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“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” she said with heat.
A sandy-white eyebrow shot up in surprise. “Do what?”
“I sounded like a fool back there,” Tara replied, still fuming over it. “You should have told me the area was going through a drought.”
“It struck me as kinda obvious. After all, it hasn’t rained more than a drop in months. The grass crunches underfoot, an’ dust coats anything that doesn’t move regular.”
“There have been dry spells before,” Tara said in her own defense. “This could have been simply another one. I couldn’t possibly know that it had gone on long enough to be considered a drought. It’s part of your job to keep me informed about such things. Among other things, you are supposed to teach me all facets of the cattle business. And that includes the impact weather can have on it.”
“Lately you’ve been more interested in that house than ranchin’,” Buck pointed out.
“It’s taken more of my time, but you could just as easily have pointed out the condition of the range to me—and that dead cow—during the drive over here.” Then she could have been the one to tell Chase and Ty about them. Instead she had showed her ignorance of such matters—again. “The next time you notice such things, you are to tell me about them before you mention them to anyone else. Is that understood?”
“Loud and clear, Duchess.”
“And just why did you tell Chase about them anyway?” Tara looked on him with sudden suspicion. “Since when are you interested in insinuating yourself into his good graces?”
“Pointin’ out the sad shape his graze is in isn’t likely to cause Chase to look on me with favor. Nobody likes bein’ told by others they got problems. Or what they should do about ’em,” Buck added.
Unable to argue with his reasoning, Tara conceded, “I suppose not.” Closing that subject, she moved on to the next. “Let’s don’t waste this drive back to town. Point out to me all the things that Ty and Chase will be noticing and explain their importance.”
Pulling in a deep breath, Buck looked around and proceeded to lecture her on the essentials of grass and water and the fundamentals of ranching—the amount of land required per cow, the preferred walking distance to water, and the repercussions anytime the two didn’t jive. It was a lesson in economics and land management, and the fine line that sometimes had to be walked to achieve a profit. Now and then he would interrupt himself to direct her attention to a dry creek, the motionless blades of a windmill that could be an indication of a dry well, or a cow still grazing at a time of day when it would normally be lying down chewing its cud. All were small things, significant only to a rancher.
Always a quick study, Tara absorbed every minute detail, determined not to be embarrassed again.
Ty and Chase saw all those things and more. The course of action was obvious: an immediate ranch-wide roundup and a downsizing of all the herds to a number the land could safely support. That included the horse herds.
That evening the order went out to every corner of the vast ranch to gear up for roundup. Since the situation was at a critical stage in the South Branch section, they would start there.
Come morning, Dick Ballard let himself into The Homestead. Only strangers bothered to knock first. To his knowledge, the front door had never been locked. He seriously doubted that a key existed for it anymore.
As he headed toward the den, a young Trey charged through the living room, giggling with glee, his diapered bottom waddling from side to side and his legs pumping as fast as they could to elude Jessy’s grasp. But she was right behind him. When she scooped him up, he squealed in protest, writhing and kicking to break free.
“Looks like you might need to hog-tie that wild one,” Ballard observed with an easy grin.
“Believe me, it’s a very tempting thought. Unfortunately I don’t have a piggin’ string handy.” Not without effort, Jessy managed to subdue her young son. “Escape seems to be the only thing on his mind these days. I can’t imagine how we’re going to keep him corralled at Tara’s new house.”
“You’re going over there?” He showed his surprise at this piece of news.
“She’s invited us all to dinner on Saturday.”
An instant concern swept his expression. “You watch yourself over there.”
But Jessy wasn’t worried. “She won’t try anything—not with the whole Calder clan there, including Cat and Logan.”
“Maybe not, but you be careful just the same,” he insisted and glanced toward the den’s open door. “Is Ty or Chase in there?”
“Chase is. Ty left about an hour ago.”
“Thanks.” With a nod, he resumed his path to the room. Chase was on the telephone when he walked in. Ballard wandered over to the window to wait until he was through.
The minute Chase hung up, he was quick to challenge. “Why haven’t you left for South Branch?”
“That’s what I came to talk to you about,” Ballard acknowledged with a small bob of his head. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to sit out the roundup and stick close to headquarters. Things are always comin’ up about the auction that need to be handled and I—”
“—want to keep an eye on Jessy,” Chase cut across his words to state the true reason behind the request. Reading the startled question in Ballard’s expression, Chase confirmed, “Jessy mentioned the suspicions you have about Tara.”
“I should have remembered that Jessy has always been a forthright woman. I probably should have come to you with ’em but I got nothin’ to base ’em on but a gut feeling,” Ballard admitted. “Still I can’t help thinkin’ there wouldn’t be a better opportunity with everybody off to roundup and hardly anyone around headquarters. If I was gonna pick a time, that would be it. And I sure couldn’t look myself in the mirror if anything did happen an’ I was off chasin’ a bunch of cows.”
