“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” Mav snapped.

“You’re in a pissy mood. Not getting laid enough?” Nick said with a laugh.

Mav shot out of his seat and thought about pounding on his brother for a few seconds. He even had his fists clenched as he took a menacing step in his direction. When he saw the delight on Nick’s face, he knew he was overreacting and needed to back off. He changed directions and went back over to the liquor cabinet.

“What I do or don’t get is none of your damn business,” he mumbled as he threw back a shot before mixing another drink and going back to his seat. As much as he’d love to knock his brother around, the liquor was beginning to kick in.

“I thought you wanted to box with me?” Nick said, leaning back as he grinned at Maverick.

“Nah. I’m good now,” Mav said. “Just a lot on my mind. Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Damn. You sure go hot and cold, brother,” Cooper said, sitting back and watching the show.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Maverick was beginning to wonder why he’d been in such a bad mood in the first place.

Then the doctor hitting on his woman flashed through his mind, and he remembered all too well, making his blood pressure rise again. Nope. He pushed that image right out of his head. Lindsey would be much better off without him in her life in the long run. Still, their time wasn’t quite over yet. They weren’t finished planning the fund-raiser, and he just wasn’t willing to let her go. Whatever his reasoning, though, he was still holding on when he shouldn’t. Maybe it was really him who needed her and not the other way around.

“Get on with this. I have an early day tomorrow,” Mav said, wanting to get out of his own head. He was tired of being in there.

“Our guy has new information on Ace,” Cooper said.

That stopped all movement in the room.

“What’s he got?” Nick finally asked.

“Ace isn’t flying anymore. That’s for sure. He’s also placed a lawsuit against the family for his trust.”

Mav let the words flow through him over and over again as he tried to process the words.

“Why in the world would he want to do that? We all had enough of our own money when Father made that stipulation in his will. Did he blow through it all?” Nick asked.

“I don’t know why he’s doing what he’s doing,” Cooper said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Will he win?” Mav asked.

“Does it really matter? The money is his. Do we actually care if and how he gets it?” Cooper asked.

“It’s the principle. All three of us have grown up, gotten careers, done things to better our lives,” Mav said.

“He won’t win unless we all grant it,” Cooper told them.

“And what do you want to do?” Nick asked.

Maverick really couldn’t tell what his brother was thinking. It was obvious that Cooper didn’t care if Ace got the money or not. Nick seemed on the fence. Maverick just wanted his brother back. Now he was worried that if he came back, he wouldn’t want to be around the man he’d turned into.

“I just want to talk to him,” Cooper said.

“I echo that,” Maverick told them.

“And if we fight him, do you think he’ll ever come home?” Nick pointed out.

“He might get the money and disappear all over again,” Cooper said.

“We can’t control him,” Mav said with a sigh. “We don’t have the right to control anyone.” That was a lesson he really needed to learn.

“What has he been doing? Where’s he living? What’s going on in his life?”

“Maybe I can answer some of those questions.”

The boys turned to the doorway and looked at Sherman, who was standing there looking in on them. His expression was sad as he moved into the room.

“Uncle Sherman?” Coop said.

“Is there something we’re missing?” Nick asked.

“There’s a lot your mother and I have kept from you,” Sherman said as he moved over to an easy chair and sat down.

“Maybe it’s time you tell us, then,” Maverick said.

Sherman sighed. “Your brother was always different, right from the beginning. He was a hothead, but he does have a heart of gold inside. It’s just buried deep down. He feels like he’s been betrayed and he’s not going to listen to any of us.”

“Why does he feel betrayed? We were all in that room when Dad’s will was read. We were pissed, but we got over it,” Cooper said.

“It goes beyond the reading of the will, boys. It hinges on something before that. Some things happened that we didn’t tell you about.”

“Well, now would be the time to tell us,” Nick thundered.

“I won’t speak of things about Ace without him here to defend himself. But about a year before your father passed, there was an incident. I don’t know if you saw the changes in him then, but that’s when it started. It also solidified your father’s decision to do what he did regarding his will,” Sherman said.

“Why are you even starting this if you aren’t going to tell us anything?” Cooper snapped.

“I just want you to know that it isn’t black and white. There’s a lot of color in there—a lot of hurt. I’ve been trying to reach out to Ace for years. He’s protecting himself and he seems to see us as the enemy.”