The Cowboys Heart 1 Read Free

shouldn’t
be too long. Are you sure you don’t want to come along?” I asked, standing in
the doorway.
    “Nope. I’m good here,” he said without ever looking at me.
    I sighed. “All right. See you later then. Call me if you
need anything.”
    “Yup.” He gave a halfhearted wave.
    Jamie and I used to be so close, but ever since his father
and I divorced and he became a teenager, it’s like we’re strangers forced to
live together. Would I ever be able to repair our relationship back to what it
used to be? Reluctantly, I followed Mom outside and got into the car with her.
    ***
    “And finally…” Mr. Munroe said,
studying the stack of papers in front of him.
    We’d been at the lawyer’s office for almost two hours now. I
didn’t realize my grandmother had so much stuff to giveaway. And in her typical
fashion, she’d made sure everything was accounted for, each of her prized
possessions outlined meticulously. So far, she’d left my parents several
collections of antiques. Jamie had been willed a nice chunk of money to be used
for college. So far, she hadn’t left me anything. Not that I expected much from
her. We hadn’t exactly left things on the greatest of terms.
    “The entirety of my ranch, including the house and property,
all the furnishings within the house minus those items already bequeathed is
left to my granddaughter, Heather Mills Walsh,” Mr. Munroe said, finally
looking up for the papers.
    My jaw dropped, and the tips of my ears burned hot. Had I
heard that correctly? My grandmother left me her ranch? Why would she do that?
I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Uh… I don’t know…”
    Mom reached over and patted my arm, smiling. “This is what
she wanted, honey. You know her dream was always to have you home, to raise
Jamie here, with his family.”
    I sat speechless. Of course. Why hadn’t I put the pieces
together? That was the argument we’d had the last time I saw her. She told me
she wouldn’t ever give up on me, and even in death, she’d kept her promise. My
heart raced. What was I going to do with her ranch? I couldn’t possibly move
in. I had my job and my friends back in the city. Jamie had school and his
friends and his father, who didn’t visit nearly as much as he should, but
still. I couldn’t tear him away from everything he knew. Could I?
    “Upon your grandmother’s death, I took it upon myself, per
her wishes, to begin the title transfer. All I need is your signature, and it’s
all yours.” Mr. Munroe handed me a clipboard with a pen. “I’ve put signature
stickers near each spot I need you to sign.”
    In a daze, I took the clipboard from him and began to sign
the papers. I was too surprised to make any rational decisions right now, but I
knew I couldn’t decline the ranch. It would break my mother’s heart, not to
mention it could make my grandmother roll over in her grave. Once the property
was legally mine, and I had a chance to think things through, I’d made a
choice. Either I’d move it or sell it.
    I hesitated. The thought of selling my grandmother’s ranch
induced a mild panic attack. I couldn’t imagine someone else living there. What
if they demolished the house? Tore up the yard? Some of my best childhood
memories were at that ranch. How could I even think about letting it go?
    “Heather, are you all right?” Mom asked.
    “Yeah.” I smiled and nodded then resumed signing. When I was
finished, I handed the items back. “So, what happens now?”
    “I’ll file these papers with the county and in a couple of
weeks; you’ll receive the official title in the mail. There’s a small mortgage
owed on the property.” He flipped through more papers. “In the amount of
seventeen thousand dollars, this will automatically transfer to you as well.
Your grandmother was a very thorough woman. She made sure there would be no
issues with the transfer of the ranch to you.”
    My stomach knotted. A mortgage? I could barely afford the
mortgage on