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“It’s almost noon,” he said. “Let’s go back to the house and you can tell me which horses I should keep over lunch.”
“Sure.”
* * *
As they ate bowls of beef stew and crusty French bread, Hadley spelled out her take on each of the horses he’d shown her.
“Cielo is a keeper. But I don’t think you’d part with him no matter what anyone said to you.”
“You’re probably right.” He missed talking horses with someone. Since his grandfather died, Liam hadn’t had anyone to share his passion with. “What did you think of the bay filly?”
“Nice, but the roan mare is better, and bred to Blue you’d get a really nice foal.” Hadley’s gaze turned thoughtful as she stirred the stew with her spoon. “I also think you’d be fine letting the buckskin go. He’s terrific, but Cielo will be a better reining horse.” Her lips curved. “But I’m not telling you anything you hadn’t already decided.”
“I appreciate your feedback. And you’re right. Of the four I showed you, I’d selected three to sell. But your suggestion that I breed Tilda to Blue was something I hadn’t considered.”
Her smile warmed up the already-cozy kitchen. “Glad I could help. It was fun talking horses. It was something my friends and I did all the time when I was younger. I always imagined myself living on a ranch after I finished school, breeding and training horses.”
Liam’s chest tightened. Hadley possessed the qualities he’d spent the last year deciding his perfect woman must have. Beautiful, loving, maternal and passionate about horses.
“Of course, that wasn’t a practical dream,” Hadley continued. “My parents were right to insist I put my education first. I figured that out not long after I started college.”
“But what if you could have figured out a way to make it work? Start small, build something.”
“Maybe ten years ago I could have.” Her voice held a hint of wistfulness. A moment later, all nostalgia vanished. “These days it’s no longer what I want.”
Her declaration put an end to the topic. Liam held his gaze steady on her for a moment longer, wondering if he’d imagined her overselling her point. Or was he simply wishing she’d consider giving up her future plans and sticking around Royal? He’d grown attached to her in a very short period of time and wanted to see more of her. And not as his niece’s nanny.
Liam pushed back from the table. “I have a meeting late this afternoon at the Texas Cattleman’s Club, but I’ll be back in time for you to make your class at seven.”
“Thank you. I really enjoy the class as much for the company as the candle making.” She carried their bowls to the sink and began rinsing them. “When I’m in school, I don’t have a lot of free time.”
“Sounds like you don’t make enough time for fun,” he said.
“I keep telling myself that I’ll have plenty of time to enjoy myself once I’m done with school. In the meantime, I make the most of the free hours I have.”
Liam was mulling Hadley’s attitude as he strode into the Texas Cattleman’s Club later that day. Originally built as a men’s club around 1910, the club opened its doors to women members as well a few years ago. Liam and his grandfather had been all for the change and had even supported the addition of a child care center. For the most part, though, the decor of the original building had been left intact. The wood floors, paneled walls and hunting trophies created a decidedly masculine atmosphere.
As Liam entered the lounge and approached the bar, he overheard one table discussing the Samson Oil land purchases. This had been going on for months. Several ranchers had gone bankrupt on the heels of the destructive tornado that had swept through Royal and the surrounding ranches. Many of those who’d survived near financial ruin had then had to face the challenge of the drought that reduced lakes and creeks and made sustaining even limited herds difficult. Some without established systems of watering tanks and pumps had been forced to sell early on. Others were holding out for a miracle that wouldn’t come.
“I guess I know what’s on the agenda for the meeting today,” Liam mentioned as he slid into the space between his best friend, David “Mac” McCallum, and Case Baxter, current president of the Texas Cattleman’s Club. “Has anybody heard what’s up with all the purchases?”
Mac shook his head. “Maybe they think there are shale deposits.”
“Fracking?” The man on the other side of Mac growled. “As if this damned drought isn’t bad enough. What sort of poison is that process going to spill into our groundwater? I’ve got two thousand heads relying on well water.”
Liam had heard similar complaints every time he set foot in the clubhouse. The drought was wearing on everyone. Wade Ranch relied on both wells and a spring-fed lake to keep its livestock watered. He couldn’t imagine the stress of a situation where he only had one ever-dwindling source to count on.
“Mellie tells me the property lawyer who’s been buying up all the land for Samson Oil quit,” Case said. His fiancée’s family owned several properties the oil company had tried to buy. “She’s gotten friendly with one of her tenants, the woman who owns the antiques store in the Courtyard. Apparently she and Nolan Dane are involved.”
“Howard Dane’s son?”
“Yes, and Nolan’s going back to work with him doing family law.”
Liam missed who asked the question, but Case’s answer got him thinking about Kyle. That his brother was still out of touch reinforced Liam’s growing conviction that Maggie deserved a parent who was there for her 24/7. Obviously as long as he was on active duty, Kyle couldn’t be counted on. Perhaps Liam should reach out to an attorney familiar with family law and see what his options might be for taking over custody of his niece. He made a mental note to give the man a call the next morning and set up an appointment.
“Maybe we should invite him to join the club,” Liam suggested, thinking how their numbers had dwindled over the last year as more and more ranchers sold off their land.
“I think we could use some powerful allies against Samson Oil,” Case said. “Nolan might not be able to give us any information on his former client, but he still has a background in property law that could be useful.”
