“Maybe forty-five thousand dollars.”
Rudy erupted, “That penny pinching old fart. He always acted like he was on the edge of broke. Couldn’t buy this, couldn’t buy that. Too much money. I can’t believe he had a fortune squirreled away.”
Jordy had to admit that the numbers left him stunned, also. He had no idea that Jack had accumulated significant cash assets. He was always fretting about the profits and staying ahead of the creditors.
Russo finished reading. “The last paragraph of the will reads ‘I appoint Frank Bell Russo executor of this will.’ It is then signed by Jack and witnessed by my law clerk and the barber next door. The settlement process will take as long as a year. I will be filing the will with the probate court Monday, and you will be kept informed as to progress. I will be needing to meet with some of you individually quite frequently. You may continue business as usual. I will start making the employee cash distributions in a month or so. The residuary amount will be held until we determine if there are outstanding claims. Then I will start partial distributions of that. I anticipate my fees will amount to three or four thousand dollars, so I won’t let that get away.” He smiled at his small joke, but getting no response, asked, “Any questions?”
Jordy could not think of anything to say. He could not quite grasp the reality of what had happened this afternoon. None of it was worth losing Jack, and he figured everybody else in the room felt the same way.
Chapter Sixty
Sierra found Jordy at the table in the library after supper. He seemed absorbed with some papers spread out on the round tabletop, so she said nothing and sat down in one of the chairs across from him.
He looked up. “Quite a day,” he said. “Lots of things to sort out.”
She said, “I’m embarrassed. I didn’t know Grandpa Jack a month ago. I show up here, end up getting him killed and now I am an heiress. I don’t know if I should accept anything.”
“The lawyer told me if Jack had not made a will, you would have been entitled to the whole works. Everything.”
“But that would have been challenged.”
“By whom? There is no other blood kin. None of the rest of us were entitled to anything in the absence of a will. That’s what Russo said. If you renounce—I think that’s the word—your share goes to the state of Texas. He warned Jack about that and told him he should have a provision that said what happened if you died first or renounced. He just wanted a quick will, and he might not have wanted to give you an escape hatch. I sure as hell don’t want Texas as my partner, and I hope you wouldn’t do that to any of us.”
“No, of course not. But I could give it to you or sell cheap.”
“I would be insulted, but if you want out some day, I would buy at market. It will be months before things are settled. We need to let things play out.”
“Well, I will have funds to pay off my ranch east of here. I wouldn’t be forced to liquidate the herd.”
“You could stay here indefinitely, at least till the estate is settled. You own a fourth of this house now.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am. We get along well enough most of the time. We could fence off land for the horse herd.” He smiled. “That would be a credit against my rent, though.”
“We would continue to live like we are? It will be a scandal. And Rudy sleeping in the parlor all the time?”
“I think Rudy’s starting to calm down. He is the only old dog left here. He needs to come to terms with it on his own first. I’ll be able to talk sense to him in a few days.”
“My head’s spinning. I have so much to think about.”
“I will give you some more to think on. There is a way we could resolve a lot of problems in this situation.”
“There is?”
“Get married.”
“Married? You and me?”
“Yeah. It occurred to me on the way back from town. You are going to be able to pay off the mortgage on your own land and then you might leave. I almost panicked at that thought. I couldn’t imagine you not being here. It just wouldn’t be the same without you. I’ve come to really care about you. More than that. I have fallen crazy in love with you.”
He got out of his chair and stepped around the desk, took her hand and pulled her up to him. He put his arms around her and held her close before he pressed his lips to hers. It was a soft, lingering kiss, and she found herself returning it before she eased back and looked up into his eyes.
“You caught me by surprise,” she said. “After I turned into a drunken slut the other night, I assumed you couldn’t wait for me to get out of here.”
He grinned mischievously. “You are not by any means a drunken slut. I have known a few and have not minded their company on occasion, I confess. But I would never tell one I love her, as I am telling you, and I most certainly would not ask one to marry me, as I am asking you.”
He had just taken her breath away. This was moving too quickly. She took a few more steps back, almost stumbling over the chair. “Am I hearing you right? Is that a proposal?”
“It is. Will you marry me?”
“We haven’t known each other a full month yet. And there is so much you don’t know
