Free Heartstrings by Sara Walter Ellwood Page B

he swore he couldn’t make a baby–which I’m about a hundred present sure he couldn’t. At least, I never got pregnant during the two years we were together. We divorced the year you were born. Mainly because I found out about his affair with your mother–along with other women. But I never told John about him being with Suzie. I knew it would have broken his heart.”
    She used her free hand to wipe at the tears. “John was ten years older than your mother. The Harrises never had much, and I think Steven hoped marrying her off to someone like John would calm her down. John was determined to make something of this ranch and have a family. He knew she was a wild one, but he loved her. So, he married her.”
    “Maybe she wouldn’t have been so wild if he’d allowed her follow her dreams.”
    She slowly nodded. “John, I’m afraid, was a fool. He thought if he kept her here, she’d learn to love him.”
    “Instead, she hated us both,” he murmured and lowered his head. How could this all still hurt so damned much?
    She shook him and glared at him with a blue fire of conviction. “Don’t you dare talk like that. I was never a fan of your mother. Quite frankly, I hated her. Suzie hurt my brother, but she loved you. If she hadn’t, she would’ve left.”
    She did. She committed suicide . He glanced at the wood-paneled door of the study. Moving out of her embrace, he opened the door. “Let’s get this over with. I have a meeting with the nursing home director later.”
    The study was as he remembered it. The shelving along one wall held various books about ranching, leather- and paper-bound ledgers and journals of the ranch, dating back to 1878. The family Bible was displayed on a table beside an old leather wingchair that had sat in front of the tall window for a hundred years. The unforgiving space reeked of musty books and Cuban cigars–just like the man who had lived and died in this room.
    Frank Ritter stood behind the desk and held out a shaky hand to him. The judge had come down with Parkinson’s Disease during Seth’s senior year of high school, which hadn’t helped the Ritters’ financial situation.
    He greeted Frank, then turned to Tucker and Vince Cowley and shook their hands in turn. Their parents had lived and worked on the ranch while they were growing up. Presently, Tucker was the acting manager of the place, and Vince was a foreman.
    “Shall we get started?” Johanna took her seat beside Seth’s chair.
    “Yes.” Frank adjusted his reading glasses and cleared his throat. “As all of you know, John Kendall was one of my oldest and dearest friends. Not much unlike you, Seth, and my son, Mike.”
    The judge gave him a sad smile, and Seth looked away as bitterness swamped him. No, you wouldn’t have betrayed Dad the way Mike did me.
    “So, years ago when John asked me to read his will, I said I would but never dreamed it would happen so soon. I’ll miss him.” Frank’s hand violently shook as he opened the folder before him, and he swallowed hard enough to make his Adam’s apple bob up and down. He readjusted his glasses and read the will.
     
    “To my son, Seth Christopher Kendall, resident of Brentwood, Tennessee, I hereby bequeath stock of which the current market value equals over two million dollars. He may take any items he desires from the residence.”
     
    Clearing his throat, Frank pushed his glasses into place again after his shaking jiggled them down his nose. He furrowed his brow as he read.
     
    “ The property known as the Double K ranch, including the livestock, equipment, and business assets, is to be sold at fair market value. ”
     
    Frank looked over his wire-rimmed glasses at Seth.
     
    “ The moneys from this sale will be set up into a trust fund for the minor child hereafter referred to as Minor Child. ”
     
    Johanna grabbed his hand, but Seth didn’t feel her touch. He was too numb. Although Frank continued reading, his words stopped registering.
    His