The Bloodline

Chapter 8, The Bloodline

Chapter 8

He'd forgotten how big this property was. The flat open land, the trees and forest in the background, and miles of open trail he'd spent years exploring on horseback...he knew every part of this land up into the mountains. At one time, he'd believed he'd be there forever, knowing this property was his birthright as the only son. He'd loved this land so much he believed he'd raise his children here with his imaginary wife, and one day he would die here. He'd never imagined another way.

How everything had changed. Now, he walked side by side with his uncle to the field that corralled many of the horses he'd bought and worked with, some of the finest bloodlines around. He had been a rodeo star in his time, another lifetime.

"So how are you doing, son?" Rodney asked, leaning against the wooden rail.

"I'm good. What can I say? I didn't expect this. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel." How could he, considering his mother had always been so distant? He'd been raised by staff, tiptoed around his mother's theatrics. They had never been close.

"Was quite the shock to Becky and me, too," Rodney said.

"I'm surprised you're here, but I can't say I'm not happy. It was good to know you're here as a buffer with Dad. Wasn't too keen, I have to say, on coming back here after all that's happened."

"Well, the timing couldn't have been better. We came up to see our grandkids, knew I needed to be here for you. Becky insisted, too."

He didn't know what to say as he watched his uncle. His heart felt full and loved, being with him. "Thank you." His throat thickened, and he had to clear it again. "Any idea what's happening tomorrow?" He had so many questions, and he didn't know what he was going to have to deal with.

"Funeral's in the morning. Brad and Neil are coming in for it. Then your mother's lawyer is reading the will. All I know is everything is to go to you. Your dad said your mother always had it set up that way. Don't know everything, but I do know it's a lot."

"And Dad?" He didn't understand. Because his parents were married, everything should have been his dad's. Maybe there was more to it.

"I don't know everything, but you'll find out tomorrow, I'm sure. Just remember you have your life somewhere else. Your mother is gone, and so are her shenanigans."

"I never knew what to do with the evidence Aida left before she killed herself, what my mother had schemed, trying to get rid of Laura. She knew I had it, and I often wondered if she was worried about when and how I would use it. But I'm not like her. I just wanted my family safe, for no one to come in and try to destroy what I have with Laura." He wondered now what he'd do with the safety deposit box since there would be no justice for his mother. He felt cheated in an odd way instead of relieved. At least his wife wouldn't have to worry that she'd be set up with some unspeakable crime and sent away to prison, which was what his mother had threatened. She'd had the means to make it happen, which had truly terrified him.

"Andy, you and Laura have a family, and you already know nothing can happen because we have each other's backs. Go to the funeral, listen to the lawyer, and then go home to your wife and your children. That's all you have to do. Becky and I will be here for you, too." Rodney reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "This is quite the place. You should really consider staying at Jed's."

He smiled, thinking of taking the sofa in Jed's too-small house. How much more comfortable it would be than this ten-thousand-square-foot luxury mansion. He shook his head. "No, as much as I'd like to, I can't. I'll take my old room if it's still intact and just go through some things." Mainly his mother's, her records, to try to get a handle on what was coming tomorrow. Then he'd call his wife, relieved that out of all this tension, she was hundreds of miles away in another state, safely away from all this.

"Call if you need anything." Rodney squeezed his shoulder one more time before pulling him into a hug, patting his back, and then walking away.

Andy took in the horses, the stable workers, and the cars in back from the employees of this vast estate that he'd one day expected to run. For the first time, he felt the power behind this place—unsettling.