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Later they dined and drank their coffee by the flickering blaze of the fire Ty built in the fireplace after the sun sank below the horizon and the air had cooled. It was a lazy evening, reminiscing about old times and planning new ones, just the two of them alone, the way it had begun for them.
It was an easy intimacy they shared, both by the fire and in the subsequent darkness of the bedroom. Neither missed the giddiness of new love; they had found something better, something with strength and staying power. As usual, they slept tangled together, each warmed by the body heat of the other.
A bird trilled its morning call outside the cabin window, but its song was drowned out by the strident ring of the telephone. Groggily Ty rolled over and squinted a look at the light beyond the bedroom window, then fumbled around until his groping fingers located the telephone on the bedside table. He picked up the receiver, cutting short the second loud ring. Beside him, Jessy had snapped awake with a mother’s instant alertness at the first sharp ring. It took her a second to remember where she was. By then Ty had answered the phone.
“Yeah. What’s the problem?” He tried, but he couldn’t keep all of the sleep out of his voice.
“That depends on your definition of a problem.”
At the sound of his father’s voice coming over the line, Ty came fully awake. Jessy caught the muffled sound of it and levered up on an elbow, dragging the covers up over her breasts.
“The twins? Are they all right?”
Without an answer, Ty could only shake his head. “Is something wrong, Dad?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. But tell Jessy not to worry. The twins are fine. Sally is just about to give Laura her morning bath, and Trey is here in the den with me. I’m calling because Tara phoned last night.”
“Tara.” Ty frowned and pushed into a sitting position. “What did she want?”
“She wanted to know if we had finalized our building plans for the new sale barn yet. How did she know about that?”
“I think I mentioned it in passing while I was in Fort Worth for the funeral.” But it was little more than a vague memory.
“I figured it was probably something like that. Anyway, she wants us to put any plans we’ve made on hold until she talks to you. I didn’t bother to pass her message on last night. There didn’t seem to be any need to spoil your evening. But—here’s the bad news—she’s flying in this morning.”
“She’s what?” His fingers tightened their grip on the receiver, shock and disbelief racing through him.
“You heard me,” Chase replied flatly. “And she’s bringing an architect with her. Her plane should land at our strip between ten and eleven. I thought I’d better let you know that.”
There was a click, and the line went dead. Ty replaced the receiver on its cradle and swept back the covers, swinging his legs out of bed.
“That was Dad,” he said needlessly, his sideways glance bouncing off Jessy.
“I gathered,” was her dry response. “What was that about Tara?”
“She’s flying in this morning, with an architect. They should be landing around ten or eleven.”
Happy Anniversary, Jessy thought, and followed Ty’s lead, climbing out of bed to get dressed.
Chapter Six
On its final approach, the private jet angled for the runway, a long gray line of concrete cutting a path through the sea of summer-yellow grass. In the plane’s cabin, Tara faced the double-paned window, idling looking out while her mind hummed, determined to make sure there was no argument she had overlooked.
“I thought we were going to land at the ranch.”
Roused from her thoughts, Tara glanced across the aisle at the young, athletically built architect seated across from her. “That is the ranch below us,” she informed him, smiling at the surprise that flickered over his clean-cut, college-boy features.
“All of those buildings?” Noah Richardson, a preservationist at heart and the current wunderkind of the architectural world, peered out his side window, eager for a closer look.
“I told you the Triple C was different from other ranches you’ve seen. There are few like it in the world, I suspect.”
“It looks like a small town,” he marveled.
“And just as self-sufficient as one. At least, where the necessities are concerned,” Tara qualified.
As the plane continued its descent, the outbuildings disappeared from view. Only The Homestead remained in sight. Tara could almost pinpoint the exact moment when Noah Richardson switched his attention to the high plains mansion.
Losing interest in her traveling companion, Tara let her gaze wander to her own window, catching a brief glimpse of two men waiting by the hangar as the plane sped past, beginning its rapid deceleration. Brief, though it may have been, it was enough for Tara to recognize both Ty and his father. Unworried, she settled back in her seat.
