Cal paced back and forth and wished that he hadn’t let Jesse leave the ranch. What if something happened? What if Adam Connolly found her somewhere on the road and decided the best way to get what he wanted was to run Jesse into the ditch? As he paced back and forth on his front porch, the ideas kept coming and getting more and more wild as they did.

There was some small comfort in knowing that she was driving his truck. Hers was obviously not fit for duty since driving in reverse all the way to Denver was a no-go. Perhaps Adam wouldn’t want to tangle with a Hernandez. He’d gone straight for Jesse to begin with. Perhaps Jesse was the focus and the target for the moment.

Finally, Cal saw great big plumes of dust as his brothers drove down the road toward the ranch. It was a big, long line of white trucks all carrying the HLC brand on the side. They were coming fast and with a purpose. Cal couldn’t blame them for that. It wasn’t every day that you found out that you had a long-lost half-brother.

Laredo was the first one to get out. He barely managed to shut off the truck engine before he leaped to the ground. Aria Callahan was with him. She bounced out of the passenger side and made a dive as though she were going to grab Laredo and tackle him to the ground.

“Laredo!” Aria called. “Laredo, slow down! You can’t just run over there and stick your fist in his face. Use your words!”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m Bella,” Laredo told her irritably. “I’m not going to punch him out. I just want to know why he’s buying into someone’s bullshit.”

That was fair. There was no doubt in Cal’s mind that Met and Cisco had filled Laredo in on the latest news about their parents’ melodramatic lives. It had to sound like one more load of crap hand-fed to them by their mother and their father. At least that would have been Cal’s stance had a man who was so obviously their brother not assaulted him inside Jesse’s barn less than three hours ago.

Met, Daphne, Cisco, and Melody appeared on the porch a few moments later. Melody immediately touched Cal’s shoulder and offered him a tentative look of sympathy. “What was he like? Jesse called me on her way in to talk to your mom. She says she’s afraid he’s going to hit my place next.”

“It’s hard to say what he’ll do.” Cal thought about that. It really was hard to say, and not just because Adam Connolly was an unknown. “The man has been bamboozled by Paul Weatherby. He thinks he knows what’s going on because Paul has told him that all of us have intentionally kept him from his inheritance.”

“But that isn’t true!” Daphne protested. She took Met’s hand and lifted it to her lips. Her worry for him and for their family was palpable. “You guys had no idea what your parents were up to in their younger years.”

“That’s true enough,” Cisco snorted. Then he pointed to Laredo. “Until a few hours ago, Laredo here was still convinced that Jesse was our biological sister.”

“I’m still not totally on board with the idea that she isn’t,” Laredo muttered. “It makes too much sense.”

“No.” Cal picked up the worn journal that Jesse had given him before she left for Denver. “Jesse found a huge bunch of journals in her parents’ house. Her mother kept them. But our mother liberated two of the journals and a good amount of Amelia’s jewelry and personal effects. We found them this morning in a box of Mom’s old stuff I had upstairs.”

“Mom stole personal effects from Jesse’s mother’s home after her death?” Laredo scoffed. “I find that very difficult to believe.”

Met was already shaking his head. “I don’t. You guys don’t have any idea how much anger that woman can hang onto. She would feel as though that stuff belonged to her, almost like damages for a crime committed.”

“That’s sad but very much like a woman,” Daphne admitted. She glanced at Melody and Aria. “What do you guys think? You know Avery better than I do.”

“Maggie would be the one to say.” Aria spoke slowly. “I think her mental health background helps more than you think when she’s dealing with Avery. That’s why Avery likes her so much.”

Laredo held up both hands as though he were surrendering. “Fine. Let’s hear it. I’m willing to listen at least.”

“Today I found out that I’m pregnant with Joseph Hernandez’s baby,” Cal read in a clear voice. He could feel the stillness settling on his brothers as he kept going with Amelia’s words. “I know that Joe is going to be excited just like I know that I’m going to have a boy. Joe has three beautiful boys already, and I can’t wait for him to leave Avery and start a life that will truly make him happy. Avery isn’t the woman for him. I am. And soon enough, everyone will know it.”

There was absolute silence on the porch when Cal finished reading that passage from Amelia’s journal. He could feel the confusion and pain in his brothers’ hearts because he felt it too. Reading those words was like driving splinters underneath his fingernails.

“She sounds so sure of herself,” Melody marveled. She tugged on a lock of her brown hair and pursed her lips. “I feel like I want to be mad at her, but I don’t think I can be.”

“No,” Daphne agreed. “What did Joe tell her to make her believe such a thing? Can you imagine? The man had to have promised her the world.”

“My father wouldn’t have promised to leave my mother,” Laredo insisted.

Darren suddenly appeared with Maggie by his side. Had the two of them honestly pulled up right there in the truck and Cal hadn’t even noticed? Had they all been so engrossed in the reading of the journal that they were oblivious to anything else?

Cal had a feeling that the answer was yes. Maggie held her hand out, and Cal handed over the journal. She began skimming the entries. Cal knew that she was looking at them and trying to read as far between the lines as she possibly could.

“Laredo,” Darren drawled. “Our father is absolutely capable of lying to any woman when he wants something. Do not kid yourself otherwise.”

Maggie nodded. “And honestly, the relationship between Avery and Joe had been degrading for a long time. I’m not really surprised to imagine it being rough even when this was written all those years ago. Avery and Joe were a horrible mismatch. Talk about a woman who had no idea what she was signing on for.”

“I feel like that’s why most of this happened to begin with,” Aria said softly. She glanced around at the rest of them as though she were looking for confirmation. “Don’t you think?”

Cal thought back to what he remembered of Amelia. She was a lot like her daughter. Jesse had that same zest for life and unapologetic way of being feminine without being girly. “Amelia was the opposite of Mom. That’s for sure. She loved ranching. She loved the ranch life. She rode and roped and threw her hand in with just about anything she could try. Mom was timid and she hated the outdoors. She wasn’t a partner to Dad, but she wasn’t supposed to be. She was a trophy.”

“Great,” Laredo muttered.

Aria turned to stare at him. “What? You look like you just saw a ghost or something.”

“I did.” Laredo shook his head. “I only just realized that I married my mother the first time around.”

“Oh.” Aria bobbed her head, and her expression said she was seriously considering that thought. “Yeah. Helena and Avery were very much alike.” Then Aria smacked him on the shoulder. “At least you’re not making that same mistake twice.”

“Ha. Ha.” He made a face at her that finally seemed to render him slightly less of a jerk. Sometimes Cal could not stand being around his overly serious brother. Aria at least brought out the human in Laredo.

“Okay, forget about this journal.” Darren gestured to the offending piece. “Let’s talk about the man. Adam, was it?”

“Yes.” Cal thought about Adam Connolly. “He looks like he’s approximately an age that puts him between Darren and Cisco. And let me tell you, he looks just like us. There is no doubt in my mind, and if any of you saw him, you would feel the same way.”

“How do we get ahold of this guy?” Darren demanded. “How can he just show up at Jesse’s claiming that the place is his?”

“Well,” Cal mused. “I think if you want to get ahold of him, we need to contact Paul Weatherby. I believe that’s how he thinks he knows what’s going on with us and with our situations. But as to how he can just call Jesse’s place his own? I’m going to say that it’s because he’s Amelia’s son and he’s older than Jesse is.”

“But the ranch belonged in Rawling’s family,” Darren pointed out. “That was something that used to drive Dad crazy. There was no way to get that land out of Jesse’s name. Not even when he and Mom legally adopted her.”

Cal was the only one facing out toward the road. The rest of his family had their backs to the driveway and were ranged across the front porch. He figured that’s why they didn’t spot the big rooster tail of dust coming up the road at a fast clip. Cal’s eyes were used to looking across those hills searching for tiny specks that might be cattle or wolves. He had spotted bears and cougars as well. At the moment, he knew he was seeing a snake heading right toward their front door. The truck sported the Flying W brand on the side, and there were two people in the cab.

“Well, guys,” Cal said, sounding far more put together than he was currently feeling. “I think you’re about to get the chance to meet our long-lost relation.”

“That bastard has brass balls,” Met muttered. “That’s all I’ve got to say.”

“Adam?” Daphne swung around to stare at Met.

“No.” Met pointed to the man currently behind the wheel and looking to park the truck. “Paul there. He must have a set of brass balls to come on our property with this imposter in tow.”

“Not an imposter.” Aria whistled. “Holy shit, Cal. Remind me never to doubt you again. I mean, I heard what you said, but seeing is really believing.”

“Oh my,” Melody breathed. “You’re not joking. He looks just like you guys!”

“Well, hello, Clan Hernandez!” Paul Weatherby boomed as he put first one boot and then the other on the gravel of their driveway. “I can see the shoe—or might I say the boot—is on the other foot today.”

“Why is that?” Aria demanded.

Paul’s cocky expression faltered. Adam was already out of the truck and stalking up to the porch. There was no doubt in Cal’s mind that this man was his half-brother. He even had the shitty attitude to go along with it.

Paul kept his gaze glued to Adam as he tried to pretend he was still confident of how this visit was going to go. “I mean, dear Ms. Callahan, that today I’m coming to you instead of you all coming to bug me with a litany of groundless accusations and rude requests.”

“Rude requests?” Cal shook his head at Paul. “Yeah. Asking you to quit stealing our stock and then returning them with the wrong brand on their butts is really a ridiculous request.” Cal could not resist adding some sass. “I realize that your ranch hands don’t have much to do on your place, but you should just lay them off. I bet we’ve got enough work to keep your whole crew busy over here on this real ranch.”

“I had heard you were a real asshole.” Adam Connolly suddenly pointed at Cal. “It’s nice to know your reputation isn’t exaggerated.”

Cal eyed the stranger and wished they could all just be friends. “I aim to please.”

“Where’s Jesse?” Adam looked around at the group of them. “I see a bunch of Hernandez losers standing here, but not the Collins whore who can’t seem to resist them any more than her mother could.”

“Where do you get your information?” Met said in his slow Western drawl. It was practically impossible for Met to sound rude or be rude. His tone was conversational, and he was actually half smiling at Adam.

Unfortunately, Adam did not return the good turn offered to him. “I get my information from the only place that seems to offer any.”

“Weatherby.” Met nodded. Then he gestured to Paul. “I would be careful with that source. In fact, at the moment, he’s being investigated by Internal Affairs for everything from livestock theft to misuse of authority and even a civil murder investigation. So, if you think about it, Paul has enough of his own problems. The idea that he can help you with yours seems a bit farfetched.”

Adam only shrugged. It was Paul who looked visibly startled. Cal couldn’t help it. He smirked. “What’s the matter, Weatherby? You never thought that we would have a chance of finding that original police report on Amelia’s accident?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Paul abruptly turned and walked back to his truck. “Adam. Let’s go. There’s no point in hanging around here if Jesse is in Denver.”

First of all, nobody had said where Jesse was. So, obviously, Paul was stalking her to some extent. Secondly, the way that Adam coolly glanced at Paul and then shrugged before heading back to the truck spoke volumes. The man had only thrown in his lot with Paul Weatherby because he thought there was something in it for him. This guy was the worst kind of loose cannon.

Cisco could not let the conversation end there though. He waved after Paul. “You didn’t hear the best part! With the switch to digital and scanned crime scene photographs, the original police report actually got scanned into the system! It’s already in the investigator’s file. You should be hearing something about that shortly, Paul! I’m sure you’ll want to be ready for that awkward conversation!”

Cal stared at his brother and shook his head. Paul and Adam were already driving off. Yet Cisco looked ready to go out and make an attempt to keep badgering them. It was the lawyer in him. Cal knew it.

“Are you done?” Darren asked Cisco, taking the words right out of Cal’s mouth. “Because I think we’ve probably told him plenty. Don’t you think?”

Cisco shook his head. “No. He needs to stew on it. He needs to know exactly what’s coming because there’s nothing he can do about it. Not right now.”

Cal nodded. He could only hope that whatever Adam wanted with Jesse could wait until she was safe here at home. She didn’t need to tangle with those two while she was alone. This was most definitely a family affair.