The Price of Honor

by Janis Reams Hudson

  Yeah, right. Neither one of you needs a damn thing.

  After the sheriff left, others began leaving. Grady wasn’t up to accepting more condolences as they departed. He stepped outside onto the patio. The crowd in the yard had dwindled, too. It was down to four little boys now, including Cody. He watched them play, intent on letting his mind drift. A moment later the patio door slid open and a woman joined him. He’d seen her at the church, and again at the cemetery. Ace Wilder’s wife, according to Alma.

  “I’m sorry for disturbing you,” she told him. “I just came out to collect the boys. I’m Belinda Wilder.”

  Grady said his how-do-you-dos and shook her hand, all the while waiting for the cold blast of disdain he fully expected from anyone in the Wilder family for what he’d done to Rachel.

  “You’re looking at me like you’re waiting for me to bite,” she noted.

  Grady shrugged. “I figure it’s a distinct possibility from anyone named Wilder. Assuming they’ve filled you in on me.”

  “They filled me in,” Belinda told him easily. “But I prefer to make my own judgments.” She eyed him a minute, then frowned.

  “You’ve made your judgement?” he asked tiredly.

  “No, it’s not that.” She shook her. “Sorry. It’s just that I feel like I’ve seen you before.”

  Grady gave her a lopsided, wry smile. “Maybe in the center of an old dart board or two out at the Flying Ace.”

  Belinda laughed. “It’s not that bad, surely. No, I get the feeling I’ve run into you someplace, fairly recently. Have you been in Denver lately?”

  “No.” Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He’d changed planes there a few weeks ago, but the only part of the city he’d seen had been the airport.

  “Oh, well. It must be my imagination.” Saying no more on the subject, she turned toward the backyard and let out a shrill whistle. “Come on, boys,” she called to the gang beneath the old cottonwood. “Time to go.”

  Four sweaty little boys—Cody and three blue-eyed, black-haired clones of Rachel’s oldest brother, Ace Wilder, tumbled up the yard and stopped just short of the patio. Dirt and grass stains covered their jeans and T-shirts, and all four boys looked as happy as ticks on a hound.

  “Do we have to go, Mom?” the oldest asked.

  “Yes, we have to go. Scooter’s home waiting for you to feed him, and you’ve got other chores to do.”

  One of the boys nudged Cody and whispered loudly, “Is that him?”

  Cody looked up at Grady with huge brown eyes and nodded.

  Grady squatted down to the boys’ eye level and bit back a curse as he felt his bad knee give a sharp protest. Damn the thing. It was taking forever to heal this time. If he wasn’t careful he’d end up back in that godawful knee brace again. But for now, he would ignore the pain.

  “Who might you guys be?” he asked, offering a smile that he hoped wasn’t as stiff as he knew his knee was going to be.

  “I’m Grant. I’m free,” said the youngest, holding up three grubby fingers.

  “No,” Belinda said, shaking her head. “Grant Wilder is a clean little boy in clean clothes. I know, because I helped him dress this morning. You, young man, are as dirty as a little pig. All of you are. What did you do with my clean boys?”

  “Aw, Mom.” The oldest boy, about seven, wagged his head. “That’s old. You told us to play outside. A guy can’t be ’spected to stay clean if he’s playin’ outside.”

  “’Sides,” said the middle Wilder, who looked to be about Cody’s age. “There’s no blood. You always say no blood is a good sign.”

  Grady glanced up at her. “I think he’s got you.”

  “Hmm, yes, I do say that, it’s true. Maybe you are who you say you are.” Then she flopped her hands in the air in surrender. “I guess I can still recognize them, if not their clothes. The oldest is Jason, the middle one is Clay, and as you heard, this littlest piggy is Grant. Boys, this is Cody’s father, Mr. Lewis.”

  “How do you do, sir,” the three Wilder boys said in unison.

  “Very nice,” Belinda complimented. “Now say goodbye to Cody so we can go home.”

  “Sir?” the oldest asked. “Could Cody come out to our place and play sometime?”

  “We’ll see,” Grady said. Not that he was sure he and Cody would be sticking around long enough for Cody to visit and make new friends. Grady hadn’t had time to think that far ahead. Although it looked like Cody hadn’t waited on him; he’d already made several friends. And these three were Wilders. How ironic was that? Their mother, no, stepmother—he remembered Ace’s first wife, Cathy—might not have an opinion about him, but he wondered what Ace would think about his sons playing with Cody. Ace was as protective of the people he loved as a man could be, and he dearly loved his little sister.

  “Okay,” Belinda said. “Say goodbye, boys.”

  Grady bit back a chuckle at the various ways the boys dragged out their goodbyes to Cody, but finally Belinda herded her three into the house. Cody followed them to the front door.

  Grady stepped back into the house in time to see Belinda and the boys stop and say goodbye to Rachel, then leave with the rest of the Wilders.

  The Wilders weren’t the only ones leaving. Nearly everyone else was heading out, too. Thank God.

  Alma came to his side and patted his arm. “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m all right. How about you?”

  “Oh, you know me. Nothing keeps me down for long. We’re sure going to miss David and your dad, but we’ll make do the best we can without them. There you are, honey,” she added as Cody made his way toward them. “Ida Sumner left some special treats for the two of you in the kitchen.”

  “Who’s Ida Sum…Sum…”

  “Sumner,” Grady supplied. “She’s a very nice lady who used to make the best peach cobbler this side of heaven.”

  “She still does,” Alma told him as she led them into the kitchen. She dished up some of Ida’s peach cobbler for Grady and a couple of chocolate-chip cookies for Cody.

  The will was short and succinct, but it held a few surprises.

  Cody was in the den watching a Disney movie on video, and three women from the church were cleaning up the kitchen. Everyone else was gone when the Lewis family attorney, Henry Baines, called Grady, Alma, and Joe into the room Ray Lewis had used for his home office.

  The first surprise for Grady was that Rachel was also present. But then, he shouldn’t have been surprised that his father had named her in his will, since Ray had always thought of her as the daughter he’d never had. Not to mention the daughter he’d once hoped she would become when she and Grady married.

  Louise was there, too. Grady would have been surprised if she hadn’t been.

  David’s will was simple, as he had owned practically nothing but his clothes. He had a small savings account of $5,000 from his job at the feed store. This he left to his nephew, Cody, to be held in trust for him by Cody’s father, Grady Lewis, until Cody reached the age of sixteen, at which time Cody was to receive $3,000. He hoped the money would help Cody buy his first pickup. The rest of the money was to be held until Cody turned twenty-one.

  Also left to Cody was David’s dog, Harry. Of course, Harry had been killed in the plane crash, so it was a moot point.

  David left his fishing tackle to his father, which meant it was now part of Ray Lewis’s estate.

  “It’s legal?” Alma asked. “David’s will? The court’s not going to say that he was too incompetent or something, is it?”

  Baines gave them all a reassuring look. “It’s legal. David wasn’t so incapacitated that he couldn’t understand the meaning of what he was doing when he decided who he wanted to leave his possessions to. There should be no problem, unless someone decides to contest it.”

  The lawyer let them absorb that for a moment, then continued. “Ray’s estate is a little more complicated than David’s, but still, his bequests are to the point. You should know that he changed his will just
a few weeks ago. Not because of any sense of impending disaster, but because his business situation had changed. Do you want me to read it, or just tell you?”

  “Just tell us,” Grady said, hoping to get this over with.

  “Okay. Simple, then. Ray left ten thousand dollars to David, which now becomes part of David’s estate, so it goes to Cody, to be held in trust until Cody turns twenty-one.”

  Alma cried and Joe was left speechless when the attorney explained that their house—the foreman’s house that Ray built for them years ago—and the eighty acres on which it sat, in the southwest corner of the Standing Elk Ranch, was to be deeded to them, lock, stock, and fencepost, along with five thousand dollars in cash.

  To his grandson, Cody, Ray left his fishing tackle, the family photo albums, his University of Wyoming baseball cap, and ten thousand dollars, the latter to be held in trust by Grady until Cody’s twenty-fifth birthday.

  “To Louise Hopkins, without whom there might not be a Standing Elk Veterinary Clinic, or at least not one with the assets it now enjoys, I leave twenty percent of the clinic.”

  The gasp that came as Louise sucked in a shocked breath was highly audible. “Oh! Oh, my. Oh, Ray, you didn’t.”

  “Yes,” the attorney said. “He did. There are certain stipulations, which I’ll get to in a minute, but he left you twenty percent of the business, with the understanding that the clinic does not own the land on which it sits.”

  “Well, of course it doesn’t,” Louise said. “I ought to know, since I write out the lease check every month to Standing Elk Ranch.”

  “Just so we’re straight on that.”

  “We’re straight,” Louise said. “I just can’t believe…”

  “He left another twenty percent to Rachel Wilder.”

  “He what?” Rachel cried.

  Henry Baines smiled. “You heard me. Twenty percent of the clinic to you. You’ll have the same stipulations that I haven’t got to yet, but he said…‘There can’t be a veterinary clinic without a veterinarian, and the only one I want is Rachel. I know she’ll do me proud.”’

  Grady had to look away at the sight of tears in Rachel’s eyes.

  “To my youngest son, Grady,” the attorney read, “I leave Standing Elk Ranch and all its assets. I place no stipulations on this bequest, but it is my earnest hope that Grady will preserve the ranch intact and pass it on to Cody when the time comes. If he cannot bring himself to stay in Wyatt County and feels he must sell the ranch, I hope he will not sell it to a developer, and in any case, he must make provisions for the clinic to remain at its present location if the clinic owners wish to remain. I also leave to Grady the remaining sixty percent of Standing Elk Clinic.”

  Grady sat back in his chair as the truth hit him. His dad had left him the ranch. It really wasn’t a surprise; there was no one else to leave it to. But hearing the lawyer say it out loud made it real.

  He had options now. He didn’t have to work for someone else. The ranch was small compared to a place like the Flying Ace, but Standing Elk would keep him and Cody fed and clothed and then some.

  Did he dare stay and make a go of it?

  His first thought was, this would sure put the sheriff’s nose out of joint. But Grady had grown up some in the past five years. If he stayed it would be because he wanted to, because it was best for Cody. He wasn’t about to stay merely out of spite.

  There would be others besides Martin who wouldn’t be pleased to see Grady Lewis back in town. He had to assume that Rachel was one of them. And now they were partners in the clinic, and he owned the controlling share. How was that going to work?

  But in truth, Grady didn’t know if he had it in him to leave again. He had already crossed the biggest hurdle, that of showing up after all these years. Yet if he stayed, his father’s absence, and David’s, would be that much more real to him. He would be constantly faced with their loss. Back in California where he’d spent the past five years he would know they weren’t home waiting for him, but he wouldn’t be faced with daily reminders that they were gone from his life forever.

  And if he stayed, Cody could be hurt badly by the sheriff. Grady wasn’t afraid anymore of Martin trying to take Cody away. Especially not after that scene today in front of all those witnesses. But he would talk, and it would get ugly, and Cody was so young.

  “Well?” Joe demanded. “You staying, or going?”

  It was a good question. An important one. A legitimate one for his foreman—his foreman—to ask. And the man deserved an answer. They all did.

  The decision should be an easy one. This was his home. It was Cody’s legacy. Still, something held Grady back from making that final commitment. He hedged.

  “I’m thinking seriously about staying,” he said.

  Grady couldn’t help himself. He had to glance at Rachel to gauge her reaction.

  As near as he could tell, she didn’t have one. She kept her gaze squarely on the attorney.

  “All right,” Baines said. “Let’s get to those stipulations about the clinic. If either Louise or Rachel decides to sell her share, she has to offer it first to Grady. If he declines, she must offer it to the other twenty-percent-holder. If that partner declines, she can seek another buyer, who must meet with the approval of both of the other partners.”

  Rachel smiled. “Why do I get the impression he didn’t want any of us to sell?”

  “Gee,” Louise said with a chuckle. “Could it be because he gave any two of us the ability to deny the third one the right to sell to a buyer of her or his choosing?”

  “There’s more,” Baines said cheerfully. “As long as Rachel chooses and is capable, she is to be the senior veterinarian at the clinic, and as long as she chooses and is capable, Louise is to manage the business affairs.”

  Louise looked at Grady, then winked at Rachel. “Do you suppose he didn’t trust us? The way I see things, I’m in charge of the business, and Rachel’s in charge of the patients. That leaves Grady.” She tapped a long, manicured nail against her chin and ignored the fact that he hadn’t said he was staying. “I believe we’ll put him in charge of heavy maintenance and taking out the trash.”

  Amid the laughter that followed, Henry Baines stacked up his papers and prepared to leave. It was seldom that the reading of a will managed to generate such genuine laughter. In fact, he didn’t think it had ever happened at any readings he’d conducted.

  Ray, he silently told his old friend, things look pretty good. Your clinic’s in good hands, and your boy is surely coming home. I can see the way this place pulls at him. He’ll stay. Mark my words.

  Chapter Three

  Rachel had known that Dr. Ray would leave the ranch to Grady, but it was a full day after the reading of the will and the reality of it was only now hitting her. It was one thing to see him again after all this time, to speculate on whether or not he might stay. It was another to realize that he now had a perfectly legitimate reason to stay. A concrete reason. A ranch to run. Majority ownership in the only veterinary clinic in the county. Since yesterday she had thought of little else but the possibility of his staying.

  It was a good thing this was a slow day at the clinic.

  Maybe she could get herself together before their first client came in. Maybe no one would notice her hands were shaking.

  It was no concern of hers whether Grady Lewis stayed or left, she lectured herself sharply.

  Of course, other people thought she had an opinion on the matter. Last night she’d gotten three phone calls from casual acquaintances wanting to know what she thought about Grady being back in town. What she thought about his son. It was humiliating to realize that everyone was once again talking about the way he’d cheated on her and left her.

  Poor Rachel, they had said five years ago. Poor, poor Rachel.

  She hated pity.

  What she wanted, she realized, was for Grady to apologize for what he’d done. For him to grovel. Swear his undying love and beg her forgiveness. So she could shove
it back in his face.

  He would be on bended knee, of course. No, both knees. Hands held out, palms up.

  Rachel, you’ll never know how sorry I am that I hurt you. If you can’t find it in your heart to forgive me, I will find the highest cliff and throw myself off.

  No, that wasn’t quite right.

  Rachel my love, I stayed away for as long as I could, but I had to see you again.

  No, not that. Something more…

  It was a mistake. Rachel, you have to believe me. I never betrayed you. I know Cody has my mother’s eyes and my mouth. But if you’ll just give me a chance, I can explain.

  Hmmph. Better, but implausible. Still…on both knees, hands held out in supplication, his face lined with distress. And the entire town watching and listening.

  I needed money, you see, to buy you a present. There was this sperm bank. How was I to know LaVerne would go there and get my sperm? There was a mix-up. Mine wasn’t supposed to be sold. I never cheated on you, Rachel. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I loved you too much. I still do. Please, please take me back.

  “Are you trying to make it levitate?”

  At the sound of Louise’s voice at her shoulder, Rachel was startled out of her daydream. Chagrined for letting such foolishness fill her head, she grimaced. “What?”

  “You’re staring at that scalpel so hard I thought maybe you were waiting for it to jump out of the autoclave by itself.”

  “Oh.” She offered Louise a halfhearted smile. “I guess I was wool-gathering.”

  “Anything you want to talk about?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing important.”

  “Good. Then you can quit strangling that stethoscope.”

  “What?” Rachel looked down to find her fingers twisting the instrument tighter and tighter. “Oh.” She stuffed the stethoscope into the pocket of her lab coat and turned toward the small animal cages lining the back wall.

  “It’s Grady, isn’t it,” Louise stated.

  Rachel’s stomach fluttered. “What makes you say that?”

  “Because I know you.”

  That was the trouble, Rachel thought, with having a friend who knew her so well. A friend she was going to feel guilty lying to, but a woman had her pride, didn’t she? “Well, this time you’re wrong.”