A little voice in the back of her head said they were probably more like family to him than his own family had been. She’d seen it herself when she’d toured the brewery. They’d loved Beau Buchanan, and it had made Georgie acutely aware of how much she didn’t know about him. She’d spent the rest of her visit asking him everything—about the brewery, his late wife, raising his only child. He’d shown her photos and told her stories that had made her sides ache with laughter. He’d been a charming man, and she’d found herself wondering how she had gone thirty-three years without getting to know him better. His conflict with her father was theirs, not hers, and despite not knowing all of the details, she suspected she knew who was at fault.
When she’d left, she’d promised to keep in touch and return soon. She’d called him last week, and he’d told her that he had a cold but not to worry. He’d be fine.
Three days later he was dead. Her heart ached with the loss.
Mr. Manning pulled a pair of reading glasses from his jacket pocket and perched them on his nose. He shot Georgie a forced grin. “Eyesight’s not what it used to be.”
She gave him a tight smile, her stomach doing flips.
“If Henry’s reading this to you, that means I’m dead, but don’t mourn me. I’ve lived a long, full life with few regrets, and those few I do have I’m hoping to rectify with this will.” Mr. Manning picked up a glass of water and swallowed several gulps.
“Good boy,” Dottie said. “Flush away the bad karma.”
Bad karma? That didn’t bode well.
He set down the glass and continued to read. “I’ll start with my work family first. To Tom Magee, my plant manager, my fishing buddy, and dear friend, I leave my fishing equipment. You won’t be able to tell me any more whoppers, old boy. I’ll be watching over you, keeping you honest.”
The middle-aged man grinned and nodded his acknowledgment.
“To Rita, you were a joy and a treasure. I’ve left you fifteen thousand dollars for not only cleaning my house but watching over me. Now I’ve finally gotten my way and can buy you a decent car.”
Tears ran down Rita’s face and Dottie pulled another crystal from her pocket and put it in the woman’s hand, whispering something into her ear. Idly, Georgie wondered how many crystals she had in there.
“To River,” Mr. Manning continued. “You’ve become like a son to me. To you, I leave my father’s pocket watch. It should go to someone who appreciates the meaning of such things.”
The man in the off-the-rack suit looked stunned at the announcement. His eyes turned glassy and he cleared his throat before he said, “Thank you.”
Dottie reached over and patted his arm.
“And now on to Prescott,” the attorney said.
Georgie noticed that the letter hadn’t yet addressed two of the people at the end of the table—Dottie and the young man with dark hair and brooding eyes. What was the significance of that?
Dread filled her gut.
The attorney dabbed his face again before continuing. “Dear Prescott. We’ve had our differences, son, some of them my doing and some of them yours. I wish I’d spent more time with you when you were a boy, and I wish you’d corrected my mistakes, rather than following my lead when it came to raising your own children.”
Georgie’s gaze shot to Lee, who was already giving her a questioning glance. Did he think she’d spilled the family secret during her visit with her grandfather? Although it wasn’t much of a secret that Prescott Buchanan had devoted far more of his life to his business than his family.
The attorney continued. “You built your own life, and I confess that was partly my doing, but now I want to give your children the chance to make different choices.”
Adalia perked up at that, turning to Georgie with a questioning look, her short blond curls bouncing around her shoulders.
Georgie made a face that suggested she was just as clueless.
Mr. Manning took a deep breath, as if he were a soldier preparing for battle, then enunciated each word carefully. “The brewery, the house, and everything in it, other than what’s already been stated, goes to Prescott’s four children.”
Mass chaos broke out, everyone shouting at once.
“This is outrageous!” Prescott shouted as he got to his feet. “I will fight this!”
Lee jerked his gaze to the attorney. “How could this happen?”
Victoria was already patting Lee’s arm. “Don’t worry. We can fight this.”
Georgie just stared at them in shock. Was Lee such an ass-kisser that he’d give up his inheritance to placate their father?
Adalia sat back in her seat and turned to Georgie. “Four children. Why did he say that? Dad only has three children.”
Because it turned out Beau Buchanan had somehow known Prescott’s dirty little secret.
Horror filled Georgie as she turned to face the young man at the end of the table. And she wondered why she hadn’t seen it before. He shared her father’s cheekbones. And dark eyes. His hair was the same dark color her father’s had been. Georgie and her siblings’ coloring had come from their mother.
“Georgie?” Adalia demanded.
“There are four,” Georgie said quietly, unable to take her eyes off her younger brother. While she’d known of him, she’d never seen him. Not even a photo.
“What?” Adalia screeched. “How?”
“Come now, Adalia,” Victoria sneered. “You’re a grown woman. You know how these things work.”
Adalia turned to Georgie. “You knew?”
“We both did,” Lee said quietly. “We found out a few years ago by accident.”
“And no one thought to tell me?” Adalia asked, her voice so full of pain it hurt Georgie’s heart. She wanted to reach out and comfort her sister, to tell her they hadn’t meant for it to go so long. Adalia had been going through a bad stretch, and she and Lee had decided it wasn’t a good time to tell their baby sister. And then there had never been a good time after that. Oh, by the way, Lee and I found out that Dad cheated on Mom, and we have a brother only a few months older than you. How’s the weather?
But now this was a huge mess, and Adalia’s hurt feelings were entirely justified.
“Addy,” Lee said, his voice full of apology.
“Don’t you even try to explain it!” Adalia said to her brother, then turned her icy stare on Prescott. “And you! How dare you cheat on our mother!”
“Here, dear,” Dottie said, getting up and putting yet another stone in front of Adalia.
“I don’t think a crystal’s gonna fix this, Aunt Dottie,” River said in a dry tone.
“Nonsense,” Dottie said, her eyes burning brightly. “Nothing’s broken that can’t be put back together.”
Georgie wasn’t so sure about that.
Chapter Two
Watching the Buchanan family made River feel like a rubbernecker checking out an accident by the side of the road. It was more uncomfortable than the suit he was wearing, which was saying something.
He caught the eye of the pretty blonde again, the one with her hair pulled back in a bun so tight it looked like it hurt. Georgie. Beau had told him a little about her visit, although he hadn’t mentioned a damn thing about passing over his son and giving the brewery to his grandkids. Prescott had been pretty upfront about wanting to pawn Beau’s legacy, and probably Beau had expected that. Maybe the kids wouldn’t sell, although he suspected four strangers could run a business together better than this crew.