Free The Maverick of Copper Creek by R.C. Ryan

than most businessmen would do in a week. There’s something about hard, physical work that makes a body hungry.”
    â€œAnd lean and mean,” Mad said with a grin. “You won’t see too many overweight ranchers. We’re too busy working off every calorie before it can turn into fat.”
    Griff nodded. “It’s that way in combat, too.”
    Brady passed him the basket of rolls. “I’d guess being a target for enemy fire would burn off a whole lot of calories.”
    â€œYeah.” Griff helped himself to a roll and held out the basket to Willow. “I didn’t see any overweight Marines where I was stationed.” He glanced across the table at Ash. “So you’ve been up since dawn working?”
    Ash shook his head. “By dawn I was already on the road heading here.”
    Griff raised a brow. “You don’t live here?”
    â€œI have a spread in Wyoming.”
    â€œHave or had?” Maddock’s head came up sharply. “Mason’s son Lance figured you were about to lose it for back taxes.”
    â€œI managed to sell off enough cattle to pay the taxes, and I made a deal with my neighbor to do a land exchange for repair of my irrigation system. So, for now at least, I still own it.”
    The old man’s face relaxed into a smile. “Good for you.”
    Willow sat back and regarded her older son. “If you decide to settle here, there’s more than enough land for you.”
    â€œThis was Pop’s. Now it’s yours, Mom.”
    â€œIt’s ours, Ash. Your father wanted it to belong to all of us.” She glanced at Griff. “Once Bear learned about your existence, he added you to his will, too. He wanted this ranch to belong to the MacKenzie family for generations to come.”
    â€œThat’s a nice dream.” Whit’s tone of anger, as well as his words, had everyone looking at him. “But we couldn’t even live together before Griff came along. What makes you think things are going to be any different now?”
    â€œBecause everything’s changed.” Maddock slammed a hand down hard on the arm of his wheelchair. “Because we’ve lost my only son, and your father, and we suddenly see how quickly things can change. And if we don’t learn how to work together now, we won’t deserve a third chance.”
    A pall of frosty silence settled over the table.
    It was Myrna who broke the ice. “While the rest of you are choking on those loving sentiments, I’m starving. Please pass me the ham.”
    Griff fought back a grin before passing platter after platter to Willow, who passed them to Brady, who passed them to Whit, who held them while Myrna helped herself to a heaping portion of ham, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage from each.
    The rest of them followed suit, and soon they were too busy eating to argue.
    Willow seized the opportunity to tell them her news. “I heard from Chief Pettigrew…”
    Whit’s fork clattered on his plate. “They found the bastard who shot Pop?”
    Willow felt Griff bristle beside her and realized, too late, that Whit’s choice of words had just added another layer of insult to a fatherless man who had probably suffered a lifetime of them. She fixed Whit with a look that every son recognized. “You will not use that word in my home again. Is that clear?”
    Whit’s gaze slid over Griff as the realization dawned. “Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t mean…” He changed the subject. “Did they identify the killer?”
    â€œNo. But Ira wanted me to know that they’ve completed their autopsy, which proved what they already knew. Bear was shot by a single bullet from a long-range hunting rifle. They’ve identified the weapon as a Remington bolt-action.”
    â€œGreat. That makes every rancher in the state of Montana a suspect,” Maddock muttered around a mouthful of