He was busy mulling it over and missed the irony in her voice. “Well, I was right about one thing. He’s probably the one bankrolling the shop in the Village, but I guess that shoots my theory about her sleeping her way to success.”

Lillian sighed. “Please, Morton.”

“At least, not with Jason,” he said, smirking. “The boy’s gay, isn’t he?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Lillian said stiffly. “And he’s hardly a boy. He’s almost as old as Hunter.”

“Well, he is gay. Everybody knows it. Not that Bob’s ever mentioned it. And I see him at the club frequently. As a matter of fact, we played golf last week. Naturally, he doesn’t mention Jason much, but—”

Lillian rose abruptly. “I need to talk to Maria about lunch,” she said. Not waiting to hear him out, she left the room.

Two

To Hunter McCabe, a week when he didn’t make it to his ranch was a week that sucked. For the past seven days, he’d divided his time driving on Houston’s clogged freeways between two construction projects forty minutes apart where everything that could go wrong had. He needed to breathe something besides exhaust fumes and city smog. So it was barely daylight when he left the parking garage at his high-rise condominium and headed west out of the city. Making good time, he’d be at the ranch just as Theresa was dishing up breakfast.

It was a few minutes past seven when he finally turned off a state road onto the ranch—two hundred and eighty acres of prime Texas land. As he drove beneath an iron arch with McCabe-Colson forged in large letters, his mood improved. The ranch was a legacy from his father and one that Hunter cherished. Bart McCabe had purchased it thirty-five years ago with his business partner, Hank Colson. According to Hank, they’d bought it mostly as a tax write-off, but with hopes of raising cattle on a large scale in the future. But those plans had died when Bart went down in the crash of a small plane, leaving Hunter fatherless at age two and his mother a widow. Driving past grassy pasture now, he blessed the impulse that had moved Hank and his dad to purchase the land, whatever their motivation.

Once out of the car, Hunter breathed deeply, taking in the smells of the ranch—fresh-cut grass, wood smoke and horses. In the south pasture, a young mare stood cropping winter rye while her foal nursed vigorously. A prize Appaloosa in the pasture opposite spotted Hunter and whinnied, but he resisted the temptation to head that way. There were a couple of things that needed tending before he could escape to the stables. A weather front had brought rain yesterday and the cold, crisp day was perfect for what he had in mind.

He braced for the wild welcome from the chocolate Lab who rushed toward him, barking joyously. Charlie was aging, but somehow in greeting Hunter, who’d raised him from a puppy, he seemed to forget his aching joints. Laughing, Hunter dodged the dog’s tongue and enthusiasm, and only after he’d given him a good rub did Charlie fall in beside him, tongue lolling happily. He was up the steps onto the porch in two strides, pausing to stamp the dampness from his boots on the welcome mat at the front door before going inside.

The man who met him before he cleared the threshold might have stepped right out of a Remington sculpture. “Thought I heard you drive up,” Hank said, handing over a steaming mug of coffee. “If you’d headed to the barn first, I was coming after you and I wouldn’t be offering coffee.”

“I missed you, too.” Hunter took the coffee, knowing it would be hot and strong, and inhaled deeply.

Tall and whipcord lean, Hank was on the downhill side of sixty but still as fit as a man in his forties. He had a face made of sharp angles and shadowy planes and a generous mustache as gray now as his eyes. And in spite of the fact that he always wore a hat, his skin was still richly tanned and weathered.

Hunter tossed his hat at the rack by the door, ringing it squarely. “Before you light into me, hear me out. I plan to look over that lease agreement you’ve been nagging about right away. Not that I need to. If you’re satisfied, I’ll sign it and we’ll be done with it.”

“This is a partnership, Hunt. I’m not signing anything that ties us to a contract for five years without you blessing it.”

Hunter tasted the coffee with caution. “I know as much about growing pecans as you do about building a high-rise,” he said, wincing over his blistered tongue.

“It’s not about growing pecans. It’s about your land and—”

“Our land, Hank. We’re equal partners here. You keep forgetting that I was only ten years old when you had the idea to plant a thousand trees on ground that was growing nothing but grass and scrub. Left to me, it would still be grass and shrub, as long as there was pasture for the horses. So, if you say you want to lease more acreage to plant more pecan trees, why would I argue?”

“We’re lucky the land butts up to ours and that Billings is willing to lease it out,” Hank said. He watched Hunter give the collection of mail on the table a quick glance, then lose interest before adding, “I’m thinking if we offered enough, he’d probably let us buy it. ’Course, he’d want an arm and a leg per acre. His wife’s the one holding out for leasing.”

Hunter leaned against the table, smiling. “Thinking you can afford to pay an arm and a leg?”

“Thinking we both can,” Hank said.

Hunter studied the older man, knowing that if and when a deal was done, it would be to the advantage of McCabe and Colson no matter how grasping Billings’s wife was. Hank had keen business instincts. He and Bart McCabe, who’d been a pilot, had started up an air-cargo business back in the sixties and it was thriving at the time of Bart’s death. When Lillian remarried, Hank bought out her share and continued to run it with truly phenomenal success until about eight years ago. Then he’d surprised everyone by announcing his retirement. That was the year his daughter, Kelly, was accepted into the veterinary program at Texas A&M. Hank set her up in an apartment in College Station and moved into the ranch house after enlarging it enough so that Hunter wouldn’t feel crowded when he dropped in. It was after his retirement that he’d developed a keen interest in the lucrative crop, and it was not long afterward that he’d decided to get into growing pecans in a big way. In five years, he had more than a thousand trees in varying degrees of maturity and varieties. He’d taken to the role of planter enthusiastically and was now highly regarded in that field.

“Just let me know what you decide,” Hunter said, and pushed away from the table. “Now, can we have breakfast? I’m starved.”

He could smell bacon frying. Theresa, the ranch’s longtime housekeeper and cook—and surrogate mother to Hunter—would have a mouthwatering spread waiting. Heading for the kitchen, he glanced around the place with a sense of homecoming. It was clearly a masculine abode decorated with a strong Western influence. The man-size furniture was upholstered in leather, the end tables were wrought iron and wood, the chandelier was made of a wagon wheel and deer antlers, and over all lay the smell of cigar smoke and lemon wax. The place was orderly and spotless, no thanks to Hank or Hunter. Theresa ran a tight ship.

She was stirring something on the stove when they entered the kitchen, but she paused to hug Hunter. “It’s about time,” she said, inspecting his face with the familiarity of one who’d changed his diapers. She was a tiny woman with hair as black now as it had been when Hunter was three. Her bones felt as frail as a bird’s, but he knew she was as tough as a pine knot. Theresa was always up and about at daylight, and if she ever sat down during the day, no one ever saw it.

He swung her off her feet and kissed her soundly before setting her down to inspect what she was cooking. “Whatever it is, bring it on. I’ve been saving up for this.”

“Sausage gravy for your biscuits,” she told him, giving him a shove toward the table. “Scrambled eggs and bacon are on the table. Sit down and get started. Hank, leave him alone until he’s done with his breakfast. You know he’s not about to dispute your plans, so give him a minute to eat in peace.”

“He can listen while I fill him in on the details.” Hank reached for a folder and opened it before Hunter took a seat.

“Do me a favor,” Hunter said, heaping his plate. “Skip the details. Just hit the high points.”

With a sigh, Hank closed the file and picked up his coffee. He watched Hunter tackle the food, then gave him the bottom line. After stating the costs, he added, “I’m considering some new hybrids recently developed at A&M. I figure I can plant at least five hundred trees on the land.”

Hunter paused, buttering a biscuit. “Are you sure you want to take on the responsibility? You know I can’t get up here except on weekends, plus you’re supposed to be retired. Adding five hundred trees to what you’ve already got isn’t my idea of retirement.”

“You let me worry about that. Best thing about growing pecans,” he said, taking a sip of coffee, “it’s not labor intensive like, say cotton or corn, crops like that. ’Course, we won’t get any return on these trees for years yet, but when they do come in, they’ll be cash in the pockets of your kids…if you ever have any.”

Tucking into his breakfast, Hunter chewed slowly. He knew Hank believed it was time he settled down with a wife. And here lately Hunter had found himself thinking the same thing. If he’d been asked when he was in his mid-twenties whether or not in ten years he’d still be unmarried, he would have dismissed the possibility out of hand. Of course he’d eventually marry and have kids. Most of his friends had done exactly that. One by one, he’d watched them find the “right” woman and head happily for the altar. It hadn’t happened for Hunter. He’d had relationships—even some lasting a few years. He’d just never felt compelled to marry. He now figured he wouldn’t ever experience the crash-and-burn-type passion like his friends had, and was resigned to settling for something else. There was a lot to be said for being with a woman who shared the same goals.

“And speaking of family,” Hank went on after failing to get a response from Hunter, “you didn’t forget Lily’s birthday, did you?”

Hunter’s knife and fork clinked against his plate. “Damn, I guess I did.” Frowning, he glanced at the date on his watch face. “Today’s the third. I’ve got a couple of days. It’s the sixth, isn’t it?”

“You should know your mother’s birthday, Hunt. Yeah, it’s the sixth. And I had a feeling you’d forget.”

Theresa reached to remove an empty platter from the table. “Maybe if you weren’t so ready to remind him,” she said, “he’d get in the habit of remembering on his own.”

“And maybe he wouldn’t,” Hank said.

“I guess we’ll never know.” Ignoring Hank’s grumpy look, she spoke to Hunter. “I told him you had a calendar at work. You’d eventually see it and go out and buy her something nice. It might be a day or two late, but it would happen.”

Hunter nursed the last of his coffee and wisely said nothing. Taking sides between Hank and Theresa would be inviting trouble. The truth was that Hank had nailed it, saying he’d probably forget if he wasn’t reminded. Theresa was right, too, saying sooner or later he’d realize it and get his mother a gift.

Hank stood up. “Bottom line, you haven’t done it yet. You’ll be at work tomorrow morning up to your ass in alligators and last thing on your mind’ll be shopping for Lily’s birthday. Lucky for you, half the job’s done. Wait here.”

Clueless, Hunter looked at Theresa as Hank left the kitchen, but she only shrugged with a who-knows expression. Both knew what it was that drove Hank to remind him of his mother’s birthday, and it wasn’t to prevent Hunter forgetting it. It was Hank’s own partiality for “Lily,” as he called her. It had been plain to Hunter for a long time that Hank had a soft spot for Lillian. Both Hank and Bart McCabe had been married forty years ago when they went into business together. But when Marguerite Colson died of cancer, Hank’s interest in Lillian grew beyond friendship. She’d remarried by then, but as a boy, Hunter had often pretended that Hank, and not Morton Trask, was his stepfather. He definitely felt more of a kinship to Hank than he ever had to Morton.

“Take a look at this.” Hank was back, shoving a section of newspaper at him.

Front and center on the Zest magazine was a photo of a woman doing something in the window of what appeared to be one of those trendy little shops in the Village. Hunter’s interest in the newspaper was usually confined to the sports section first and the front page next. Zest covered arts and theater stuff and he often skipped it. It was always the first thing his mother pulled out of the Chronicle’s Sunday edition. He glanced up at Hank. “Give me a hint. How is this related to Mom’s birthday?”

“I’ve heard Lily mention this artist, Erica Stewart,” Hank said, paging through to find the article. “She designs quilts and stuff and she’s good. I bet Lily would appreciate something from her shop. You’ve been traveling between those two jobs day in and day out. Not twenty minutes out of your way to detour over to the Village and choose something.”

Theresa had risen to stand at Hunter’s elbow and study the article. “Hmm, anything in that shop’ll be pricey, count on it.”

“He can afford to spend some money on his mother,” Hank said testily.

“I’m not arguing that,” Theresa said, then pointed to an item in the window. “You want my opinion, go for one of the jackets. The quilts are probably gorgeous, but not exactly Lillian’s style. Now, if those jackets are as elegant as they appear in this picture, I think she’d be thrilled to get one.”

“I’ll check it out.” Hunter got up, taking the Zest article with him. He was relieved not to have to spend time he didn’t have browsing in the Galleria. Clapping a hand on Hank’s shoulder, he moved toward the door. “Thanks. I appreciate it, Hank.” Passing the sideboard, he took a couple of apples from a bowl and headed for the door to get his hat.

Once out of the house, he took a deep breath and followed the path leading to the barn. The air was sweet, the sky was already as blue as only a Texas sky can be and the birds were singing. The sun, high now on the east horizon, had burned off traces of morning mist. A perfect day for what he had in mind. Near the barn, Cisco, one of the two regular ranch hands on the payroll, was climbing onto the seat of a tractor hooked up to a trailer loaded with hay bales. Hunter raised his hand in greeting as Cisco headed out to pasture.

The noise faded as Hunter entered the barn. Taking in the familiar smells of hay, horses and manure, he welcomed the hush. A soft whicker came from the first stall. Jasper, an Appaloosa stallion Hunter had bought a year ago, lifted his head and flicked his ears back in recognition. Hunter pulled one of the apples out of his jacket pocket.

“Hey, boy. Ready for a ride?” Standing outside the stall, he fed the apple to the horse, rubbed him behind the ears, then reached for a bridle hanging on a hook. Jasper crunched the crisp apple and blew out a soft, gentle sound, stamping a foot. Hunter grinned, recognizing impatience as he slipped the bridle into place. “Looking forward to a good workout, huh? Well, me, too. Just let me get that saddle and we’re outta here, buddy.”

The gear was in the tack room at the rear of the barn. As soon as he saddled up, Hunter planned to spend the next few hours skirting the perimeter of the ranch. Cisco and Earl were paid to see that the fences were in good shape, but Hunter liked to check himself from time to time. After the week he’d endured, he looked forward to a few hours to himself.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

Hunter turned with the saddle in his hands. Kelly Colson stood in the doorway. Blue-eyed, slim as a boy in boot-cut jeans and a baseball hat on her auburn head, she looked more like a teenager than a thirty-three-year-old veterinarian. “I thought you’d be sleeping in this morning,” he told her, hefting the saddle onto his shoulder.

She stepped aside to let him pass. “Is that why you didn’t call me?”

“I drove in early. Hank hit me at the door with paperwork. I only escaped ten minutes ago.” He hadn’t thought to call her, but he wasn’t about to admit it. “You’re up early, too.”

“I never went to bed,” she said. “Tom Erickson called around midnight. His prize bull got out and was hit broadside by a teenager in a pickup. I didn’t get away until a few minutes ago. I spotted your car as I was passing on my way home.”

“Not that bull he imported from Colorado?”

“Uh-huh.”

Hunter pushed Jasper’s stall door open. A man could buy a whole ranch for what some prize bulls cost. “Were you able to save him?”

“Luckily nothing was broken, so he’ll survive.” She caught Jasper’s bridle as Hunter put the saddle blanket on his back. “He won’t be doing his job for a while, but when he’s called on to perform in a week or two, he’ll do his duty.”

“Poor baby.”

Kelly specialized in large animals, which is why she’d chosen to set her practice outside Houston. There was opportunity galore to practice in the city, where there were plenty of youngsters whose parents could afford the expense of a horse, but like Hunter, Kelly preferred breathing country air. It was one of many interests they shared. They had a lot in common, from a love of horses and country living to family history.

She watched him pull the cinch tight around the horse and then reach to adjust the stirrup. “Looks like you’ve got plans for the day.”

He glanced over at her, picking up something in her voice that made him proceed with caution. “At least, for most of the morning,” he told her. He and Kelly had drifted into a relationship of sorts lately. She’d stayed overnight at his condo once in a while when she was in the city, and they were often together on weekends when he made it out to the ranch. But today he craved a few hours by himself. “I thought I’d check the fence line,” he said, and bent back to his task, hoping she wouldn’t want to mount up and go with him.

They’d been friends since childhood, which was understandable seeing the close connections of their parents. It was when Kelly finished her training and returned to establish her practice near the ranch that he realized she wanted them to be more than friends. She was an up-front, direct kind of woman who went flat out for whatever she wanted. And she made it plain that she wanted Hunter. He admitted he hadn’t put up much resistance; even so, he’d felt a little uncomfortable the first time they’d wound up in bed. Not that the sex wasn’t good, it was. Kelly didn’t seem to feel any qualms and had settled happily into their affair. What he couldn’t quite figure out was why—to him—something didn’t feel exactly…right.

“Isn’t that Earl’s job?”

“Riding fence?” He’d almost forgotten what they were talking about. “I do it for the fun of it. He indulges me.” When she failed to smile, he reached for the reins and she let go. “I’ve been fighting traffic and breathing interstate exhaust night and day for two weeks, Kell. Once I’m out of the barn, it’s just me and Jasper and open air. You know the feeling.”

“I guess that means you don’t want company.”

He had Jasper out of the stall now. He put his foot into a stirrup and mounted up. The stallion danced and snorted, eager to be moving, but Hunter held him in check for another moment. “You’ve been working all night. Get some sleep. I’ll come over later. We’ll drive into Brenham and get something to eat.”

“Did you even think of calling me, Hunter?”

Since he wasn’t sure in his own mind why he hadn’t, he wasn’t in a mood to admit or discuss it now. “See you around seven tonight.”

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