Rosalind wasn’t secretly wealthy. The city law career everyone talked about had ended badly. She had been fired from her firm three years earlier and was buried in debt. The ranch wasn’t some prize she wanted out of greed. It was the only thing standing between her and losing everything. She had convinced our entire family to help her because she was too proud to admit the truth: she was broke, frightened, and running out of options.

I could have destroyed her. I had my father’s letter, the LLC, the law, and every advantage I needed to keep the entire ranch. Instead, I remembered his warning about what the land was actually worth. I sold the back forty acres—the pasture where I had learned to ride—and decided to split the money with Rosalind. I kept the house and the barn, but gave her enough to pull her out of the hole she had created.