“Boys,” Bram continued, “if I could have found a Willa for each of you, I would have. But only one of you can have her. Win her, and you win Rosebriar and Tidewater.” He frowned suddenly. “Lose her, and you’ll get just what you deserve.”

Then Bram nervously cleared his throat, suddenly looking every one of his eighty-five years. “Willa, honey. There’s—ah—one more thing. You’ve got three months to marry one of my grandsons and one year after the wedding to get pregnant. Otherwise, Tidewater gets sold to Cobb.”

Willa jumped up again with a shriek. “What? You can’t do that, you old rat! You can’t make me get married and then get pregnant!” She grabbed for anything on the desk and hurled it at Bram. The television screen exploded with a crash. Pandemonium broke out again as Sam lunged for Willa, and Jesse and Ben fell off their chairs in laughter. Warren Cobb was barking with glee, and all of the other guests were shouting in outrage.

“Willa. Calm down ,” Sam growled as she looked for another missile.

“It’s not funny, Ben!” she screamed, suddenly heading for him. “It’s not one stinking bit funny!”

“You broke the television, Willa,” Ben sputtered.

“Well, why not?” Jesse drawled. “It’s her television.”

Willa froze, and her face drained of color as she stared at the two men.

“I think it’s time to clear the room,” Sam said.

Spencer hastily jumped up and dismissed everyone.

“Get Ronald to bring in another television,” Sam told him as the room slowly cleared. All except for Warren Cobb, that is.

Sam walked over to Bram’s desk, picked up the cane leaning against it, and handed it to the man who was grinning at him. “No need to wait around, Cobb. We’ll send you an invitation to the wedding.”

“You sure there’ll be one?”Warren asked.

“There will be.”

“To which grandson?”

“I guess you’ll have to wait for your invitation to find out.” Sam gaveWarren a piercing inspection. “So, Rose married Bram instead of you, is that it?”

“Bram stole her from me.”

“I’d say Rose made her choice.”

Warrensmiled nastily. “Well, Sinclair, if Willamina Kent decides none of you is worth the trouble, maybe I’ll just set my own grandsons after her. If she’s been handpicked by Abram Sinclair, that’s good enough for me.”

“I’ve had it! Do you hear me? I’ve had enough!” Willa hollered.

“We hear you, Willa,” Sam said, walking over and taking hold of her shoulders. “And so did half ofConnecticut . You need to calm down and take a seat. I’m afraid there’s probably more.”

“More?” she squeaked. “How much more can there be?” She collapsed onto the chair Jesse had thoughtfully placed behind her.

“Just a few details,” Sam assured her. “That’s all.”

She blinked up, looking so confused and defeated that he wanted to whisk her away as fast and as far as he could.

Damn Abram. The interfering old fool had shocked their partridge senseless. She was beyond comprehension; the details would go right over her head.

But not over Jesse’s and Ben’s. They’d moved their chairs to flank Willa while Ronald hooked up a new television. Sam seemed to be the only one who understood Bram’s puppeteering. This entire fiasco was the old man’s attempt to coax a lost little bird out of her hidey-hole and back into life. That, and to get a great-grandchild, even from his grave. Sam couldn’t fault Bram’s choice of a bride; like his grandfather, he could see the entire woman, ghosts and gifts and gentle soul. The old man was ensuring the future of his dynasty, he was giving a special woman the kick in the pants she needed, and he was telling his grandsons that he loved them enough to cut them free of Tidewater International, giving them all a new chance at life. He was telling the four of them to live as wildly and as fully as he had. Eventually, Jesse and Ben would see that, just as he had. Willa, however, would definitely need prodding in the right direction.

“Now, Willa, honey,” came Bram’s voice again from the television. “I know you’re probably steaming mad right now, but you’ll get over it.”

Sam glanced over at Willa, who had closed her eyes. But she couldn’t close her ears.

“Now, you boys listen up if you’re interested in marrying Willa. She’s got this fool notion that she’s too accident-prone to have a baby. She’s afraid she’ll end up harming her child, just like she thinks she did her niece.” Bram snorted. “It’s up to you to convince her that she didn’t maim Jennifer but saved the girl’s life. So, one of you marry Willa, and get her pregnant.” He pointed his finger. “After the wedding!”

Abram slumped in his chair at the table, and his eyes filled with moisture. “Someday you’ll thank me, Willa,” he said softly. “And maybe someday you’ll forgive me. I love you, girl, like the daughter I never had. I wish I’d met you sooner.” Bram swiped at his eyes.

Then, he looked up, his eyes warm yet piercing. “I want you boys to understand why I’ve left everything

to Willa here and not to you. Sam, Ben, Jesse, you’re fine, capable men, and you love one another. I know there’s no competition among you for Tidewater. And I know you’ve stayed with the company only for my sake. But it’s a good legacy I’ve built, and I’d like to see it stay intact. But only one of you should have it. You others can move on now. Find good women, have children, and enjoy yourselves.

“When I thought I could take no more, you boys were there, giving me strength. I have loved you three with all my heart. That’s why I couldn’t choose one of you, and that’s why I still can’t. All I can do is say thank you for loving me back. Don’t mourn me. Just remember me. Good-bye, boys. Have a grand life.”

Chapter Eight

The television screen wentto snow.

Ben stood and walked to the office window, his shoulders stiff. Jesse stayed seated, his elbows on his knees as he stared down at the floor. Willa remained utterly still, tears running down her face. Sam pulled the knot of his tie apart and slipped the confining silk free of his neck. He rolled it up with slow deliberation, until he’d formed a neat coil that he placed in his jacket pocket.

“He can’t really do what he’s done, can he?” Willa asked, her stilted voice intruding into the silence.

“He has,” Sam said, washing a worried gaze over her. He reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “It will be okay, honey. We’ll work it out together.”

“I can’t get married, Sam. And I can’t ever have children.”

“You can’t let Warren Cobb have Tidewater, Willa,” Ben said from the window, not turning around.

“I’d rather destroy it myself than give Cobb the pleasure.” He turned to her. “Which is what he’ll do. Tidewater will be likeCarthage , with not a stone left standing when he’s done.”

“Warrenhates Abram that much?”

“He apparently loved Rose that much.”

“And thus makes a sixty-year war between friends,” Ben said tonelessly, looking at the snowy television.

“Now it’s up to us to end the war by winning it.”

Spencer cleared his throat and stood up. “I have some papers that need to be signed. I’m sorry to have to do this now, but they’re important.”

“What are they?” Sam asked.

“Legal transfers of ownership for Rosebriar, the bankbook, and Bram’s stocks in Tidewater for Willa to sign.”

“What happens if I don’t sign them?” she asked, hope in her voice. Spencer appeared startled. “Well, I guess things will sit in limbo for three months. Bills won’t get paid, people won’t get their salaries, and Tidewater International will erupt into chaos.”

“I see.”

“Everything’s yours, Willa, whether you want it or not,” the lawyer explained. “Bram’s will is sound. If you’re not married to a Sinclair in three months, Bram’s shares in Tidewater get sold to Warren Cobb.”

“And what about Rosebriar and the bankbook?” she asked, frowning at the stack of papers on the desk Spencer had been sitting at.