Nevada Nights by Ruth Ryan Langan

was born and all the furnishings therein."
    A slow gleam of triumph spread across Miriam’s face. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to stare at Alex and Jarret.
    The lawyer cleared his throat.
    "To the twin sons of my dead wife, Salina."
    Cameron nearly gasped in surprise. Twins. She studied the profiles of the two men. Where Alex was tall and muscular, with fierce, hard features and dark, swarthy coloring, Jarret seemed slighter of build, with pale skin and bland, vacant eyes. Yet his blandness was deceptive. She knew from the bruises on her wrist where he had gripped her last night that he was a powerful man.
    The lawyer’s voice intoned, "I leave two hundred fifty acres of the southernmost section of land and any building thereon. Fifty percent of all profits from this land shall be held in trust for young Alexander. That money, plus the interest accrued, shall go to Alexander on his twenty-first birthday, or be split equally among my heirs in the event of his death. The other fifty percent of the profits shall be shared equally among all my heirs."
    Cameron noted that her father never referred to them as his stepsons. He obviously didn’t wish to refer to them in any familiar way. She watched as the two exchanged glances. Alex seemed about to speak, but the lawyer cleared his throat and continued.
    "To my daughter Cameron."
    Everyone in the room turned to stare sullenly at her.
    "I leave the two hundred fifty acres which adjoin the Lampton property and any buildings thereon. I have every confidence that she will put this land to good use."
    Cameron sat in stunned silence.
    Harold Sturgiss gathered his papers and stuffed them into a briefcase.
    Alex bounded to his feet, his eyes blazing.
    "Big John McCormick was a double-dealing gambler all his life. I should have realized he’d hide a trump card up his sleeve."
    He towered menacingly over Cameron. "So this is why he kept your existence a secret from us all these years. Even in death he was determined to cheat us. He promised our mother that all this would be ours. That was the only reason she agreed to marry him. In return for her being mistress of his fine house, he agreed to secure the future of her fatherless twin sons. That was the agreement they made. It was the only way for a helpless widow to survive."
    Cameron found herself wondering about the woman who could have raised such villainous men. A helpless widow? Though Big John McCormick was hardly a saint, judging by the things she had already heard, it looked like he may have struck a bargain with a she-devil.
    Alex’s voice thundered. "And now this! You’ve been brought here to take what’s ours. But then, Big John always cheated. He beat old Lampton out of all this years ago. And now he’s cheated us out of our rightful inheritance." He lowered his voice to a chilling whisper as he caught her arm. "You will live to regret this, little sister."
    All heads snapped to attention as Cameron’s unwavering voice stopped him.
    "Take your hand off me, Alex. Don’t you ever touch me again."
    His eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in fury. "No little nun can tell—"
    "I said, don’t ever touch me again. Do you understand?"
    His fists clenched at his sides. Not now, but very soon, he would make her regret this humiliation.
    Cameron stared around the room, allowing her gaze to linger for a brief moment on each family member. Then, regally lifting her skirts, she spun and hurried to her room, leaving behind her a stunned silence.
    A short time later there was a knock on her door. She opened it to admit the lawyer.
    "Mr. Sturgiss, why did my father do this?" She paced the center of the room, clearly agitated.
    "I’m sure he had his reasons, Miss McCormick."
    "But I didn’t want their inheritance, Mr. Sturgiss." She turned to face him. "You saw their reactions. They all resent me. They think I came here to steal from them what is rightfully theirs."
    "Theirs, Miss McCormick? All of this belonged to Big John. He