So, yeah, random update. Wanted to get this up before school starts because I won't update much after that.

There's a lot of legal info in here, but I'm not sure if it's right (at all). But whatev, it sounded good. ;)

Notice: Switched Andersonville with Lancaster. Andersonville is now Jessie's hometown.

Enjoy!


Wills

"I want an explanation, now!"

"Easy, Jess."

"No. I'm tired of sittin' back and watchin'!" The cowgirl hissed. "I wanna know why ya hogs are takin' the ranch from us!"

Buzz winced again as Jessie yelled for the umpteenth time that day, realizing her accent was much more noticeable when she was angry. Of course, she had every right to be considering their current situation.

The Pride Ranch, the only home Jessie and Bo Pride had, was to be taken from them in a day's time. The cowgirl had barely gotten a chance to sleep before she went to the Andersonville courthouse at sunrise to demand an audience with the judge. Since she was the sheriff's sister, they could not ignore her 'request' and agreed to see her.

Thus currently, Jessie, Buzz, and Bo stood opposite the town's presiding judge, the court's head prosecutor, and the court's plaintiff, waiting for an answer and an explanation. The judge, an elderly but sympathetic man, sighed as Jessie's last round of yells stopped echoing around the empty courtroom.

"Miss Pride, I do hate to bring this controversy up so soon after Sheriff Pride's death, God bless his soul," He began quietly, clasping his hands together, "but this is something that cannot be ignored any longer."

Jessie glared, but held her tongue as she saw the judge open his mouth again.

"For several weeks now, we have conversed with several other people about the issue and inheritance of Pride Ranch until we finally attained all the information from the administrator himself."

"Administrator?" Bo questioned. "Administrator for what?"

"For - actually, let me have him come out." The judge decided. "Mr. Lotson!"

The door behind the witness' stand opened at the call and, from beyond it, a tall, portly man stepped into the courtroom. He lumbered forward, using a maple polished cane to help him walk on his flabby legs. He wore an enlarged but elegant black suit with black, polished shoes and a silk top hat that nearly matched the sheen of the leather briefcase he was holding.

Yet, the richness of his clothing could not compensate for the sight of his face. The man's wrinkled, plump skin looked almost pink, as if its top layers had been burned or rubbed off. His eyes seemed even more unnatural as he glanced over the occupants in the room, his irises having more of a reddish tinge than hazel. When his gaze met Jessie's, she narrowed her eyes with alarm and warning.

An unnerving glint had sparkled in his eye for a second.

"This is Mr. Ned Lotson. He is the administrator for the will and testament of Sheriff Pride.*" The judge concluded.

Lotson bowed his head in greeting, a jolly smile quickly on his face.

"Hello there."

"Wait a minute, this is a matter of my family's wills?" Jessie cried incredulously. "That's ridiculous! I'm Woody's sister and Bo his wife! We should automatically get half of his property each!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Pride, but neither you nor Mrs. Pride is consented to receive that land." Lotson informed gruffly.

"What?"

"Your brother did not give either of you his consent to own his land." The plump man continued, taking the spotlight. "A woman can only inherit land when the man of the property gives her permission to have it.*"

Buzz furrowed his brow. That was the law of this town? He couldn't believe how old fashioned and out-of-date it was. They were enforcing ancient prejudices! The former ranger himself knew some women who owned more valuable property than ten men combined in the modern cities of Capital Planet. It appalled him to hear that Jessie and Bo, two of the strongest women he knew, could not rightfully receive the land they deserved.

But he stayed quiet.

"That's not true!" Bo suddenly cried, stepping up beside Jessie. "When Woody was making his will, he always consulted with me about who would get what and who the land would go to! He and I practically made that will together! He gave both me and Jessie permission!"

The judge sighed heavily, a sympathetic expression passing over his old features as he looked at the two desperate women.

"The reason why you weren't given consent was because Sheriff Pride's will is invalid."

Jessie's jaw dropped.

"Invalid?" She asked. "Why?"

"In order for a will to be valid, two witnesses need to confirm that the person writing it is the person for whom the will is for."* Lotson explained, leaning on his cane. "If they do not, then the will is dead. Unfortunately for Sheriff Pride, only one of his witnesses confirmed the will was his."

The cowgirl remained silent. So everything that Woody had planned for them to inherit was now going to some other relative, some other person who could care less about what actually happened to her brother. Her distant family had never come to visit, never given a friendly letter, never showed any acknowledgement of their existence. Yet, now that the ranch and its adjoining farms were available, they jumped on it like a frog on a rock.

She had meant it when she said Woody had been her last family member alive. She would never consider her other selfish relations family.

"Who is receiving the land?" Bo asked quietly from beside the cowgirl, trying to keep the tremors in her voice minimal at best.

"Miss Pride's uncle, Peter Pride." Lotson announced loudly. "He's a Prospector in Lancaster. He plans on arriving here tomorrow to sign the necessary papers and retrieve the deed."

Jessie narrowed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. The administrator's casual and jolly tone was utterly irritating.

"I can't believe you're talkin' about this like it's some story you tell your farmhands every mornin'." She hissed quietly, glaring from underneath her red, leather hat. "This isn't something that just happens that can be easily forgotten about the next day! My brother, you're sheriff, is dead and you're not showing any remorse or empathy! You're ready to just throw his wife and sister, the two people he wanted to inherit the ranch, out onto the streets and fend for themselves without regret! Is this really what this town has come to since we left? Have you lost your humanity?"

An uncomfortable pause of silence followed after her cries finished echoing across the large room. The judge, prosecutor, and plaintiff shared ashamed expressions as they considered her words. Lotson, however, still wore an unsympathetic smile on his lips, his fat cheeks squishing his amused eyes to slits.

"I'm sorry, Miss Pride, but the law is the law." He mocked. "You need to move out by sundown tomorrow."

Buzz barely had enough time to rush forward and grab Jessie by the arm before she launched herself at the administrator. While she furiously flung curses about, the former Space Ranger wrapped an arm firmly around her waist to make sure she didn't actually attack the portly man. Sighing, he looked up to the worried judge.

"Sir, is there no other way for us to inherit the ranch?"

The judge shook his head slowly at first, but quickly raised his eyebrows as an unseen thought came to him.

"Actually, there is!" He exclaimed. "Mr. Pride, Woody and Jessie's father, had something in his will that could make that so! His is valid and since Sheriff Pride's isn't, it should still be applicable! Lotson, do you have his will with you?"

Suddenly much more irritated than content, the administrator reached down to pick up his leather briefcase. After sifting through the files within it for a moment, he pulled out a packet of tacked papers. Putting on his wired glasses, Lotson looked through the words written on the pages. He stopped reading abruptly on the second page.

"Yes, there is something here." He muttered darkly.

Jessie's eyes widened, her demeanor suddenly more hopeful than angry. She slipped a hand into one of Buzz's and squeezed with anxiety.

"Well, read it, man!" The judge called to a cross Lotson.

"It says: 'My son, Woodrow Thomas Pride, will inherit Pride Ranch upon the hour of my death, as well as all of its belongings and all its farm acres. My daughter, Jessica Joan Pride, however, can only inherit Pride Ranch if she is over twenty-one years of age and…is married.'"

The cowgirl's hope diminished in an instant. She was twenty-three, she met the age requirement, but the only thing she lacked was the marriage status. Buzz's grip on her waist had tightened after the last word; she knew he had realized the same.

They turned to look at each other, both of their expressions uncertain and troubled. Holding each other's gaze for a moment, they silently made a decision, one they were not entirely prepared for.

They didn't have another choice.

"How much time do we have to get married?" Jessie finally asked.

The judge sat silent for a moment, not sure about what to say. Lotson, however, had no issue with giving them a straight answer.

"Twenty hours."


*1 - An administrator for a will and testament is someone who delegates the inheritance of an estate when the owner did not create a will or did not have a valid will. (wikipedia)

*2 - This was true in the United States until about 1911. (wikipedia)

*3 - Even in today's wills, if the issued amount of witnesses do not confirm a will, the will is not validated. The number of witnesses varies with each state in the US. (primary sources)