with amusement.

“Damn.” Zach shook his head in mock disbelief. He couldn’t remember seeing Cade this happy in years. He winked at Mariah. “Are you sure you want to take him on? He was hell on wheels as a kid—what if you have a boy like him?”

“I’d love it,” she answered promptly.

The sound of an engine turning over sounded from outside and Cade glanced at his watch.

“That must be Pete taking J.T. to the bus stop,” he said. “It’s later than I thought.”

“A bus stop? Have we got school kids living here?”

“Just one,” Cade told him. “J.T. Butler is in high school. He works before and after school, on weekends and vacations, and lives in the bunkhouse with an older ranch hand, Pete Smith.”

“How many other employees?” Zach asked.

“None.”

Zach eyed Cade. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope, that’s it.”

“So the three of you are running the Triple C?”

“Pretty much.” Cade’s grin told Zach he understood his disbelief.

“Hell.” Zach shook his head and muttered, “The hits just keep on comin’.”

“Yeah. The good news is the Turner brothers still own their place and they’ve been helping out. A lot,” Cade told him. “And the neighbors all pitched in to help when we rounded up the cattle.”

“Thank God for that.” Zach couldn’t believe two men and Mariah had been working the Triple C. The ranch needed a crew big enough to fill the bunkhouse. Even when his father, Zach and his three brothers were all working, they’d still had several hired hands. Clearly, life on the Triple C had changed drastically over the years. And if he was going to contribute to paying off the tax debt, he’d better take a look at the condition of the ranch and the Lodge to get a better idea of just what he and his brothers were facing. “What are you doing today?” Zach asked Cade.

“Nothing that can’t be put off until tomorrow if you want company.”

Zach stretched, shoving one hand into the pocket of his faded jeans to pull out the small metal ring with its set of keys. He contemplated it for a moment, then looked at Cade. “Let’s open up the Lodge.”