Texas Tall (The Tylers of Texas 3)

“Are you all right, Will?” she asked gently.

“I’m fine, considering.” He shifted in his chair, one hand reaching up to massage the back of his neck. “I’m just so damned weary of this whole mess, Tori. All I want is to have it over and done with. The crazy thing is, if I had that night to do over, I wouldn’t have done any different. Whoever the bastard turned out to be, I couldn’t take a chance on letting him get to Erin.”

“And I’d have done the same in your place,” Tori said. “Now let’s get to this witness list the prosecution sent me, along with the names I’ve added, like the nine-one-one dispatcher on duty that night.”

“Carly will vouch for me,” Will said. “When I called in, I was sure I’d killed the robber.”

“She should have a recording of the call. If I can play that, it’ll be even more powerful than her testimony.” Tori started at the top of the list. “Abner?”

Will shook his head. “I can’t figure him out. I’ve known him since grade school and, in all that time, we’ve never exchanged an unfriendly word. But I could swear he’s out to get me. If we can find out why and use it somehow on the stand—”

“Will.” Beau had left the office and walked into the den. “I just got a phone call you need to know about.”

Will sighed. “I don’t suppose it was the bank calling to say they’ve changed their mind.”

“No. It was Bob Stevens, the new syndicate manager for the Prescott Ranch. He had an interesting proposal.”

“He wants to buy some land?”

“Not land. It seems Bob has a wealthy friend in San Antonio with a passion for palomino horses. They were talking, and Bob happened to mention that we had a palomino foal with a lot of promise. The man wants to fly out and look at Tesoro. He said that if the foal’s everything he expects, he’ll offer you seventy-five thousand for him. Throw in his mother, and he’ll make it an even hundred thousand. That would be enough to pay off the bank loan and save the ranch.”

Tori sat silent, her eyes on Will. She could imagine what was going through his mind. This was a way out, a way to keep the Rimrock intact and honor the family tradition that no part of it should be sold.

All he had to do was break his daughter’s heart.

CHAPTER 11

Mouth set in a flat line, Will rose from the chair, walked out of the room and down the hall. He knew Beau was waiting for some kind of response, but he had none to give him. Right now, what drove him was the need to be alone.

Entering the ranch office, he closed the door behind him, raised the Venetian blind that shaded the wide window, and stood looking out across the ranch yard toward the barns, then to the paddock, where the foals were still romping. Even at a distance Tesoro’s coat shone like a polished gold coin in the sunlight.

Beyond the paddock the rolling hills of the pastureland rose to meet the crags of the escarpment. In the pitiless blue sky, a lone vulture circled on outstretched wings.

Will had lived his entire life for the Rimrock. From the time he was old enough to shovel his first forkful of hay, he had tak

en care of the land and the animals. He had labored till his hands bled, sacrificed a college education and any chance he might’ve had to see the world—and he’d lost the only woman he’d ever loved when he’d been forced to choose between her and this ranch.

Now it had fallen to him again, the duty to keep the Rimrock whole—but not without another agonizing choice.

Selling Erin’s beloved foal and the mare, plus some interest they could pay out of pocket, would clear them with the bank, keep their credit in good standing, and save the acreage that would otherwise be lost. But Erin would be heartbroken. She would never trust him again. Worse, she would learn from this that honor was an illusion, and any promise could be broken on a whim.

Turning away from the window, he studied his father’s picture, where it hung on the wall. Even in the black-and-white photograph, Bull had the look of a man who never gave in, never gave up, and never stepped aside.

What would you have done, Dad? Will asked silently, as he often did when faced with a tough decision. How would you have handled this in my place?

But this time, Will realized, he already knew the answer. To the Bull Tyler whom Will remembered, the land had been more important than love and family, more important than life itself. A horse and a child’s tears would have meant nothing to him. For all Will knew, Bull would have sold his entire family down the river for the sake of this ranch. In a way he almost had.

Gazing at that face, Will felt a sudden flash of understanding. All his life he’d tried to measure up to his father and had failed. And now he knew why.

I’m not you, Dad, he said, continuing the silent conversation. I may look like you, maybe even talk and act like you sometimes. But I’m not you, and I’m not going to make the decision you would have made. I’m not going to destroy my daughter’s happiness for a piece of earth that has no mind, no heart, and no memory. If you don’t like it, fine. When I get there, we’ll settle our differences in hell.

Decision made, he opened the office door and walked back into the den. Beau was standing by the bar. He’d opened a beer from the miniature fridge. His grip tightened around the can as Will appeared. “Well?” he asked.

“Tesoro isn’t mine to sell,” Will said. “I promised him to Erin, and we’re keeping him. So you can tell Bob’s rich friend that the answer is no.”

The can came down on the bar with a thud, splattering beer on the mahogany surface. “Are you crazy?” Beau demanded. “That foal is ranch property, and we can sell him if we have to. Erin can always choose another foal to raise and fuss over. But that palomino is the key to saving our land.”

Will shook his head. “I can’t believe this. You sound like Dad.”