A Cowgirl's Christmas Read Online Free PDF

his soft white hands.
    “I may not have grown up on a ranch. But I can ride.”
    She looked at him doubtfully. “What is it you do again?”
    “I’m an accountant.”
    She raised her eyebrows and gave a slight shake of her head. Then she returned her focus to Ren. “Dad may not have wanted a funeral. But he can’t stop us from having one if we want to.”
    “That’s true,” the lawyer agreed. “I told Hawksley that, as well. But he just wanted to let you know what his wishes were.”
    “I think we should respect them,” Sage said. “To a point. Callan and Court can spread half of his ashes up on the foothills. Let’s bury the rest by Mom and have a small interment service with just immediate family.
    “Court isn’t immediate family,” Callan was quick to point out. “Will he be invited?”
    “Yes,” said Sage, Mattie and Dani, speaking over one another in their haste to be polite.
    But Court took no notice. He was still looking at Callan. “If you’d rather I wasn’t present, I won’t be offended.”
    His polite words for some reason sent her temper flaring. “Really? But then you’d be missing the point.”
    “Callan!” Mattie, appalled, was quick to reassure Court that he would naturally be welcome to attend if he chose.
    “That’s very kind,” Court replied politely. “But perhaps you should suspend your invitation until you hear the rest of what Mr. Fletcher has to say.”
    In a flash everyone turned to Ren Fletcher, who made a show of straightening the papers he’d earlier removed from his briefcase. Despite his efforts to remain calm and professional, a sheen of perspiration had appeared on his forehead. Callan knew then that her earlier anxiety had been well founded and some awful surprise was in store for them this afternoon.
    “Should I get on with the provisions of the will, then?” Ren asked.
    “Yes.” Callan couldn’t take the tension and stress of waiting any longer.
    “Fine.” Ren took a sip of coffee then began. “Hawksley Carrigan was a very wealthy man. Far wealthier, I suspect, than any of you may have realized. He managed your mother’s investment account astutely and that money is to be shared, as per your mother’s wishes, equally among Mattie, Dani, Sage and Callan.”
    “But I thought there was no Bramble money,” Mattie said. “We heard that it had been lost over the years due to a combination of over-spending and poor investment decisions.”
    “That may be the case for other branches of the family. But when your mother married Hawksley, her father gave her a sizeable amount of money. Hawksley was insulted, feeling that his father-in-law was insinuating he wasn’t capable of providing for Beverly on his own. So he never touched it and he made her promise she wouldn’t either. Because of that promise and Hawksley’s careful investing, there’s a very sizeable fund in the account today.”
    “I suppose we should thank our father for that,” Dani said reluctantly. “Too bad he wasn’t put in charge of great-aunt Mabel’s share of the money, as well.”
    Their great aunt had been to the point of having to sell the original Bramble family home in Marietta until cousin Eliza moved to town from Nashville and turned the place into a bed and breakfast.
    Callan relaxed a little. If these were the sorts of surprises she had to prepare herself for then this might not be so bad as she’d feared.
    But the slick of sweat on Ren’s forehead was getting worse. He took another drink of coffee then went on. “Your father also had his own investment portfolio, aside from the ranch accounts. That money, as well, will be divided equally among Mattie, Dani, Sage and Callan.” Ren looked up from his notes. “The sum total of money you inherit from both your mother and Hawksley should be enough to ensure you all have very comfortable futures.”
    Sounded good. But had anyone else noticed Ren seemed to be avoiding calling Hawksley their father? Maybe it was because of