Or more likely to gag Willa; she was going to scream the plaster off the walls. Spencer started the tape. The video had been made inMaine , the ocean showing in the window behind Bram as he sat at a battered table in a small, eclectically furnished cottage. Sam felt Willa tremble, and he wrapped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her snugly against his side. She stared at the television, her eyes misted.

“He looks damn happy,” he whispered.

“I’m going to miss him,” she whispered back, not taking her eyes off the screen. Abram cleared his throat, then pointed a finger at them and scowled. “Does that red light mean they can see me?” he asked the cameraman.

“It does, Bram. They can hear you, too,” came Spencer’s voice from somewhere off camera.

“Then listen up, people,” Bram said, still pointing his finger. “This is my last will and testament. And I’m of sound mind, so don’t any of you go trying to change it, you hear?”

“They hear you, Bram,” came Spencer’s voice again. “Don’t worry. Everything is documented.”

Sam glanced at Spencer now, sitting off to the side, his shoulders hunched. This was hard for him. Spencer had been a good friend to Bram, as well as a damn good lawyer. And he was still determined to be a good friend, even if he might not agree with Bram’s scheme. Sam would have liked to have been a fly on the wall of that cottage this past month. There must have been some hair-raising arguments over this will.

“Okay, then. Spencer said I should start with the smaller stuff, so listen up,” Bram growled. He didn’t take his eyes off the camera, giving everyone the uncomfortable feeling that he was looking straight at them. Sam heard more than one body shift nervously behind him.

“Peg. You first, you old mother hen. I’m giving you the deed to that little cabin up onWagonWheelLake you like so much. You’ve gone on and on enough about it all these years. Well, you can damn well retire there and shrivel away, if that’s what you want.” Bram pointed his finger. “But not for three months. You’ll continue housekeeping for the next three months if you want that cabin.”

There was a loud gasp from the back of the room, but no one turned to see if Peg was blushing or fuming.

“And Ronald. The Stutz Bearcat is yours, lock, stock, and steering wheel. You keep driving for three

months, and Spencer will give you the title. You’ve been drooling over that car since I got it, always pestering me to take it out for a drive. Well, my friend, drive it wherever you want—in three months.”

An embarrassed cough came from near the door. Ronald had fallen in love with the Bearcat the day Bram had taken him to the auto auction. Sam figured his grandfather had bought the car more for their chauffeur than for himself. Ronald was one proud puppy when he was behind the wheel, delivering Bram to some meeting.

“Emerson, you fussy old woman,” Bram boomed next. “I’m leaving you my antique toy train collection since you can’t seem to keep your paws off it.” Bram cackled. “In three months, you can sell it for enough to take an honest-to-God real train ride around the world, if you want.”

Sam turned in his seat, along with Ben and Jesse, to see Emerson slowly walk out of the office, his bearing proud and his face red.

“And now for all you shirttail relatives who’ve been coming out of the woodwork for the last forty years. Spencer’s got the list of the lot of you. I’m giving you each one thousand dollars, which is a hell of a lot more than I had when I started. Go get jobs, you parasites.”

Several gasps erupted around the room. Jesse’s shoulders began to shake, and Ben barely stifled a snort. The parade of beggars had been endless at Rosebriar. Bram had been generous with some, miserly with others, and downright rude to most of them. In one month, Sam figured, the parade would start again.

“Now for the best part. Can I tell them now, Spencer?”

“No, Bram. You’ve forgotten the charities,” Spencer replied patiently. Bram waved that away. “I already signed the checks. Just send them out after I’m planted.”

“Willamina Kent .” Bram’s voice shot out from the television, making her jump. “I’m setting up a trust fund for that spitfire niece of yours, so you can just stop worrying about Jennifer.”

Willa let out a deep sigh of relief and sagged tiredly. Sam gripped her more firmly. She thought she was off the hook, but there was much more.

“Right now, Jennifer is taking delivery of a brand new SUV that’s specially equipped so she can learn to drive. And don’t you worry. The title is in Jennifer’s and Shelby’s names, not Richard’s.”

Two huge tears fell onto Willa’s clasped hands. Sam undid the clip that held her hair, letting it fall around her face to give her privacy. She turned to him and tried to smile, and Sam kissed her forehead.

“Since you three boys already have your trust funds in place, that leaves Rosebriar, my Tidewater shares, and my bankbook,” Bram said. “And I’m bequeathing them all to you, Willamina. Every last acre and every last share and every last dime.”

Willamina shot out of her chair as if she’d been electrocuted. “What?! ” she shouted at Bram, who was leaning back on his creaky chair and smiling.

Snorts, gasps, and shouts of indignation erupted around the office. Only Sam was smiling. Ben and Jesse sat stone still, their faces blank.

“Now, Willa. Don’t jump up and down thanking me yet,” Bram drawled, his smile widening. “There are some conditions to this little bequest.”

Willa stood staring at the television, her fists balled at her sides, her hair all but standing on end.

“Rosebriar’s yours, Willa,” Bram continued more softly, his expression serious. “The deed’s already been put in your name, all of the land, the buildings, and the contents. And Spencer’s got a bankbook with your name on it.

“The RoseWind is also yours, girl. Enjoy her. All I ask is that you don’t rechristen her.”

Sam saw Willa sway on her feet, and he jumped up to steady her.

“My stocks in Tidewater are yours, too, Willa. But here’s the catch. You own them only for three months. If you haven’t married one of my grandsons by then and turned them over to him as a wedding gift, then they will be sold to Warren Cobb for ten cents on the dollar.”

Ben and Jesse jumped up and started cursing, but they were hardly heard over the booming laughter coming from the back of the room.

“Over my dead body!” Jesse shouted, turning to glare at Warren Cobb. Ben stared at Sam. “You’re not surprised by this.”

“I found out twenty-four hours ago,” Sam told him, his arms protectively around Willa, who still hadn’t moved.

“Then why didn’t we find out twenty- three hours ago?” Jesse took a step toward him. Ben did, too. “How did you find out?”

“I cornered Spencer yesterday. My only reason for wanting to see the will was to protect Willa.”

“Protect her from what?”

“Bram.”

Jesse kicked one of the chairs, knocking it into another one. Willa flinched, and Sam glared at his brothers.

“Calm down. There’s more,” he softly told them, nodding to Spencer, who had stopped the tape. Sam pulled Willa back to her chair. Jesse straightened the chair he’d kicked and sat down. Stone-faced, Ben took his chair again. Sam decided to stand behind Willa, keeping his hands firmly on her shoulders. Bram began speaking again.

“Warren Cobb,” he boomed, “you’ll get your hands on my company only if I’ve raised three worthless grandsons. But I can tell you now, I have not. One of them will marry Willa, and Tidewater will not only remain intact, it will come gunning for you, you old bastard. Starrtech will be dust at your feet to be

sprinkled over both of our graves.”

Bram shot a sinister smile at the camera. “Like I did sixty years ago, I’ll beat you again, old friend. Rose married me, and she died a happy woman.