A Montana Cowboy by Rebecca Winters

They walked into the living room and sat down on the couch and chairs placed around the coffee table.
    Zane eyed Trace. “Jarod said you’ve got something to tell me pertaining to Ned I need to hear. He said it would be better coming from you. What’s going on?”
    For the next ten minutes Trace told him virtually what he’d told Jarod about his conversation with Owen Pearson, plus his own plans to sell the ranch. “Whoever the buyer is, I want all of you to approve. That includes Connor.”
    He saw Zane eye Jarod. “I can see why you felt this was important.” Then his gaze switched to Trace. “I’m glad you haven’t spoken to a Realtor yet. For your ranch to be put on the multiple listings, it could rip off the Band-Aid of a very old wound that has never healed.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œHow much do you know about the history between the Bannocks and the Corkins?”
    â€œMy dad told me Daniel Corkin has always had it in for the Bannocks. Something about oil, but he never knew the details.”
    â€œThen let me fill you in. Silas Bannock, a Scottish Presbyterian, drilled for oil on his property in 1915. At the time it was part of the Elk Basin Oil Field, and he hit a spewing gusher. Since it was on private land, he claimed all the money and built up the Bannock ranch. With wise investing over the years, Ralph Bannock has turned it into one of the wealthiest cattle ranches in Montana originally funded by oil.”
    Trace had no idea.
    â€œIn 1920, Pete Corkin, an English Methodist and neighbor of Silas Bannock, established the Corkin Ranch, the one we’re sitting on right now. He drilled on this land and made some strikes that fizzled. In that same year Congress established a law that you had to lease federal land from the government and pay a royalty. Over the years, the Corkin descendants couldn’t get rich by drilling for oil so they turned to cattle, and thus began a jealousy and a rivalry that developed into hostility.”
    Jarod sat forward and picked up the story. “Over the years this envy on the part of the Corkin family over our family’s success escalated. Daniel Corkin swore he heard a story from one of his hands that a Crow Indian saw a vision about oil being under Corkin land.
    â€œConvinced he’d be wealthier than the Bannocks when he made his strike, he became so obsessive about more drilling, his wife, Eileen, Sadie’s mother, divorced him and went to her family in California. But he threatened to kill Eileen if she tried to take Sadie with her.”
    Trace couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “So that’s why Sadie spent so much time with Liz’s family.”
    Jarod nodded. “Daniel left the raising of Sadie to the Hensons, his foreman and wife. When Daniel died, he left nothing to Sadie in his will, and he made it impossible for any Bannock to buy the ranch. But that didn’t hold up in a court of law. When the ranch was put on the market, Ned Bannock wanted it and was determined to buy it.”
    â€œNed?”
    â€œThat’s right. He was still in love with Sadie and wanted her, too. Using his father’s and grandfather’s money, he put in his bid with the Realtor. But my grandfather went to his attorney and we found a way to outbid him so Sadie could keep her property.”
    â€œThey did it by helping me so I could buy it in my name,” Zane interjected. “By that time I’d come from California with Sadie to help her raise Ryan, who is my brother Tim’s son. I wanted to start a new life here after both Tim and my wife died. This property is now called the Corkin-Lawson Ranch. It’ll be my nephew Ryan’s legacy one day.” His voice grew husky. “I’ll be indebted to Jarod and his grandfather forever for what they did for Sadie and for me.”
    â€œBut we still have a big problem,” Jarod interjected. “Like