Page 15 of River Legacy (Powder River #5)

CJ Stafford hadn’t expected a brass band when he walked out of jail. But he had expected someone to pick him up. He stood just outside the gate, waiting. He hated waiting. Worse, he hated the feeling that he was no longer relevant.

He thought of his sister Oakley. When she’d come to visit him in jail that one and only time, she’d made it clear that he was no longer part of their lives.

He was still surprised that their mother had gotten him freed—especially after what Oakley had probably told her about their conversation at the prison.

She’d made it clear that she didn’t think he could ever change.

You’re right. I’d do anything to get out of here, let alone not go to prison for years. Why wouldn’t I? But maybe I’m not all bad. Maybe there’s hope for me. Don’t you believe in second chances?

Clearly, she hadn’t when it came to him.

He hadn’t bothered to ask her if she would ever forgive him for what he’d done to her. He was no fool. He knew his sister, and apparently she knew him. Or at least thought she did. Maybe he’d just show her that he could change. Maybe he’d show them all.

Isn’t it possible that I wish I’d done things differently? he’d asked his sister that day in jail.

Oakley hadn’t believed it, said it was a relief not having him around and that he could never change.

Maybe she was right, he thought now. Worse, it seemed she was right that life had gone on just fine without him since no one was here to pick him up. Hadn’t she warned him that there was no place for him in any of their lives?

Grinding his teeth, he hated that it might be true.

At least for a while. His mother thought he should be happy with the life she was offering him.

An apartment in Miles City, miles from the Powder River basin where he’d grown up.

Miles from the Stafford Ranch, the ranch he’d always promised himself would one day be his alone.

His brothers Brand and Ryder were now running the ranch. Oakley was married to Pickett Hanson, a McKenna ranch hand, and living next door. Same with his sister Tilly, who’d married Cooper McKenna. How cozy was that! The two fraternizing with the enemy.

The McKennas had been the enemies long before CJ was born.

That bastard Holden McKenna had used their mother and then broken her heart when he married someone else—someone with more property to add to the McKenna Ranch.

It was bad enough that their mother had never gotten over the rancher.

But now CJ was expected to play nice? After all, he’d promised his mother he could.

But there was one thing he couldn’t do no matter what promises he’d made her. If Charlotte Stafford even thought about getting together with Holden McKenna, all bets were off.

Just thinking about it brought back that blinding fury he’d felt that day long ago when he first went away and his sister Oakley had come to the jail.

He remembered sitting there, the phone to his ear, wanting to make her pay for what she’d said.

It had hurt a lot more than he’d thought it would, hearing how she felt about him.

That he would never have the Stafford Ranch.

That no one except their mother wanted him out from behind bars.

As he stood alone, waiting for a ride, he no longer wanted to even try to change.

That hatred he’d felt most of his life now boiled up inside him.

Like Oakley had said, his family didn’t give a damn about him.

He wanted to show them all, but they weren’t going to like what they saw, he told himself.

Easy, he warned himself. He’d convinced his mother that he’d changed. That was the only reason she’d gotten the case against him thrown out. Any trouble, though, and he would be behind bars again. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he was going to get even with all of them.

He spotted a car coming and felt both relief and embarrassment mix with his bubbling rage. Finally, he thought. He had expected his mother to be sitting here waiting for his release, since she’d fought so hard to get him out. But even she didn’t seem all that excited now that he was free.

As he started for the car, he realized it wasn’t his mother driving the large black SUV. It was her lawyer . He tried to hide his revulsion. He couldn’t stand the sight of Ian Drake. Tall, gray and dressed like an undertaker, the man had a constant facial expression that foretold of doom and gloom.

CJ opened the passenger-side door and peered in. “Where’s my mother?”

“She couldn’t make it. She sent me. Get in.”

He swore under his breath, but today he had to take what he could get.

“Welcome back, CJ Stafford,” he said under his breath as he climbed in and looked out his side window. As the lawyer drove, CJ promised to rain down his wrath on the entire Powder River basin and everyone in it, especially his family that had deserted him.

V ictoria found Ryder’s embarrassment sweet and his sisters delightful, especially the obvious ringleader, Oakley.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Ryder said after his sisters had driven away. “I’m going to throttle my brother for calling Oakley.”

She laughed. “I loved Oakley. She reminds me of me. I do hope Tilly is all right, though, and doesn’t have that baby in the pickup on the way to town. I can’t wait to meet the rest of your family.”

“Now you are scaring me,” he said. “It would be just like my mother and CJ to show up next. You really don’t know what you’re wishing for.”

“Oh, they can’t be that bad. After all, you’ve met my father. Maybe we can get your mother and my father together.”

“They would be perfect for each other, but she’s already taken. She’s been in love with the same man, Holden McKenna, her whole life, and has made his life hell.”

“She does sound perfect for my father. Now I really want to meet her.”

He smiled and shook his head. “I think we need to get away from the ranch and any chance of crossing paths with more of my family. What do you think about going into town for dinner?”

She studied him. “Are you that worried they might show up?”

“I just thought you might want to see Powder Crossing. You say you don’t miss the nightlife. We’d have to go in early before they roll up the sidewalks.”

“I think you’re just trying to get me away from here, but I’d love to see Powder Crossing.” Behind him she saw his brother approaching.

“Glad you two are back,” Brand said, ignoring Ryder’s warning look. The two of them would have this out later. “It’s time to feed. Thought Victoria could drive the truck and we could toss out the bales.”

R yder saw what his brother was up to, but the idea of getting his brother alone on the back of the flat bed full of hay appealed to him, since he had a few choice words to share with him. He wanted to kick his butt for calling Oakley.

“Fine,” he told Brand and turned to Victoria. “You don’t mind driving the truck, do you?” Then he saw her expression. “Let me guess. You can’t drive a stick shift.”

“I can’t drive at all.”

“ What? ” the brothers said almost in unison as they stared at her.

“I’ve lived in a large city my whole life. I had no reason to learn to drive.”

Ryder looked at his brother. “I’ll teach her how to drive the truck, and you can throw out the bales, Brand, since this was your idea.” He thought Brand would know what was coming and try to get out of it.

But instead, he grinned and called Ryder’s bluff. A novice behind the wheel of a big truck learning to drive a stick shift would be one hell of a bumpy ride, but Brand deserved it for siccing their sisters on him.

Once in the truck, with Victoria behind the wheel and Brand on the flatbed with the pile of hay bales, Ryder said, “It’s easy.

See those pedals? The left one is the clutch, the middle one is the break, and the far-right one is the gas.

” He put down his window and yelled back to Brand. “Better hang on!”

Victoria pushed in the clutch, started the truck and, at his instruction, gave the truck some gas as she eased up on the clutch. The truck jumped, and Brand let out a cry in the back.

“This is going to be a lot more fun than I thought,” Ryder said after checking to make sure his brother hadn’t been injured. “Try again,” he said to Victoria. “A little gas and a little less clutch all at the same time.”

C harlotte Stafford had been waiting for the text from her lawyer.

He’d picked up CJ who was now settled into the apartment she’d rented for him in Miles City.

That was a relief, she thought, knowing that CJ would be upset that she hadn’t picked him up herself.

For years, he’d been her favorite child, the one she doted on, the one she knew she’d help ruin.

In the past, she would have been waiting for him outside the jail. She would have coddled him and assured him that she would take care of everything. But she was no longer that woman. What he did now was up to him, she told herself, her thoughts and worries elsewhere.

All morning, she’d had a feeling she couldn’t shake that she needed to see Tilly. She wasn’t looking forward to her daughter’s reaction at seeing her again after the way she’d left things with her. She’d missed most of Tilly’s pregnancy.

But now she was home. CJ wasn’t the only reason she’d come home. She had fences to mend with all her children, especially Tilly and Oakley.

Her return had caused a stir. Just as her disap pearance had.

Charlotte knew there would be even more talk now that she was back and had gotten her oldest son out of not just jail but a prison sentence.

Let them talk, she thought as she drove toward the McKenna Ranch.

She saw the looks on the faces of people who saw her drive by.

They were surprised she’d come back. Most thought she didn’t have the courage to ever show her face here again. The rest thought she’d died.