Head bent, Mandy continued to stare at the table’s polished surface as if the answer was written in the grain of the wood.
Brian cleared his throat again. “Should you consider marriage instead, JM expected Ty to use a prenup to protect his own assets. The provisions of JM’s will would protect Mandy’s interest. If you decide not to marry, JM has granted Ty a sort of consolation gift for all he’s asking of you, Ty.”
“Isn’t it enough he can sell the business? Why does he need a consolation prize?” She jerked her chin in his direction as if there was some question as to the “he” she referred to.
“It’s a gift, Mandy, not a prize. Ty, under the circumstances I outlined, if you decide not to marry but instead to just manage the business, you would receive JM’s ranch house and the surrounding hundred acres of land. The boundaries of these acres are prescribed in the will and would be taken from the deeded ranch land held in trust for Mandy and Tucker.” Brian looked up and met his gaze. “I guess he felt you needed a little piece of Wyoming to call your own.”
Mandy gasped. “That’s prime land. We have barns and corrals on that land. It’s Prescott land.”
“You and Tucker would still have over 30,000 of deeded and leased acres if you decide to hold on to it,” Brian noted.
“But he’d be living in my grandfather’s house. That belongs in the family.”
“I guess he hoped you two would marry so it would indeed remain in the family. If you marry, the ranch house is a wedding present to Mandy, so if you choose the marriage option, regardless of what happened after you married, that house would be yours, Mandy.”
Mandy’s green eyes shot fire in his direction. Too bad all the passion was anger.
Hadn’t been that way ten years ago. Not that time at the creek.
Not that she didn’t have good reason to be worked up about this will. If it was a surprise to him, it must have been a shock to her—a damn unpleasant one.
How many times had he told JM how much he loved his house, wanted one just like it, never dreaming of such generosity, never expecting it? JM had apparently divined the truth. Ty hungered after a place where he could have a few horses, despite his decade-long aversion to anything having to do with his family’s ranch. But he never mentioned those things with a thought that JM would or should do something about it. Ty was more than financially capable of providing a house and land for himself. That he hadn’t was another matter.
Still, he had questions. “So as long as the marriage lasts a minimum of six months, I wouldn’t get the house, but I would still get shares equal to fifteen percent of the company, even if we divorced after that time period?”
“Yes,” Brian said with a reassuring nod.
Mandy shook her head. “How can you even conceive of such a sham of a marriage?”
“I’m just trying to understand the options. If I had an interested buyer, I might be able to complete the analysis and sale of the rodeo company, if warranted, within six months. So, Brian, why the marriage provision, since the six months timing wouldn’t necessarily prevent the sale of the business? Course it would get me out of Mandy’s hair faster, and, Mandy, you’d be able to keep closer tabs on me.” He couldn’t quite keep the smile off his face.
Mandy stared at him. He could see the pulsing of her clenched jaw, no doubt from grinding teeth.
“I absolutely refuse to consider such a thing. End of story.” Mandy wrapped her arms around her trim waist in a hug. She probably could use one right about now. “The company is profitable. I’ll stake my future on that.”
Ty didn’t think it was the time to remind her that his mandate wasn’t to determine if the business was profitable but whether it was likely to provide enough profit, under Mandy’s leadership, to sustain the family, meaning Sheila, Tucker, and Mandy, for the next twenty years or longer. JM was worried about his family’s future, not their present.
“I’m just trying to understand his motivation for making such a strange provision. You have to admit it’s a doozie.”
Brian nodded. “I wish I could shed light on what he was thinking. I asked him several times, but he wouldn’t answer. However, in studying this provision, I can only guess he was trying to play matchmaker.”
“Matchmaker?” He and Mandy spoke in unsettling unison.