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“Have you settled on a price?” Rob asked.
“Not yet.”
“That’s the first step. As soon as you and Denver and Colton work out an agreement, I’ll go to work. I’ll give you the loan application forms and you can take them with you. The land will be mortgaged, of course, but the bank will require a down payment. You can work that out with Denver.”
Tessa wasn’t sure she could work anything out with Denver, but didn’t say so. A few minutes later, she was back in her car, driving south.
* * *
Nate Edwards’s ranch was all that the McLean Ranch wasn’t. The main house looked as if it were more suited to a Southern plantation than the windy hills of Montana. Rising three full stories, the shiny white exterior was punctuated with huge bow windows and cobalt-blue shutters. A porch, complete with an old-fashioned swing and wicker furniture, ran the length of the building, as did an upper balcony.
The ranch buildings and fences were all of gleaming white. A lake fitted with huge irrigation pipes forced water across the dry acres. Even in late August, the grass on Nate Edwards’s property was healthy and green.
Tessa parked her car at the curve of a circular drive and mounted brick steps. She rang the bell and waited until Nate’s wife, Paula, opened the door. Red-haired and younger than her husband by fifteen years, Paula grinned widely.
“Tessa! This is a surprise. Come in, come in,” she invited, “It’s about time you stopped by. Sherrie’s been asking about you.”
“I’ve been busy,” Tessa explained, feeling a little guilty. She and Paula had been friends since high school, and Paula’s daughter, Sherrie, was a child after Tessa’s own heart.
“Who is it, Mommy?” a small voice called as Tessa stepped inside the cool interior.
Glancing up, she spied a dark-haired imp on the landing of the stairs. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember me,” Tessa said.
The child squealed in recognition. “Tessie!” she cried, hurrying down the sweeping staircase and running into Tessa’s outstretched arms. “You promised to take me riding!”
“That I did.”
“Over my dead body!” Paula interrupted, wagging a finger in front of Sherrie’s pert little face. “You can’t ride until you’re five, remember.”
Sherrie crossed her plump little arms over her chest. “I won’t ever be five.”
“Sure you will,” her mother teased, touching the tip of Sherrie’s nose with her finger and winking at Tessa. “Come out to the back porch. I’ve got a pitcher of iced tea in the refrigerator, and Sherrie and I baked cookies this morning.”
“Apple squares!” Sherrie chimed in, scrambling from her mother’s arms and making a beeline for the kitchen. “I’ll show you.”
The kitchen was as formal as the rest of the house. Gleaming pans hung from the ceiling, marble counters stretched around the room and every appliance sparkled. On the center island were two huge platters of warm cookies. Sherrie picked out the largest square in her plump little fingers and handed it to Tessa. “Try it,” she commanded, her eyes bright, her pink cheeks flushed.
“Delicious,” Tessa pronounced as she bit into the gooey confection.
“I know,” the girl said proudly.
Paula promptly lectured her daughter on the virtues of being humble.
Hiding a grin, Tessa strolled outside. Paula joined her a few minutes later on the back porch. While Sherrie picked flowers in the garden, Paula and Tessa sat beneath a table umbrella and sipped from frosty glasses of iced tea.
“So where’ve you been this morning?” Paula asked, eyeing Tessa’s suit.
“The bank. I’m trying to buy the ranch. That’s why I’m here.” Tessa shoved her hair from her eyes and watched Sherrie pick the petals off a budding rose. “I wanted to talk to Nate about Brigadier and a couple of mares. He was interested in buying them once.”
“Still is,” Paula said. “He’s never forgiven you for buying that stallion right out from under his nose at the auction.”
“I guess he has a chance to get even.”
Paula studied the ice cubes dancing in her drink. “I hear Denver’s back.”
“For a while,” Tessa replied, her eyes squinting against the sun.
“How’s it going?”
