(Calahan Cowboys 08) The Cowboy Soldier's Sons by Tina Leonard Page B

really loved her before.”
    “I don’t believe this is about love.” Shaman stared at Taylor, holding back the urge to wring his neck here and now. “It’s about something else.”
    “She stole from me. She stole from our family. My siblings and me should have had what was ours. She came along, and I guess Dad figured she was the right person to leave the whole thing to. I don’t understand that.”
    “It doesn’t matter what Bud Taylor did. It was his money, his land. Tempest had nothing to do with his decision.”
    “I see she hasn’t told you everything,” Taylor said. “The woman you call Tempest—my half sister, Zola—told our father that if he didn’t recognize her as his legal daughter, she’d sue him to take a paternity test.”
    Shaman winced. “That doesn’t sound like Tempest.”
    “Ask her.” Bobby lifted his glass of whiskey. “It was all about the money.”
    “She makes enough to live all right.” Shaman didn’t know that for certain—they’d never discussed money—but everything he’d heard about Tempest seemed to indicate she did just fine on her own.
    “You’d best talk to your wife. She spent enough time with Pop at the end of his life to turn his head, make him rewrite his will. And suddenly, all of us were out in the cold. How do you expect us to feel?”
    Shaman wasn’t about to share that Tempest said she’d donated all the money. Taylor had to know; he’d been sitting in the booth that night when she had told her story. “I know this is a dumb question, but if your father built his stake from nothing, why don’t you do the same?”
    “You don’t get it, do you? You’re just a farmhand, so you wouldn’t,” Taylor said dismissively. “Look, it’s biblical. The birthright should go to the child it belongs to, not be stolen away by an impostor.”
    Shaman swallowed, trying to understand Taylor’s world view. “I don’t really care about the beef between you and your sister. I want you to leave her alone. She’s my wife now, and I will protect her and my family. And if that means taking you out, I’ll do that. I won’t lose any sleep over it, either.”
    “I know.” Taylor put his glass on the counter. “Tough guy.”
    Gage came to stand beside him, overhearing the last comment. “Tough guys. Plural.”
    Taylor got up from the barstool. “Tell Zola her brother wants his due.”
    “I’ll tell her nothing, and you won’t, either,” Shaman said. “That’s how this works. You say one word to Tempest and I beat the stuffing out of you.”
    “And then I beat more stuffing out of you,” Gage said. “It will not be pleasant.”
    “Yeah, I’m scared,” Taylor said. “But which one of us has a scar under his Stetson?” He sauntered from the bar, raising a hand to Tempest in a meaningful wave as he left.
    “I’m going to kill him,” Shaman said.
    “No, you’re not,” Gage told his brother. “He’ll step in it eventually, and we’ll get him locked up legally.”
    “I’m worried about Tempest.” Cold snakes of fear wound through Shaman’s stomach.
    “Yeah. She should probably come stay at Rancho Diablo. There’s a lot of companionship and stuff out there, and lots of babies. She’d probably enjoy having a bunch of women to gab with, anyway.”
    “Maybe that’s a good idea.” They headed back to the table.
    “What was that all about?” Millicent demanded. “You two looked like you were about to engage in fisticuffs. Can I point out that I’m in a wheelchair? I can’t knock your heads together as I once did.”
    “Yeah,” Cat said, “Dad, you looked like a hulking bear. And Uncle Shaman was all puffed up like one of Uncle Jonas’s peacocks.”
    Shaman looked at Tempest, seeing her pale face. “Hey, this is supposed to be a party. Let’s eat, everyone,” he said, as the food was served.
    “What was that all about?” she whispered as he took his seat next to her.
    “Nothing,” Shaman said, “nothing at all.”
    Of course,