“Am I being sued?”
Mr. Mitchel let out a laugh and shook his head. “No. No, sir, you’re not being sued. ”
I started walking toward the back door. “Then, come on in for a glass of sweet tea. It’s a beautiful December day, and the heat has made me thirsty for some tea. ”
Whitley grabbed my arm. “Where did you go? Are you in any pain?”
I smiled as I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “The only pain I feel is the pain of not being inside you right at this moment. ”
Her face blushed as she pushed me gently away.
We got inside, and Mr. Mitchel sat down at the table in the kitchen as Whitley got out three glasses. I took out the sweet tea from the fridge and poured us each a glass. As I sat down, I gestured for him to start talking.
“Well, Mr. Morris, I’m afraid I’m here on some rather disheartening business. My law firm, um…we represent your father. ”
My heart dropped to my stomach, and Whitley reached for my hand.
“What has he done? Has he gotten into some kind of trouble?” I asked, trying to force the lump down my throat.
Mr. Mitchel looked away and then back at me as he shook his head. “Mr. Morris, your father passed away a few weeks ago. He’d left specific instructions for all of this information to be hand-delivered to you in person, here in Texas. I’m so very sorry to be the one to break this news to you. I understand that you and your father had a strained relationship. ”
I let out a gruff laugh. “Yeah, you could say that. He left my brother and me to fend for ourselves as teenagers with no parents and a huge ranch to take care of. ”
“Well, your father left everything to you with the exception of a small part of his estate to his granddaughter, Kate. He also—”
“Wait—he knew about Kate?” I asked as I took a quick peek over toward Whitley.
“Um, yes. He also knew about Miss Reynolds, and he asked for a handwritten letter to be personally delivered to her also. So, with you being here, it has helped me out, Miss Reynolds. ”
Whitley tried to give him a smile, but I saw her hands were shaking.
She looked over at me and asked, “How did he know?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “How did my father know about Whitley? I mean, I guess I could understand maybe someone telling him about Kate. But Whitley?”
Mr. Mitchel took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Mr. Morris, your father was in constant contact with your foreman—a, um…Mr. Mitch Black. Mr. Morris would call him a few times a year to see how things were going on the ranch. ”
All the air in my lungs felt like it had been sucked out. I sat back in my chair and shook my head. “That motherfucker was in contact with my father and never once told me about it?”
“Well, I’m not sure what their relationship was or why Mr. Black didn’t share this information with you, but yes, he had been in contact with your father over the last several years. ”
Why in the hell would Mitch keep this from me?
“So, what is my father’s estate? I doubt he had any debt. He was always a fairly simple man,” I said.
Mr. Mitchel let out a small laugh. “Mr. Morris, your father’s estate is worth just over six million dollars. One million of that goes to Kate. ”
I dropped the glass of sweet tea that I was bringing up to my mouth as Whitley and I both said, “What?”
Whitley jumped up and started to clean up the spilled tea and broken glass. After she sat back down, I looked at Mr. Mitchel and shook my head.
“How? I mean, I knew my father was always well-off, but I just figured he made enough to do okay since he still sent the yearly taxes on the ranch even though he had signed it over to us long ago. ”
“Your father was a smart businessman. Most of his earnings were from stocks, investments, and racehorses. You’re also now the owner of six racehorses. Two of which are highly talked about as Derby contenders for next year. ”
I sat up and just stared at him. “What are their names?”
Mr. Mitchel smiled. “Sunset Sky, Fast as a Bullet, Kate’s Date, Lay it Low, Mike’s Lucky Star, and Sweet Baby. ”