I'll Be There: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 5)

by Shanade White

  “I’ll need a copy of the contract Michael signed, a copy of whatever legal documents you have pertaining to the trust and the business.” Scott said, then added almost as an afterthought. “I’ll also need someplace to stay while I’m here. The crew I hired to come in and take over the cabin should be here in the next day or two. It might be a good idea if I just stayed here, that way I’ll be closer to the job site.”

  Michael again opened his mouth, but Garrett shot him a look that said 'let me handle this'. It was a new feeling to have someone on his side, willing to protect him from his brother’s nastiness. They all waited to see if Scott had any more to say, when he remained silent, Garrett cleared his throat.

  “Please have a seat Scott.” He said, then waited until Scott sat down, a process that took much longer than it should have. Garrett had his own power moves when he wanted to use them. Now Scott was seated with the four men standing imposingly behind Garrett.

  “First, you’ll have to speak with Michael and Nate about the status of their contracts. Although I’m on the board and approved the projects, Nate is in charge of the actual work.” He said, then looked to Nate.

  “Since I don’t see how this is really any of your affair I’ll give you the same information you could have found in the local paper. We’ve completed the renovation of two cabins with construction to start on the third in the spring. The renovations on the restaurant are going according to schedule and we should be open for the big Fourth of July celebration.” Nate said, in a rehearsed voice.

  Scott sputtered, then said, “I want my father’s money, he invested a large sum of money in Michael’s wild scheme and seen nothing in return for months.”

  “That’s between the two of us. Does he even know you’re here?” Michael was getting suspicious of Scott’s motives.

  “Dad said you didn’t come home for Christmas because you were behind on the project, so I’m here to bail you out.” Scott said, triumphantly.

  “What took you so long?” Michael asked, with a sneer.

  “I just decided to wait and teach you a lesson.”

  “Well, in case you missed it, I don’t need your help. Everything here is fine and if you’d talked to dad before you came here you’d know that. Now we’re finished here, you have nothing to do with my business and never will.” Michael said, stepping back.

  Donovan stepped forward with a huge stack of papers. “This is the most recent version of the Terrell Trust, a new version is in the works now, with an updated list of property and business inventories. Anything you’d like to know will be in here, once you’ve read it you can contact me with any questions you might have. Until then I’m not going to answer any of your questions except the one about the ranch. The fact is that you don’t own any portion of the ranch, it belongs to the trust along with all the other property in the valley.”

  Donovan dropped the papers in Scott’s lap then headed for the door. “If you’ll all excuse me I have an appointment I really can’t miss.”

  Scott watched Donovan leave the room, then looked at the papers in his lap. Garrett got to his feet, “If we’ve answered all your questions, I think we can call a close to this discussion. As to your staying here at the house, I’m afraid we don’t have the room right now. There are plenty of great places to stay in town.”

  Scott had no choice but to get to his feet, collect the papers and leave, slamming the door on his way out. When they heard his car start they all let out a sigh of relief. “Well, that was fun. Don’t you just love my family, of course I guess he’s your family too.”

  *****

  Scott got in his car, madder than he’d ever been before. He’d discovered nothing this morning, one look at the papers Donovan had given him had told him that he’d never begin to understand their contents. He’d need an attorney to make sense of it, apparently Michael wasn’t in as much trouble as he’d hoped, but he wasn’t leaving without the money his father had given him, it had become a matter of control, although he wouldn’t admit that to himself.

  As he drove down the narrow road from the ranch, he cursed the mud and the fact that he’d come out here alone. He’d have to call Marc and get him out here, they had plans to make. Finding different accommodations was top on his list however, no way was he going to stay in the bed and breakfast he’d stayed in last night. The land lady had been so snoopy, he’d had to go to bed early just to get away from her.

  Grabbing his phone he punched in Marc’s number cursing him when he didn’t pick up right away. Finally Marc answered sleepily, “What?”

  “Wake up you idiot. What are you still doing in bed this time of day? Never mind, get your ass on a plane as soon as you can and get here. But first call Dominique and tell her to find us a house to stay in while we’re here.” Scott barked into the phone.

  “Okay Scott. I’m on it. Anything else?” Marc was suddenly a lot more awake.

  “Bring Dominique with you, I’m going to need her. And don’t tell Dad about any of this, he doesn’t need the stress, you know how fragile he is these days.” Scott said, hitting the end button before his brother could respond.

  *****

  It didn’t take long for word to get to the ranch that Scott had set himself and his staff up in one of the rental houses on the hills around town. Michael couldn’t believe his brother was here messing with his new life. He’d been doing just fine on his own, which Scott could have learned from his father.

  The more he thought about it, the more he decided that what had drawn Scott more than anything else was the smell of the Terrell trust money. Bailing Michael out was only his excuse to come to town and evaluate the situation. He’d already made it clear that he believed they’d been cheated out of their share, an idea that he certainly didn’t agree with.

  His father may have made a mistake cutting off all ties with the family, but he’d done it for reasons he believed in back then, besides it’s not like they were hurting for money. Unlike his brother, money didn’t mean that much to Michael. As long as he had a place to live and food to eat, he was happy. It’s not like he was ever likely to starve, his father had seen to that.

  Garrett and Donovan had already reassured Michael that the trust was rock solid, tested over three generations, any loophole had been carefully closed. The most Scott could do was register for the trust payments and take a spot of the board of directors, only one vote among many. Michael had felt better then, especially when Donovan pointed out that he too could register and be on the board, his vote would counter any that Scott might make.

  All of the Terrell’s waited with baited breath to see what Scott might do, but he kept his distance. He seemed to be evaluating the ski area and town, always skulking around, Marc, tablet in hand, was never far away. Donovan knew that his legal team was evaluating the trust for weaknesses, after several phone calls from one very pushy attorney he’d told the man to put his questions in a formal written request and he’d respond, shocking his legal team with his refusal to cooperate.

  Michael was splitting his time between the cabin on the ranch and the restaurant in town, working as many hours as he could on both projects determined to finish them both on time. But no matter how busy he was, Annabelle made sure they still had some time together. Since the babies were all over a few months old, the house was much more organized, allowing Annabelle to take a lunch break most days.

  She’d pack some food into a basket and find Michael where ever he was and have lunch with him. Sometimes she’d enlist Marcie’s help and feed the entire crew, which Michael had been resistant to at first, but soon found that it improved morale on the job site and embraced the lunches. He was quickly learning that keeping his crew happy not only increased their production, but the quality of the work they did.

  One bright beautiful day Annabelle decided that it was warm enough for them to have lunch outside, Michael had been especially grumpy for the last few days. His brothers continued presence in town beginning
to get to him, Scott had shown up on the job site the week before causing all kinds of trouble. He tried to order the crew around, questioned their credentials in front of them, and had even been so bold as to criticize their work.

  Michael had forced him to leave, but not before things had gotten ugly, with Scott threatening to call the building inspector and reporting Michael. It was a completely empty threat since Michael and the building inspector had become friends, Pleasant Valley was a small place. Since then Michael had spent half his time looking over his shoulder, expecting Scott to come back again.

  When Annabelle walked in the back door, she noticed that it was very quiet inside, no sounds of work going on at all. She was suddenly very worried that something was wrong, but when she stepped into the main dining area, she found that Michael had pulled some cushions out and made a little picnic area for them in the center of the room.

  He was standing by the widow looking out at the street when she came in, but turned when he heard her. “I sent everyone away for a long lunch, we’ve finally managed to get ahead of schedule so I thought they deserved a reward.” He said, crossing the room to take the picnic basket from her hands.

  “This is nice.” She said, pointing to the cushions.

  “We haven’t had very much time together lately and I miss you.” He said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

  Their kiss was interrupted by Michael’s stomach growling. “I think we’d better get you some lunch.” Annabelle laughed.

  They’d just made themselves comfortable on the cushions when they heard the back door opening. Assuming it was one of the workers, Michael leaned over and whispered in her ear, “It’s a good thing my stomach interrupted us or we might have been in a compromising position right now.”

  Annabelle felt a little thrill of pleasure at his words, turned her head and kissed him. Then said, “I don’t have to be back for a couple of hours, it’s not that far to your apartment.”

  They were both so distracted that they didn’t even notice that Scott had walked into the room, only when he spoke did they notice him. “What’s this? Doesn’t look like work to me.” He said, with a condescending tone.

  Once Michael would have jumped to his feet at the sight of Scott, but his new found confidence allowed him to stay just where he was, his arm around Annabelle. Scott looked at both of them, then with a disgusted look said, “Is that the nanny?”

  This time Michael did rise to his feet pulling Annabelle with him, “This is my girlfriend Annabelle.” He said, putting emphasis on the word girlfriend.

  Scott looked at the two of them for a second then said, “Have you told her about your fiance back home?”

  Annabelle looked at Michael who had become red in the face, “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not marrying that woman. You are not going to pick my wife or run my life, get that through your head.” He said, through clenched teeth.

  “It already been arranged, I placed the announcement in the paper before I left home.” Scott said, as if that was the end of the discussion. “Have as much fun as you want with your little nanny, but you’re going to get married.”

  “I have some news for you brother, if you think I’m going to blindly follow your orders like Marc, then you’ve got a rude awakening coming. You can’t force me to marry her, have Marc do it if it’s so important to you.” Michael said, stepping closer to Scott, clearing daring him to make things physical.

  “Well, let’s just see how you get along when I cut off your allowance. I bet your little girlfriend there won’t be quite so into you when she finds out that you’re broke.” Scott said, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Annabelle opened her mouth to defend herself, but Michael squeezed her hand, laughed, then said, “The problem with you Scott is that everything revolves around money. Has it even crossed your mind that I might have actually made a profit, or that I’m just as entitled to the trust fund as you are? I don’t need your money.”

  “So now you’re all grown up, a man out on his own. It’s only a matter of time before you fall flat on your face. It’s not really your fault, Dad treated you differently, gave you everything you ever wanted, but he’s made you weak. The first time something goes wrong, you’ll be crawling back to me and I might decide to help you or not.” Scott said, and stomped out of the restaurant, the door slamming behind him.

  Michael pulled Annabelle back over to the cushions, “I’m sorry you had to see that.” He said, taking her hand. “I’m really beginning to think there’s something wrong with my brother. He’s always been all about the money, but I didn’t realize he’d become such a....” He trailed off not able to think of the right words.

  “It’s okay. You stood up to him and that’s all that counts. Does he really think that I’m after you for your money?” Annabelle was trying to understand how two brothers could be so different.

  “I honestly don’t know, my brother has always gotten his way, and lately his big plan was to marry me off as part of a business deal.” Michael said with a shrug.

  “Do you think he’s going to try and make trouble for you?” She asked, wishing there was something she could do to make the situation better.

  “I think he’s going to make trouble for all of us.” Michael said, pulling her into his arms. “Let’s not talk about him anymore.”

  Chapter 13

  Less than a week later, Garrett called a family meeting to discuss the Scott problem, the town’s people had begun asking questions about what he was doing in town. He and Marc had been spotted all over town, measuring tapes and notebooks in hand clearly making some kind of plans. When asked what he was doing, he’d been rude and dismissive to anyone and everyone, raising some ruffled feathers.

  “I had to call the police on him just the other day, he was actually inside the shoe store with his measuring tape and when Mr. Peters asked him to leave he threatened him with closing the store.” Garrett said, clearly angry. “We may have to find a way to kick him out of town. I’ve contacted the law department to see what they can do. I’m about fed up with your brother and his interfering. I don’t know what he’s trying to accomplish, but it has to end.”

  “I couldn’t agree more, I’m tired of him showing up at the job site. He doesn’t dare come here, but he’s there at least once a day. We try to ignore him, but eventually I have to kick him out. I think it’s time to call my dad, I didn’t really want to, but Scott’s out of control.” Michael said, embarrassed.

  Annabelle squeezed his hand, knowing exactly what he was feeling, they’d discussed it many times. In her opinion it was time to call his dad, it was also time to get Scott out of town, but it wasn’t her call to make so she’d simply supported Michael’s decision.

  “He’s filed a formal law suit in court, I think he knows he has no hope, but now it’s become a matter of pride.” Donovan said, “He’s not happy with just the trust money, he seems to think he owns a share of all the property and businesses. It’s just going to be a waste of his time and ours.”

  “I think he’s got some other plan in mind and I don’t think any of us are going to like it. He’s actually scaring me a little bit, he’s never been this bad.” Michael said, “Promise me that you’ll all be on your guard. He’s made some threats, I don’t really think he’ll carry them out but he’s not the same person I grew up with.”

  They left the meeting not feeling all that much better about Scott, but united as a family. Annabelle was really worried about Michael, the strain of his brothers presence was beginning to take its toll. At times he was grumpy as a bear, at others he was sad and depressed. He’d begun to lose weight and had dark circles under his eyes.

  Then as if they didn’t have enough to deal with, Annabelle got a phone call from one of the detectives working her parent’s murder case back home. She hadn’t spoken to him for a few months, since there hadn’t been any new developments in months, but someone had broken into the lab. He wa
s sure that it had been a professional job, getting through the security on the building was no easy feat.

  She’d known that eventually someone would come looking for the formula again, but with all the excitement around the ranch she hadn’t thought about it much. The detective had warned her to be on her guard, she was the only link to the formula and someone might believe that she knew where it was.

  “But why have they waited this long?” She asked.

  “Well, there could be a couple of reasons, but my gut tells me that the plan didn’t include murder and who ever hired those guys has been lying low until enough time has passed that you’re guard is down, so you need to be very careful.” The detective had warned.

  As soon as she was off the phone, she found Garrett in the barn and related what had happened to the lab and the detectives warnings. This time although Garrett was busy with the cattle and calving, he stopped what he was doing and made some phone calls. First to an FBI agent they’d worked with when Leslie and Sebastian had been on the run from the mob, and then another to a private detective in California that he’d worked with before.

  He’d given her the same lecture that the detective had, but also took some time to teach her some self-defense. When Sabrina had seen them, she’d laughed and said, “Oh no, another one of Garrett self-defense classes. Have you taught her to shoot a gun yet?”

  “Nope. That’s tomorrow.” He’d said, then added, “Of course you’re welcome to teach her, you’re a better shot than I am anyway.”

  “Stop trying to butter me up Garrett Terrell, although it is true. I’d be happy to teach Annabelle to shoot.” Sabrina said, kissing him on the way out of the room.

  Annabelle had watched their exchange thinking it was easy to see just how much they loved each other. She hoped that one day she and Michael would have the same kind of relationship. True to her word, Sabrina took Annabelle out in the field behind the barn and taught her how to shoot both a hand gun and a rifle.