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“I want to hear no more talk about the Calders being responsible for this,” Dyson stated. “Somebody else is doing it. Either catch him or make the security so tight that he won’t risk attempting any trouble.”
“Yes, sir.” It was a tight-lipped answer, acknowledging there would be no more discussion of the subject. “If you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll be getting back to the job.”
“That’s all.” There was a moment’s pause as Dyson somberly watched Grinnell head back for the office; then he seemed to rouse himself and glance at Stricklin. By silent agreement, they both started for the car parked a few yards away. “What’s your opinion, George?” E.J. finally asked.
“It could be just a coincidence that somebody’s cutting the oil lines on our machinery—and that Calder’s plane crash was caused by a broken oil line.”
“Or someone could be trying to throw suspicion on the Calders,” Dyson suggested.
“But why?” Stricklin murmured to himself and opened the car door to slide behind the wheel.
The windows were rolled down, but the interior of the car still had that hot, sunbaked feel of stale air. Stricklin flicked the air-conditioning fan on high. Driving slowly through the congestion around the mine area, he approached the main road to the old Stockman ranch house and stopped the car to let a large tank truck loaded with water turn across the road in front of him.
“Every time I see one of those trucks, I shudder when I think how much it’s costing us to haul that water.” Dyson’s sigh was heavy with displeasure.
“It’s an investment,” Stricklin replied and turned the steering wheel to follow the tank truck.
“Well put.” Dyson leaned to the side in an attempt to look around the truck and get a first glimpse of their investment.
After the dull, coal-dusted earth of the barren land around the strip-mining area and the yellowing grass of the surrounding range, the sudden patch of green made a healthy contrast. It was the first of the mine’s reclaimed areas, seeded and watered to grow a thick stand of new grass. Stricklin stopped the car to watch while the tank truck drew to a halt by a portable water-storage tank hooked to the irrigation system.
“It’s certainly shut up the complaints from the environmentalists and silenced a lot of the ranchers,” Dyson stated, nodding with approval at the scene. “Of course, it’s the most expensive grass in the country, too. It should be green.”
“But it serves its purpose. It’s a showcase reclamation project. We spend the money now and we won’t have to spend as much later. We can leave it to Mother Nature instead.” The economics of the situation were plain to Stricklin. There was no other viable alternative. “Ty needs to see this, especially now that he’s dropped the suit contesting the land titles.” He said no more than that, trusting Dyson to have a sense of the right timing. After all, he was the promoter.
“Yes.” It was a thoughtful agreement. “I thought I might feel him out, so to speak, this evening. Tara has indicated they’re in a financial pinch right now, so it just might be the time to approach him with
a deal.”
The mention of Tara brought a warm light to Stricklin’s metal-blue eyes. “Tara has really come into her own since she’s become the lady of the house.” He placed a slight emphasis on the word “lady,” because that’s the way he saw her—as a lady, with position and dignity. “She is so skillful at managing her guests and ensuring their stay is flawless. She was born to the role.”
“Indeed,” Dyson agreed, proud of his daughter for so smoothly taking charge of the household and slowly changing it from being merely the grand home of a big rancher to being the center of a whole new social life that attracted a lot of influential people. Ty would do extremely well with her. And Dyson also knew he could count on her as an ally without ever putting the matter to her. He and his daughter thought too much alike.
“Excellent meal. Simply an excellent meal,” E.J. assured his daughter.
“Thank you, Daddy.” She hugged his arm as they left the dining room, trailed by Ty, Stricklin, and Cathleen. “I told you my cook was a real find. She’d worked at the governor’s mansion for years. It was lucky for me that the restaurant she opened in Helena foiled. I had dined there once. So I scooped her up the minute I heard she was in the job market again. And she highly recommended Mrs. Thornton, whose credentials were impeccable anyway. It made it very convenient that the two of them were acquainted, since it meant they could share quarters.” Plus it kept them fairly isolated from the other ranch employees and lessened the amount of gossip spread about what went on in The Homestead, but Tara didn’t mention the other objective she had accomplished with her new, imported staff.
“Brandy in the study?” Ty suggested, drawing level with the father-daughter pair as they reached the living room.
“You obviously aren’t including me in that offer.” Cat grinned, since only on special occasions was she allowed to even have wine at dinner. “So I won’t join you. I think I’ll brave the insects and take a walk outside instead.”
“May I join you, Cathleen,” Stricklin inquired. “After all that delicious food, I need some exercise.”
“Sure.” Her shoulders lifted in a shrug that assured him she had no objections.
“I guess that leaves you and Daddy,” Tara declared. “I need to plan out the next week’s menus and check with Simone to be sure we have everything that she’ll need when Doug Stevens arrives with his party.”
There was a general, unhurried parting as they branched off in different directions, Ty and Dyson wandering into the study. The brandy was poured and the two men settled comfortably into matching armchairs. Dyson cupped the snifter glass in his hand and slowly swirled the liquor to warm it.
“I was hoping I would have a few minutes to talk to you alone on this visit, Ty,” He made his opening gambit.
“Oh?” Ty sent him a mildly curious look.
“Actually, this is a bit awkward for me,” he confessed with a small, self-deprecating smile. “I don’t want to create any problems, yet at the same time I’d really like to have you as a partner.”
“A partner?” His head came up in brief surprise.
“It isn’t simply because you married my daughter. I want you to understand that, although it is an additional reason why I’d like to see it come about—to keep it all in the family, so to speak.” His smile deepened slightly as he observed no resistance to the idea in Ty’s expression. “But I’ve always liked you. You’ve got a head on your shoulders and you know how to use it. I respect that. And it’s exactly what I want in a business partner.”
