“Not really. More like one of the crew. Watch out when you move your rig. I don’t want to come out here in the morning and discover that you’ve run over him.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll give that monster a wide berth.” He shuddered. “Damn, I hate snakes!”
“Then you’re in the wrong state. Maybe you need to move to Alaska. Sleep tight, Mr. Maddox.” Turning away, Erin strode toward the porch, willing herself not to look back at him.
She remembered how a much smaller Henry had first shown up, and Jasper had talked Will into sparing the snake so it could live under the shed and feed on the mice that were pillaging the stored grain.
That had been three years ago. Now Jasper was gone—and with his passing, it was as if winds of change were blowing across the Rimrock. New challenges. New decisions. New dangers. And new people.
Tilting her face toward her shoulder, she inhaled the strangely erotic scent that clung to her shirt. The blend of horses, smoke, and sweat evoked the memory of a hard body and strong arms. But it was only for a moment. Her parents had made it clear that fraternizing with the hired help was a bad idea. And she had a boyfriend—a nice, respectable boyfriend she’d probably marry one day. Just not yet.
As she mounted the steps, Erin heard the truck start up. She didn’t look back.
CHAPTER TWO
ROSE LANDRO MCCADE PRESSED AGAINST THE WINDOW OF THE United Airlines plane on approach to Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport. From the air, she could see how much three decades had changed the countryside. Subdivisions sprawled over what had been open prairie. Skyscrapers towered above the downtown area. Freeways crisscrossed the landscape.
Rose had thought of this trip as a homecoming. But that home, she realized, would not be the place she remembered—not even the people.
But then, she had changed, too.
This would be the first time she’d traveled by plane since she and Tanner, the love of her life, had flown to Hawaii on a long-awaited second honeymoon. They’d returned to the news that Bull Tyler, aging, crippled, and in pain, had died in their absence. Now Jasper had followed him. At least this time, she would have the chance to pay her respects.
Two days had passed since she’d gotten Will’s call. Rose had remembered Will as a boy. But it was a man with a weary voice who’d given her the news that Jasper had passed away in what appeared to be a tragic accident. Even now, she felt the pain of loss like an icy stab to the heart. She hadn’t seen Jasper since her wedding day. But in her memory, he’d always been strong, vigorous, funny, and wise—and always her steadfast friend.
“The funeral is set for Saturday,” Will had told her. “After the service, we’ll be taking Jasper to the Hill Country to bury him next to Sally’s grave. She was—”
“Yes, I know,” Rose had said. “She was the girl who drowned before their wedding. He told me he’d never loved anyone else.” Rose had wiped away the first of many tears. “I’ll be there as soon as I can get a flight. Jasper was my best friend. I want to say a proper good-bye to him.”
“You can fly into Lubbock,” Will said. “Let us know when you’ve got your flight. Erin can be there to pick you up.”
“Where has the time gone? I can’t believe she’s old enough to drive.”
“Erin’s nineteen and very much her own person,” Will said. “You’ll enjoy getting to know her.”
“That sounds lovely. I was going to get a rental, but I wasn’t looking forward to driving a strange car on the freeway. How will I know your daughter when I see her?”
“You’ll know her,” Will had assured her. “Erin is the image of Susan, my mother.”
Rose’s thoughts spun back to the present as the plane touched down on the runway and taxied to the gate. Clutching her carry-on, she let the crush of deplaning passengers—like cattle going down a chute, she thought—carry her through the Jetway and out into the terminal. There was a moment’s unease as she spotted the BAGGAGE CLAIM sign and followed the arrows. Would Will’s daughter be waiting? Would they recognize each other?
She’d kept in touch with her Rimrock family, mostly by way of occasional Christmas cards. She knew that Will had married, divorced, and remarried the same woman—strange that he hadn’t mentioned her just now. She knew that a third Tyler son had turned up—Sky Fletcher, born of Bull’s brief affair with a Comanche woman. She knew that Beau was married with a young daughter, and that he’d returned to the ranch for a time, but eventually had gone back to his government job. Ferg Prescott—the scheming neighbor Rose and Bull had both detested—was long gone. So was his son, Garn, who’d sold the Prescott Ranch to a syndicate before going into politics. Sky had married Garn’s daughter, joining the two rival lines. And that, Rose thought, was the sum total of what she knew. Everything else would be a surprise.
Passing into the baggage claim area, Rose checked the flight numbers above the carousels. The luggage from her flight was already unloading, but she had yet to spot her old brown leather suitcase. She was waiting impatiently when she happened to glance through the crowd to the far side of the carousel. Standing a few feet back was a tall, slender young woman in jeans and a white tee, her dark blond hair brushed to the side in a single braid. In her hands was a cardboard placard with a single name on it—ROSE.
* * *
Erin hurried to meet the woman striding toward her. There could be no mistaking Rose McCade. Will had described her as he remembered, from her petite stature and dark eyes to the birthmark that blazed down the left margin of her face. But given Rose’s age, Erin had expected someone elderly, a person who might need a hand getting out of the airport to the car. Apart from her silver hair, twisted and pinned atop her head, Rose was a total surprise.
Dressed in trail-worn jeans and boots, with a denim jacket, she was a wiry bundle of energy. Her face, bare of makeup, was tanned and weathered from days on the Wyoming range, but her smile was as youthful as her step. Her only ornament, besides her wedding ring, was a pair of miniature silver horseshoe-shaped earrings.
She stopped an arm’s length from Erin and stood looking up at her. “Goodness, you make me feel old,” she said. “I knew your grandmother when I was a girl. She was about your age then. You look just like her.”
Erin found her voice. “Welcome home to Texas, Rose. Thank you for coming all this way.”
They hugged, awkwardly at first, then warmly, both of them aware of the deep connection they shared. Rose wasn’t family, but she was the closest thing.
“Let’s get your bag and be on our way,” Erin said.