Indiana Wild

Chapter 1

Chapter One

“How could you? How could you do this to me?” Indy whispered in disbelief, staring at her brothers as if she had never seen them before.

“Indiana, it’s for your own good,” Hayden said sternly. The oldest of the four Wild family kids, he was also a successful attorney in California. “Grandfather was old and senile. A new will needed to be done. It was well within our rights for me to help him draft the new one.”

“Grandfather was not senile! You bullied him into signing the papers making you his legal guardian. We were doing just fine until you came out and stuck your nose in our business,” Indy said angrily.

“Now Indy, you know Hayden is right. We were only thinking of your best interests,” Gus said, leaning forward as if to pat Indy on the knee.

“Touch me Gus and I’ll slice your greedy fingers right off your thieving hands,” Indy said through clenched teeth.

“Indy, there is no need to speak to Gus like that,” Matthew said, moving a little further away from where she was sitting.

“Shut up, Matt. You are nothing but an opportunist gambler who sees another way to support your lifestyle. You’ll blow your inheritance in less than a year and be begging at Hayden’s door for more,” Indy said coldly.

Indiana “Indy” Wild looked at her three older brothers in anger and disbelief. She couldn’t believe they had been so underhanded as to steal the only place she had ever called home from her. Hayden sat looking at her from behind her grandfather’s old desk. The oldest at forty-seven, he was an imposing figure taking over their father’s side of the family. He was six foot one with broad shoulders and a slight pouch around the middle from all the days of sitting in courtrooms making millions. His dark brown eyes stared at her coolly as he waited for her to calm down.

Calm down like hell, Indy thought dispassionately. He just wants me to sign on the dotted line so he can add more millions to his bank account.

Hayden had come to the Wild Ranch in Montana six months ago when their grandfather had a slight stroke. Until then, it had been ten years since he had returned and then only to bury their grandmother and parents who were killed in a car accident. Indy had no idea that during the two weeks he was there he had their grandfather sign a new will and other documents giving him power of attorney.

Indy glared at her brothers, feeling her stomach tighten with nerves. She had been a surprise to her delighted parents when her mother became pregnant unexpectedly in her forties. There was a twenty year difference between her and her youngest brother, Matthew. She was twenty-two to his forty-two.

Her parents raised all of them on the ranch, living in the same house as her grandparents. When her parents died, her grandfather took over raising her since her older brothers had their own lives to live. It had worked out well. Indy had always been close to her grandfather, and after the accident, they had grown even closer. While Indy’s brothers left as soon as they were old enough to live elsewhere, Indy never planned on leaving. She loved every aspect of ranch life from the cattle, to the horses, to the old cowpunchers that came and went each year.

“Indy, accept it. The ranch has already been sold. You will receive a sizable amount of money which should help you. The money will be set up in a trust account and you will receive monthly checks until you reach the age of twenty-five. At that time, you will receive the full amount. The company that purchased the ranch will take over at the end of the month. Everything goes to them except personal belongings, of course. I have made sure you have enough money to cover your first six months of living expenses so you can find a job. I suggest you plan on attending graduate school. You will have a better potential for finding a job with a higher level degree. If you need funds to cover it, I can release them as I have control of your trust fund.”

She just stared at Hayden in disbelief as he continued describing how he was taking over the ranch, her money from the sale, and her life. Gus fidgeted in his seat as he watched the emotions crossing Indy’s face. Out of the three brothers, Gus at forty-five was the most compassionate of the three. He was married to a nice woman and had four kids. He was currently working at Montana State University as a math teacher.

“Indy, you can come live with Marge and me in Billings. Bob and Todd are moving out to go to college and their rooms will be open. You might like it there,” Gus said quietly.

Indy’s eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall. She would be damned if she would give any of them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Standing and walking over to the window, she stared out over the mountains she loved so much.

“That won’t be necessary,” Indy said quietly.

She kept her shoulders straight. She knew there was nothing she could do. Hayden wasn’t just good as an attorney; he was cut-throat good. He would have made sure he had all his bases covered before he presented the sale of the ranch to her. Her other two brothers didn’t give a damn about the ranch. Gus, though the nicest of the three, needed the money to pay for his kids’ college tuitions. Matthew just wanted the money to live the good life in Vegas and would be broke before the year was out. Hayden, well, he was just greedy.

“Midnight, Kahlua, Chester, and Tweed are mine. I paid for them out of my own money. They go with me,” Indy said with her back still turned. Midnight and Kahlua were two horses she had bought and trained for rounding. Chester and Tweed were her two cow dogs. “I’ll have my stuff out and be gone within the next two weeks.”

“I took the liberty of looking at several places you might be interested in living at….” Hayden began.

Indy turned sharply, staring coldly into Hayden’s eyes. “Hayden, you can take your liberties and stick them up your ass. I go where I want, when I want. I don’t need your or anyone else’s help. Once I’m out of here, I don’t give a damn if I ever see any of you again. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some packing to do,” Indy said in a stiff voice.

Indy walked out the door of her grandfather’s office. She felt numb inside as she headed toward the stairs and her bedroom. It wouldn’t take her long to pack as she didn’t own much. She had never needed much living on the ranch. Anything she had ever wanted, the ranch had supplied.

“I think that went well. What about you guys?” Matthew said as he watched Indy walk out the door.

“Matt, sometimes you can be such an ass,” Gus said as he stood up. “We shouldn’t have done it this way to Indy. This ranch is all she has ever known. We should have discussed what we planned with her.”

“You are too soft on her, Gus,” Hayden said, pulling all the paperwork together and placing it in a large envelope. “This ranch is worth a fortune and we were lucky to be able to sell it for what we did. Indy will adjust. This is no place for a young girl anyway. Once she calms down, I’ll let her know I took the liberty of purchasing her a condo in Los Angeles. She’ll thank us one day,” Hayden said as he stood up and brushed an imaginary piece of lint from the pants of his expensive Armani suit.

“Los Angeles?” Gus stared in disbelief at Hayden. “You can’t put Indy in the middle of a big city! She hates cities.”

“As I said before, she’ll adjust,” Hayden said grimly before heading out the door. “I have to fly back to L.A. tonight as I have a case on Monday morning. I’ll let Sam know to make sure Indy has everything packed and moved out by the end of the month. I’ll let you know when the final payment for the ranch has been made and make sure it is deposited into your accounts.”