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“Yes.” She nodded. “These last few months, Daddy looked so tired. I tried to get him to slow down, but he wouldn’t listen. It’s clear now that he knew he wasn’t well. Possibly he even knew that he didn’t have much longer. Maybe that’s why he pushed himself so hard lately. He wanted to get his affairs in order. Isn’t that a horrible phrase—‘get his affairs in order’? I despise it,” Tara declared.
“I’m sure he did it for you.”
“I know. And the lawyers tell me that he succeeded admirably. As far as the business side goes, I have minimum responsibilities, and absolutely no financial worries, personally. My time and money are my own now. Unfortunately I’m not sure what to do with either of them. Life looks so empty right now.”
“That’s to be expected,” Ty assured her. “But later on, you’ll find plenty of things to do, places to go, parties to give.”
Tara wondered if he truly believed she was that frivolous. Had he forgotten that she had never entertained anyone without a purpose? Not even now.
“Logic tells me you’re right. But at the moment, the future looks horribly bleak—and much too depressing to talk about anymore. Tell me about the ranch. What’s going on there? Has your father acquired title to that Wolf Meadow land yet?”
“We’re working on it.”
“Dealing with the government is never easy. Even though he was very good at it, Daddy hated it. He said it was always such a hassle. Just about the time you had a deal struck, there would be an election and a big shuffling of people. Suddenly, there you were with a brand new person in charge and you had to start almost from the beginning.”
“We’ve run into our share of that,” Ty admitted, but didn’t elaborate. Tara recalled a time when he would have discussed his problems in detail with her. But he was being as close-mouthed as his father about them now.
“The environmental lobby is very strong right now, too. That has to be an obstacle as well.”
“They have definitely been among the opposition.”
After a moment’s pause, Tara chose not to pursue the subject. “It’s good to talk about things like this—for me, anyway. It gets my mind off things,” she said, determined not to give him the impression she was probing for information. “At the hotel, you mentioned you had someplace you needed to be. As I recall, you only flew to Texas when you were in the market for a bull or some brood mares. So, which is it this time?”
Ty smiled, revealing that he was comfortable with this subject. “Actually, it’s neither.”
“Really?” Tara lifted the coffee mug to her lips, peering curiously over the rim at him.
“We’re considering holding private auctions for our registered livestock. Since I was here in Texas, I thought I would scout out the kinds of facilities other ranchers use for theirs.”
Eyes widening, Tara lowered the mug, her interest piqued. “Some of those private sales are incredibly lavish affairs, private jets flying in from all over the country. They are almost as much social events as they are buying sprees.” She hesitated, deliberately. “I don’t know how to say this, Ty, but—this doesn’t sound like the kind of thing that would meet with your father’s approval.”
His mouth slanted in a crooked smile. “He isn’t all that keen on the idea. But if the preliminary figures we’ve run are only half right, the profit margin could still be staggering, more than enough to warrant being temporarily inconvenienced.”
“When is your first sale scheduled? I would love to come.”
“That’s at least a year or two away. We still need to determine the type of facility that’s required, design and build it, plus have plenty of advance time to promote the sale.”
“It sounds exciting.” Tara itched to get in the middle of it all. Maybe she could. She took a sip of her coffee and thought about that.
“We really aren’t far enough along to have a timetable. Personally, I think we’ll be lucky if we have plans drawn for the building by fall. More than likely, it will be next winter. It’s more important to build it right, than to build it in a hurry.”
Tara injected all the right questions in all the right places to keep Ty talking about the project, gleaning every kernel of information and filing it away for future use. Where Ty was concerned, no information was too trivial.
It wouldn’t be easy to insinuate herself into his life again. But Tara never doubted for a moment that she would ultimately succeed. If not one way, then another. Possibly, both. That prospect made her smile.
A summer wind blew through the pickup’s opened windows, its air laden with the scent of ripening grasses. Jessy turned her face to it, breathing in the smells. The land rolled away from the dirt road, big, wide, and empty. There was nothing to be seen but earth and sky for miles upon miles upon miles.
Behind the wheel, Ty slid his glance in her direction. “Penny for your thoughts?”
“What makes you think they aren’t worth any more than that?” Jessy challenged lightly.
“Because, if I had to guess, I’d say that you were thinking about the twins.”
Jessy released a heavy sigh of admission. “Sally will have her hands full, trying to take care of those two.”
“She has Dad to help her. They’ll manage.”
“I know, but Laura has become such an old fussbudget lately. You know how she pitches a fit if she gets the least little bit of dirt on her. Heaven forbid if you accidentally miss her mouth with the spoon and smear baby food on her face. And ever since Trey learned to crawl, he shoots out of sight the instant you turn your back.”
