“You know he was kind of out of it towards the end. The morphine drip had him so confused he didn’t even recognize me the last time I came home for a visit. Maybe this was all a mistake and…”
“I’m afraid not. This isn’t a new document, Ms. McGee. In fact, your father came in here shortly after his original diagnosis. He didn’t realize it would be terminal at the time, but he wanted to be prepared just in case.”
That was her father, always planning ahead, always prepared. And she’d known from the start that this wasn’t because of his illness. He’d told her years back that he had other things in mind for her. He thought she was too good to spend her life running a ranch and roughhousing with the ranch hands. She’d just never thought he’d go so far as to cut her out of it, not like this.
She was furious at him, but he was gone, and she couldn’t take it out on him now. That left her two very good targets for her rage, and it took all her willpower not to launch an attack on them. “You’re telling me there’s no way around this? You’re telling me that Sam getsmyranch and I have no say in it?”
“Unless you continue your education or marry, yes. If you get your doctorate then in five years, you’ll be an equal partner,” the lawyer said, nodding.
“And what if I don’t choose to go back to school? What then? I’m an adult. I don’t see how it’s even legal for you to make me do this.” She scowled and she let her head turn so that Sam got some of it, too.
“No one can make you go back to school, Ms. McGee. It’s completely up to you. If you do the funds have been set aside to pay for it. If you decide not to return, then you still have the other option. Otherwise…” he trailed off. The awkward look was back on his face and she knew that meant more bad news was about to come her way.
“Well? Spit it out,” she snapped.
“Well…” he sighed. “If you haven’t completed your studies in five years but are actively working on your degree there’s a codicil for an extension. But if you haven’t finished in seven years then the ranch will be signed over to Mr. Mason entirely. He will be the permanent owner.”
“Wait! What?” Sam’s outburst came just ahead of her own, and his obvious shock settled the last of her doubts that he’d known any of this.
His reaction was oddly reassuring. It made it very clear that Sam hadn’t been aware of any of this. Even though they were no longer dating, it would still have been painful to think he’d known and hadn’t at least given her a heads up. That didn’t make the rest of the situation any easier to deal with though.
She got to her feet and slapped both hands down on the desk as she leaned in. Her eyes bored into the lawyer’s and she could see him shift uneasily in his seat. She was definitely making him more uncomfortable now that the tears were gone and had been replaced with a look of pure outrage.
“So, either I become a Mrs. or a doctor of something…or Sam gets my inheritance? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Not all of it, of course. Just the working ranch, the animals, the outbuildings, and the land attached. You’ll still have everything else.” He was trying for a reassuring tone, but he had no idea what the ranch meant to her or he wouldn’t have bothered.
“Wonderful.” Her lip curled and her eyes rolled up to stare at the ceiling. “And if I take this to court?”
“I’m afraid it won’t matter. He had the right to dispense his property however he chose, and you’ve been amply provided for. I don’t think you have any grounds on which to fight this.” He paused, gauging her reaction and then added, “I’m sorry.”
Oddly enough she believed him. He didn’t seem to enjoy dispensing bad news, but that didn’t help her much. “Me too.” She straightened and gave him her back as she faced Sam. “I know this isn’t your fault, but I really can’t deal with you and all of this mess too.”
“Charlie, I…”
“Yeah.” She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes as she let it out again. The vise around her chest wasn’t releasing this time and she was starting to get a tension headache. “Look, I know there’s a lot we need to talk about, but I just can’t right now. Don’t come over to the house. I’ll hunt you up when I’m ready.” She wanted it to sound firm, but he was the one person besides her father that she could never get around, so it came out pleading instead. He nodded with reluctance and she could only hope he’d stick with it.
“Thanks.” Maybe she should have said more but she just didn’t have the words right now, and she desperately needed to get out of there. She turned back to the desk. “What do you need from me? I assume I have to sign something to get the process going?”
It turned out she had to sign a lot of things. He produced a mountain of paperwork and every page seemed to require either initials or a signature. It occurred to her that she should probably sit down and read through it, but she just didn’t care enough in that moment to bother. She needed to have it done with. Since Mr. Bernard had been her father’s lawyer as far back as she could remember, she seriously doubted he was going to swindle her.
He was representing her father’s interests and not hers, but she couldn’t come up with any reason not to trust him. She gave each page a cursory skim, paying just enough attention to see that the legal jargon seemed to match up with what he’d told them. By the time she got to the last page her signature was little more than a scrawl. She was so relieved to have reached the end, and as she straightened, she tossed the pen down with enough enthusiasm to send it careening across the polished surface of the desk and off the other side.
It hadn’t been intentional but watching him scramble to catch it before it landed in his lap brought a slight smirk to her lips. “If that’s all you need from me, I’m going to go,” she said, letting her amusement show as he fumbled then retrieved it.
He frowned as he looked down at his shirt. She couldn’t tell because of the desk, but a small petty part of her hoped it was because the pen had leaked ink on it as it fell. None of this was his fault, she reminded herself, but it did make her feel better to think his day might be ruined, because hers sure as hell was.
“Not sure if I’m going back to school or not but either way I’ll be staying at the house for now.”
The lawyer nodded, “I’ll send copies of everything over to you. It will take some time to transfer the property, but the process has already been started and I believe you have access to your father’s checking account?”
She nodded; her father had put her name on the house accounts as soon as she’d turned eighteen and there was usually a decent balance in there that should see her through.
“Good, then one last thing…” He opened a drawer on the right side of his desk and pulled out two envelopes. “The letter your father left you, and copies of his death certificate. It usually takes a while to get those, but with expected deaths sometimes things can be expedited. You’ll need them to move things into your name, but there’s no rush on that,” he assured her.
She hesitated and then took the packets from him like they might bite her, holding them with just the tips of her fingers as a flood of emotions overwhelmed her. Death certificates and a final letter made it feel more real. The fury she’d felt at her father just a few minutes ago dropped away to make room for the sadness.
She stood there, arm extended awkwardly and stiff as a wave of conflicting emotions washed through her. She didn’t start to cry again; the feelings were too intensely numbing for that. It wasn’t until she noticed him looking at her with concern that she realized she was standing there like a mannequin.
