Deadly Inheritance (completed)

Chapter 1

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Charlie

Sitting here on the plane waiting for it to take off all I can think about is not being there for my grandparents in the end. I always promised I'd come back after prep school, after college, when I got time after I got my big job, for the holidays. It seems I was always putting off coming home. It was really the only place I ever called home. I stayed in New York with my father but I really didn't have any choices. It's what he wanted.  I wanted to go home.

My parents left me at the ranch when I was five. They said they would be back for me after their business trip. I never saw my mother again. My father stayed in New York, his business was there, he needed to run things, pay for my mothers alimony after the divorce. Going back to the ranch was never something he wanted. My mother is somewhere in Europe with her new husband and his money that she found more appealing than me. I was never appealing to either of them it seemed. My grandparents raised me without a question about why my parents would leave me. Now I'm going home for the first time in ten years and I have no idea what I will find.

Ryan

The entire morning everyone has mourned knowing it's all coming to an end. It's been hard to just get the work done and do business as usual around here. We all know she's coming today and everyone is acting like it's the greatest thing in the world. Why? Charlotte Layton has had the opportunity to come home for ten years while her family was still alive and she was too busy for the two people who raised her. Too busy to call them, too busy to come for a weekend, a birthday or a holiday. She's no better than her parents are. They abandoned Gramps and Stella long ago and when Gramps couldn't handle the ranch alone none of them came, none of them cared. Why should they care to come now? This whole running around to impress her is bullshit! I'm not gonna give a shit what she thinks of me or of what we've done around here. Her opinion means nothing to me. Fucking nothing! This ranch should belong to me or to my father, we're the ones that have busted our asses day and night to make sure this ranch kept going. We're the ones that took care of the animals, nursed them back to health, birthed their babies, buried their dead. We work when we're sick or healthy.

Where the hell have they been? Sitting in their fancy homes, driving fancy cars, taking elaborate vacations. All the while Gramps and Stella struggled. No, she can kiss my ass and go home.

"Ry! We got a mare about to birth in the stable she's having a hard time. You better get in there." Dale yelled as he rode across the field.

"Fuck! That's just what I need right now! I'm on my way!" I yell out and turn my mare around and headed back towards the stable. There's a storm coming in, I've got cattle stuck out in the far pasture that need to be moved and now a mare going into foal. I can only do so much.

The thunder rumbled across the sky as the horse races across the field. I don't have time to worry about Charlotte Layton and what she wants right now. I have a working ranch to run that isn't going to stop just for her. As I reached the stable, I dismount the horse quickly and tie the reins around the post inside the barn to keep her out of the storm. Then move into the stall where my girl was struggling with her baby.

"Sometimes Ryan, I think you care more about these horses than you do about people." Jose remarks as he hangs over the gate.

"The horses are easier to get along with. They listen a hell of a lot better too." I tell him, earning a slap on the back and myself a laugh.

"You know the lady is coming in soon. Your Pops went to the airport to get her." Jose made a point to tell me my dad's doing what I was supposed to do.