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With Gypsy back in her stall, Daisy started to feel like her old self again.
Daphne had talked her into going through the paperwork Ella Jean Gallagher’s attorney had mailed, so they sat at the kitchen table sipping iced tea and flipping through page after page of double-spaced legal gobbledegook.
The offer included financial reimbursement, interest and damages. As she grasped the numbers, Daisy’s jaw dropped. “Holy smokes, Daph! When Hank said he and his mom were doing what they could to make things up to us, he sure wasn’t kidding!”
Two options were proposed for the six hundred acre tract Red had bought at tax sale: if the girls didn’t want to accept an installment buyout over five years, they could have the land back for two years’ taxes, same as Red had paid for it.
Daisy fished through the desk drawer for the calculator. “What are you doin’?” Daphne asked.
Daisy’s eyes were wide. “We gotta start figuring out how much it will cost to buy stock!”
“What? Daisy, c’mon! I have absolutely zero interest in cattle, and I’m just not into ranchin’. It’s all kinds a’ work in all kinds a’ weather, not to mention the risk! Some disease or storm can just show up and wipe an entire herd out—you know that!” Daphne objected.
“Daph, let’s say Red never cheated Daddy. What do you think we’d be dealing with now? Four hundred head a’ Black Baldies plus new calves grazing out on that same plateau Red stole from us. C’mon, it’s what Buck woulda wanted!”
“Sweet’ems, you really think Daddy would want me toting calving supplies around in my convertible? And aren’t you headin’ up to San Anton next week to see about school? You’ll be plenty busy with ranch work once you get that degree and start helpin’ Doc Timpson out, Daize. Besides, easiest way for you to get a ranch is to marry Hank Gallagher.”
“What? You just want the place to yourself! You’ll take over my room and make your closet bigger,” Daisy fired back, flicking a hand at the parcels and packages Daphne had brought back from another shopping trip in Austin the day before.
Daphne was right, Daisy just didn’t want to admit it. When she’d shared his bed at the ranch, Hank had whispered his dreams of them being together, there, married with kids.
It stung too much now, thinking about Hank.
He checked in often, but his voice was strained, so detached, it made Daisy queasy. Things had changed between them, but she didn’t know why.
At first, she’d figured it was the strain of her accident, then the negotiations. For awhile, she’d convinced herself he’d hung back hoping she’d be happy with the settlement, not wanting to influence her.
But all that was behind them now. Hank was gentle and considerate, but he treated her like she was some kind of broken doll. What had she done to turn Hank off?
Daisy couldn’t keep herself from thinking of Janie, in her classy dresses, hanging over Hank’s shoulders like she owned him.
Maybe he didn’t want her anymore, now that she’d lost weight and her hair was gone and the headaches kept coming. Maybe he wanted Janie back.
Dammit! She wanted things sweet and hot and close again with Hank. Wishing there was some kind of switch she could flick to get things back to the way they’d been before the accident brought tears to her eyes so quickly, she couldn’t even mention it to Daphne. But she had to face facts.
Later, Daph put plates heaped with batter-fried catfish, green beans and cornbread on the table, saying, “C’mon, Daisy-chain, eat up. We gotta get your strength back. You got a rodeo to get to in the next few weeks.”
Over dinner, Daisy agreed to take the five-year buyout. They signed the paperwork in their new lawyer’s office the next day.
When the first checks came, Daphne brought them in. Opening the envelope, she sat down at the little kitchen table, hard. “Oh, my gosh. Oh, my golly—and this is just a monthly disbursement, Daize! We’ve got these checks coming for the next five years!” she screamed.
Ignoring her envelope, Daisy stuck the lemonade back in the fridge and shrugged her shoulders. “Heck, as long as it’ll cover the repairs on the truck, Daph, I’m fine.”
Daphne made appointments with an accountant and an investment advisor for them, and Daisy called Ralph to have him find parts for a truck overhaul.
“That advisor sure had some ideas, didn’t she?” Daphne squealed, slapping Daisy’s knee on the ride home. “Retirement will be here before ya know it!”
“I’ll be happy if I get the letter from San Antonio about school. I want a career first, before I retire.”
“Me, too. I’m thinkin’ about interior decorator school.”
“Really?” Daisy asked, not completely surprised. Daphne was always sprucing things up around the house, giving Hymie tips at Armadillo’s on paint colors and such.
Her sister said, “Call up there, soon as we’re home, Daisy-chain, see what’s happening now that the application paperwork is in and they’ve met you. You’ve sure got plenty to cover tuition! I’m gonna call around, see what I can find as far as classes Austin. I don’t want a degree or anything, just some tips.”
*****
Daisy was at Ty’s later in the week when she got Daph’s text. Letter’s here!
