Texas Forever (The Tylers of Texas 6)

“I wouldn’t ask Beau for a damned nickel. All I can do is sell off most of the cattle while they’re still in decent shape, and as many of the horses as we can spare, although that’ll break Erin’s heart. She’s raised and trained so many of them.”

“Surely you wouldn’t sell her stallion.”

“No, not Tesoro or the breeding stock. We’ll still need enough cow ponies to run the ranch. But any extras will have to go. That’s why I hired the farrier. If I want to get top dollar for the horses, they’ll need to be in good condition.”

“How much of this have you told Erin?” Rose asked.

Will slowed to pass a sheep that was nibbling grass alongside the two-lane road. “Erin knows we’re struggling,” he said. “But I haven’t told her the worst. I want her to enjoy her life while she can. Maybe she’ll even marry that boyfriend of hers. At least that way, if anything were to happen to me, she’d have some security.”

Rose felt a chill. “Will, you’re scaring me. Is something wrong with you?”

“As far as I know, I’m sound as a dollar. But losing Tori and Jasper within a few months of each other has got me thinking about my own mortality. You’ve heard that deaths tend to run in groups of three. After what I’ve seen over the years, I’m inclined to believe it.”

“Superstitious nonsense, that’s all it is!” Rose shook her head. “You can’t set any store by it. Let’s talk about something else. Tell me about that young man of Erin’s. How long have they been dating?”

Will took a moment to think. “A little over a year, I guess, since Erin graduated from high school and Kyle came home from junior college. His dad manages the syndicate ranch that used to belong to the Prescotts. A good man, and his wife seems friendly. Kyle has an associate degree in ranch management. Experience will teach him the rest of what he needs to know. Earlier you asked whether he was the right man to help Erin run the Rimrock someday. If that’s the way things turn out, he’ll certainly be qualified.”

“So you approve of the match

?”

“I wouldn’t object to it. But only if it makes Erin happy.”

But will he make her happy? Rose kept that question to herself, knowing that Will would have no way to answer it. She had met Kyle Cardwell at the luncheon following the funeral. The young man had been polite and charming, and he was certainly handsome. But Rose had sensed something hidden below the surface—a weakness, perhaps, like a flaw in a good-looking horse. There’d been no word for it—no proof that it was even there. But she’d walked away feeling that Erin deserved better.

“I’d like to see my land tomorrow,” she said. “If you don’t have time to take me, could I borrow a vehicle?”

“I’ll be glad to take you. That’s the least I can do.” Will swung the truck onto the freeway ramp and hit the gas. “But you won’t like what you see.”

“That’s all right. We’ll take a look at what’s wrong and figure out how to fix it.” Rose settled back in the seat. She was worn out from the long drive, and the ranch was hours away. But she wasn’t sorry to be here. Years had passed since she’d felt useful to anyone but herself. But some inner voice whispered that in the time ahead, her help would be needed.

* * *

The midday sun beat down on the scrubby foothills below the escarpment. Under its searing rays, the landscape seemed stripped of anything that moved. Even the basking lizards were gone from rocks that were hot to the touch. Heat waves swam above the parched ground. Out on the flatland, the white alkali patch that had been a bitter playa lake before the drought glittered like diamond dust.

Birds, snakes, mice, rabbits, and coyotes, even spiders and scorpions, had taken refuge in the shade or under the ground. Only the vultures, riding the updrafts on outstretched wings, seemed to thrive in the heat.

Mounted on Tesoro, Erin tilted the water canteen to her lips and passed it to Luke. Beneath her broad-brimmed hat, her hair was soaked with perspiration. The distance to the dry wash where Jasper’s life had ended wasn’t much more than a mile from the heart of the ranch. But the going was slow, because she and Luke were taking the stallions at a walk to spare them in the heat.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Luke, mounted on a bay stallion named Ranger, took a long gulp of water and passed the canteen back to her. “Every place out here looks the same to me.”

“I’m sure,” Erin said. “I grew up riding out here, and going bird hunting with Jasper. When the sheriff described the place where they found him, I knew exactly the spot he meant. Jasper and I could always find quail and doves in that wash. I’d flush them out and Jasper would bring them down with his shotgun. They make good eating if you’ve got the patience to dress them.” Her throat tightened at the mention of her old friend.

“I know about quail and doves. My grandmother was the devil with a shotgun. I used to dress the ones she bagged on the farm. It took about a dozen of them to make a meal for us.” Luke scanned the horizon.

Erin had told him about the circumstances of Jasper’s death and the missing pistol they’d be looking for. She still wasn’t sure whether he took her suspicions seriously or if he’d only come along to make sure she was safe. Either way, it was reassuring to have him with her, especially since he was wearing a gun belt with a Smith and Wesson .38 in the holster.

“Over there, about fifty yards.” She indicated the direction with a nod. “See that crooked bush? That’s the spot.”

“I see it. Let’s find some shade for the horses. We’re more likely to see something useful if we go on foot from here.”

“Maybe—providing the sheriff’s men left anything for us to see. I can imagine their big clumsy boots stomping out any evidence that might’ve been left behind.”

They tethered the stallions in the lacy shade of a mesquite. Erin felt a painful twinge as she put her weight into the left stirrup and swung out of the saddle. Tightening her jaw, she willed herself to ignore it.

They walked carefully toward the edge of the wash, looking down. “I see plenty of tire tracks,” Luke said.

“That would be the sheriff’s Jeep.” Erin walked a little farther, trying not to limp. “See, right here is where they got out, the sheriff on this side, and his deputy, Roy Porter, on the driver’s side. I went through school a year behind Roy. I’m hoping he’ll be willing to talk to me about what they found here.”