Return to Oak Valley (6 page)

Oddly enough that was her reaction to the situation. Fascinating. Surprising. Looking at Nick with new eyes, she thought she could see a resemblance to her brother—to herself for that matter. Nick's eyes were not just dark as she had first thought, they were dark
green
, possibly the same dark green as her own, and the slightly almond shape appeared the same—a Granger trait, although not everyone in the family had it. Nick's height could have come from Josh, too—and that lazy grace of his. Certainly, now that she considered it, Nick had a way of moving that was not
un
like Josh's languid motions. Shelly might have reservations, but it never occurred to her to dismiss Nick's claim out of hand. She turned it over in her mind and found herself believing that Nick could very well be her brother's child. There could be other explanations, and she wasn't discounting them, but Nick's blunt revelation had a ring of truth about it.

Astounding all of them, including herself, Shelly suddenly thrust out her hand, and said, “Glad to meet you, nephew!” She smiled wryly. “Now would someone please tell me what the hell has been going on?”

Nick shook his head, a slow grin replacing his bitter expression. “You know, I always liked you—even when you were being a bratty teenager, but I think I like you even more now…auntie.”

“You believe him?” Maria asked incredulously.

Shelly shrugged. “I'm willing to take his words at face value. I'm a little taken aback, maybe even stunned.” She smiled slightly. “And curious, I'm not going to deny that. And when I've had time to consider it more, I'm sure I'm going to have a lot of questions.”

Raquel let out a pent-up breath. “You're being very nice about this. Mom and I pleaded with Nick to keep his mouth shut.” She shot him a look. “Tactful is not a word I would apply to my brother.”

“Yeah, well, I'd rather be
un
tactful than tiptoe around the subject. Even though Josh did his best to pretend the connection didn't exist, you can bet that in the valley everyone suspected the truth. Better Shelly found out about it from me than to have some well-meaning busybody spring it on her.”

“I can agree with that,” Shelly muttered, thinking of some of the more sharp-tongued residents of the valley. Glancing around at the three of them, she asked, “Is it really a secret? Or am I the only one who doesn't know?”

“Doesn't know what?” Mike Sawyer asked, walking back into the room, a small briefcase in one hand.

“That I'm no longer the only member of my branch of the family,” Shelly said, that thought having just occurred to her. She liked the idea. Josh's child. She had a nephew. It gave her a warm feeling, and while she knew that feeling might not last, she accepted their relationship. She supposed she should be traumatized by the news, or at least upset, but she wasn't. She'd always liked Nick when they'd been kids together, and Maria had always held a special spot in her heart. In fact, she'd always thought of Maria as part of her family, so why
shouldn't
she be happy with the situation?

Mike flashed Nick a glance. “I see. Nick just couldn't keep from telling you that fantasy of his, could he? Not even today.”

Shelly's brow rose. “Fantasy? Are you telling me that Nick
isn't
Josh's child?”

She glanced at Maria, who remained silent. “Is it true? Is Nick my brother's child?”

Maria's lip trembled, and she shot her son an agonized glance. “He believes it.”

Shelly frowned. If it were true, why didn't Maria just say so? Embarrassment? Maybe.

She would have pressed the issue, but Mike said coolly, “This is hardly the time for this sort of subject. I have no idea of Nick's parentage and quite frankly I don't care who his father may or may not be.” Ignoring Nick's snort, he went on, “And I am not going to discuss it. Your brother is dead—we just spread his ashes, and his secrets went with him.”

“Wait a minute!” Shelly began. “You can't just pretend the situation doesn't exist. Besides, why would Nick lie?” She decided prudently not to mention Maria's reaction to Nick's claim, but it puzzled her—a lot.

“I think you've forgotten that there is a great deal of land at stake. You'd be surprised what people would do to get their hands on it.”

Nick growled and started across toward the lawyer, but Shelly jumped up and put her slim body between them. Keeping Nick at bay with a hand on his chest, she glared at Mike, and demanded, “Let me get this straight. You're saying that Nick's whole purpose for claiming to be Josh's child is to get his hands on the estate?”

“You said it, I didn't.”

Shelly gritted her teeth, wondering how she had ever thought she liked Mike Sawyer. Tightly, she said, “You implied it. Do you believe it?”

“My opinion in the matter doesn't count,” he returned, apparently unmoved by the situation. “What counts is what your brother wanted. And I can tell you for a fact that he wouldn't have wanted you to hear this sort of wild, unsubstantiated claim on today of all days.”

“Why not?”

Sawyer looked impatient. “My God, Shelly! You just scattered Josh's ashes—and I'm about to read you his will. You're bound to be upset and emotional. A perfect time for someone to play on your emotions.” He flashed a black glance at Nick. “Nick can claim to be Josh's son all he wants, but there is nothing legally that supports his claim. I might point out that his mother is mute on the subject—

which should tell you something. And unless Nick's willing to go to court and drag you and the Granger name through the mud—and hope he can convince a jury of the relationship, you are your brother's only heir.”

“But that's not right!” Shelly sputtered. “If he's Josh's child, he should be entitled to his estate.”

“If,” Mike said, and, putting the briefcase down on the table, began to open it.

“Hold it right there! Are you telling me that Nick is lying when he says that Josh was his father? And what about Maria? Wouldn't she know the father of her own children?”

“I'm afraid it would be a case of her word against a dead man's,” Mike said dryly. “And as I pointed out—Maria has not endorsed Nick's claim. Your brother never publicly or legally acknowledged any relationship with her—or Nick.” When Shelly's mouth opened indignantly, he raised a hand. “He did help Maria when her husband died—acts which could be construed as nothing more than kindness.” Mike looked at Nick again. “And ten years ago, for pennies on the dollar, I might add, he leased Nick several cows from the Granger herd so Nick could start up his own cattle herd. At the same time he gave him a long-term lease at ridiculously low terms to the Bull Flat Ranch and house. I would remind you that these could be construed only as the acts of a generous man—which your brother was.” Shelly glanced from Maria's averted face to Nick's strained one and back to the lawyer's. Something really weird was going on, but damned if she could figure it out. She'd tackle Maria later and get the truth out of her, but aloud she only said stubbornly, “If Nick is his child, he's entitled to his share of the family possessions.”

“Ah, there is that word, if, again. As I mentioned, his claim to a relationship is based solely on his say-so.”

“What about DNA?” Shelly hesitated. Her knowledge of DNA was scant, but she knew enough to be aware that while
her
DNA could prove that she and Nick were related, it could
not
prove that Josh had been his father. In fact as she thought about it, she remembered vaguely having read a newspaper article a couple years ago about the Thomas Jefferson/Sally Hemmings controversy. There'd been something in the article about that, while it could be proven via DNA that the Hemmings' descendants had been fathered by someone in the Jefferson family, conclusive proof that they were in fact
Thomas
Jefferson's descendants could not be proven because Thomas Jefferson had left no male offspring. Shelly's eyes widened. “That's why he insisted upon being cremated.” And then she said something she'd never thought to say about her brother, “Why that sneaky bastard!”

“Don't you think that you're overreacting?” Mike asked sharply. “You're jumping to conclusions. And, remember, Josh always intended to be cremated; it wasn't something that he just recently decided upon. Right now, you have only Nick's claim that there is any relationship. Are you going to put aside everything you ever knew about your brother simply because of something a young man you don't know very well says?”

Shelly glanced from one tense face to the other. Five minutes ago she had believed that Nick was Josh's child. Had it simply been because she
wanted
him to be? That she wanted some physical reminder of Josh still in this world? Was it possible that Nick was playing upon her vulnerability with an eye to gaining access to a fortune? She'd been away for seventeen years and she'd only been eighteen when she'd left. What did she really know about Nick—or his mother for that matter?

Shelly's head suddenly started to ache, and her throat felt tight. Jesus! She didn't want to deal with this right now.

Maybe Mike was right. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions. She looked at Nick again. OK, so he had green eyes, and she thought she saw a family resemblance. Maybe she was wrong. Nick wouldn't be the first person to turn greedy at the thought of a lot of money.

She stepped away, and, not meeting anyone's eyes, said softly, “Right now, I don't know if I ever even knew my brother.”

Alone in her room, Shelly lay down on the bed, trying not to think about the ugly ending of the day. She didn't want to think that Nick was claiming a relationship in order to cut himself in for a piece of the pie that Josh's estate represented. She wanted, she admitted, for Nick to have spoken the truth. She wanted in a way that astounded her for Nick to be her brother's child, her relative, but she couldn't discount Sawyer's words either. Nor could she reconcile the man who Nick said was his father with the open, generous, loving brother she had known all her life. If Nick were his child, why wouldn't he have told her? Oh, not when she was a child, but surely once she had grown up, what reason was there for him to keep it secret? Because he was ashamed and didn't want her to think badly of him? Well, yeah, maybe.

What bothered her most was the notion that if Nick had indeed been Josh's, he had never acknowledged that fact. Illegitimate or not, at some point, wouldn't love or pride have moved him to reveal his relationship? She sighed, trying to make what she knew of her brother fit with Nick's claim. If she understood the meager facts she had at hand, Josh had always maintained a distance, had always acted as if he were nothing more than Maria's kind, caring employer. He had never admitted the truth, if Nick's statement was true, to anyone, not even his lawyer. And Sawyer was right, damn him! The leased cows and land could be explained away as simply the generosity of a lonely man with no children of his own.

Round and round her thoughts went, Maria's reticence nagging at her. Why hadn't Nick's mother backed him up? Did Maria know he was running a scam and while unwilling to expose him, was not brave enough to give weight to his claim? She found no answers and eventually dropped off into an uneasy doze. She didn't know how long she had slept, but something woke her. Bleary-eyed, she gazed around the room, surprised to find that dusk had fallen, shadows filling the room.

She lay there a moment, trying to wake up. A tap on the door jerked her upright, and after fumbling for the switch on the lamp near the bed, she flicked it on. Soft, yellow light pooled near the bed, dispelling the shadows and spreading the sensation of warmth throughout the area.

Seated on the side of the bed, she yawned. There was another, more insistent tap on the door.

Rubbing her forehead, she called out, “Who is it?”

“Nick. May I come in?”

She hesitated, then replied, “Sure. The door's not locked.”

Nick slipped into the room, a tray held in his hands. He walked up to her and put the tray down on the table near the bed. Grabbing one of the chairs, he pulled it up and sat down.

Shelly looked at the contents of the tray and couldn't help grinning. The total items were a big plate of Oreo cookies, a half-gallon carton of milk, and two tall glasses.

Picking up a cookie and taking a bite, she looked at Nick. “Did Maria tell you they were my favorite?”

He smiled uncertainly. “Nope, I remembered from when we were kids.” His smile faded. “Look,” he said, “I want to apologize for what happened this afternoon. Mike was right about one thing—my timing stinks. I should have kept my mouth shut and given you time to settle in before I said anything. I'm sorry.”

Pouring them both glasses of milk, she shoved one in his direction. Indicating the cookies, she mumbled around a mouthful, “Help yourself.”

They ate cookies and drank milk in silence. It was a friendly silence. A comfortable silence, and Shelly remembered times from the past when she and Nick had done just as they were doing now, eating cookies and drinking milk in complete accord with each other.

Putting her empty glass down a few minutes later, she asked, “Your timing wasn't the best, I'll grant you that, but the problem doesn't go away.” She looked him dead in the eye. “Was Josh really your father?”

He hesitated, took a deep breath, then said in a rush, “Yeah. I believe he was. He never admitted it, and Mom…” He looked puzzled and hurt. “She won't talk about it—but she and Juan were always open about the fact that Juan
wasn't
my father—even if I carry his last name.” He sighed and glanced down at the plate of rapidly disappearing Oreos. “Whenever I questioned her about my father, Mom just said not to worry about him—we had a nice home and she had a nice job and we didn't need him. We were happy without him—besides, she was married to Juan. By the time I was old enough to really question her about him, I guess I'd just accepted her explanation and didn't think about it too much.” He looked off into space. “I must have been about fifteen, sixteen, when I found out differently. Until that time, Josh had always just seemed like a really neat guy, you know. He was good to Mom, and he was great to Raquel and me after Juan died—in that easygoing, careless sort of way he had. I never suspected a relationship—even between them.” He grimaced. “OK, I'll admit that now and then after Juan died I thought that it would be great if Mom got something on with Mr. Granger. But I never even once considered that your brother was my father.”