Only yesterday, over breakfast, she’d listened as Will and Jasper discussed what would be best to do. And now, like a candle blown out by a breath of wind, Jasper was gone.
“Someone else is coming for the funeral,” Will said. “You’ve never met her, but she’s an old friend. I called her tonight, and she said she’d be here. I hope you won’t mind if I volunteered you to pick her up at the airport. She’s in her sixties, and I could tell she was nervous about driving a rental car in city traffic.”
“I’ll be happy to pick her up,” Erin said. “But who is she? Why haven’t I heard anything about her before?”
Will took his time in answering. “Her name is Rose Landro McCade. I haven’t seen her since I was a boy. But she’s not the sort of person you’d forget. Toughest woman I’ve ever known, and probably the most stubborn, too.”
“I can hardly wait to meet her,” Erin said.
“Rose can tell you a lot about the old days. She and my father scrapped like a couple of wildcats, but they never lost their respect for each other. And Jasper loved her like a daughter. They had a special bond, those two. When I spoke with her, even after all these years, I could tell how hard it hit her that he was gone.”
“What happened to her? Where did she go?”
“She married a Wyoming rancher and never came back. I guess they had a good life, raised a couple of girls. He’s passed on, and their daughters are grown now, so Rose is alone. I’m hoping she’ll stick around for a while. She can stay in the empty side of the duplex. Maybe you can get it ready for her—something pretty on the bed, clean towels and soap in the bathroom, some snacks in the fridge . . . even some flowers, once she lets us know her arrival time.”
“She must’ve been special.”
“She was—is. She wasn’t around here long, but she was like a big sister to Beau and me.” Will paused, remembering. “I’ll never forget the night Rose almost gave her life to save us. If it hadn’t been for Bull, all three of us, and the man she ended up marrying, could have died.”
“That sounds like quite a story. How come you’ve never told me about it?”
He exhaled, took a pack of Marlboros from his pocket, and tapped one into his hand. “Some stories are best saved for the right time. I’ll leave the telling to Rose.”
His lighter flared in the darkness. The tip of the cigarette glowed as he inhaled.
“I wish you wouldn’t—” Erin stopped herself from lecturing him. This wasn’t the time for it. Years ago, Will had given up smoking to please his wife, Tori. But when she’d died of cancer four months ago, he’d taken up the habit again, as if to say So what if it kills me? What’s the point in living?
“I suppose you’ve called Kyle,” he said.
“Yes. He offered to come over, but I told him I’d see him at the funeral. Until then, I won’t be much company.”
Kyle Cardwell, whose father managed the neighboring Prescott Ranch for the syndicate that had bought it from the family, had been dating Erin since she’d finished high school. Last night, after their weekly movie date, he’d pulled his SUV off the road, slipped a small velvet box out of his pocket, and asked her to marry him. The diamond was impressive—at least a full carat. But Erin couldn’t imagine wearing it to muck out the stable or wash down a horse, which was how she spent most of her days.
Stunned, she’d mumbled a reply. “I’m only nineteen, Kyle. I need time to think about this.”
“Take all the time you need.” His Hollywood smile had flashed in the darkness as he dropped the ring box back into his pocket. “But I hope you won’t keep me waiting too long. I love you, Erin, and I can’t wait to make you mine. Now come here and kiss me.”
After a few minutes of necking, she’d asked him to take her home. For the rest of the night she’d lain awake, weighing her choices. Maybe she should’ve said yes. Kyle was twenty-two, handsome, respectable, and well-mannered. Her father liked him and had hinted that he wouldn’t mind having a grandchild or two. Why not do what everyone seemed to expect of her?
Why was she still unsure?
Was Kyle meant to be her husband, to love and honor and cherish? What if she were to refuse him? Would she live to regret it for the rest of her days?
And what about her own plans, her own dreams of breeding and training a stable of fine horses? Would she have to put those dreams aside when she became a wife?
Toward morning, she’d fallen into a fitful sleep—only to be awakened by Will with the news that Jasper was missing. An hour later his body had been found in a desert wash, under his wrecked ATV.
Kyle’s proposal would have to wait.
Rising from his chair, Will crushed the cigarette with his boot and kicked it over the rail, onto the gravel below, then glanced at the luminous dial on his watch. He stood for a moment, peering out into the darkness.
“What is it, Dad?” Erin asked. “Is something wrong?”
“Can’t say for sure.” Will shook his head. “I was expecting the new man I hired last week. He said he’d be here by tonight, but it’s getting late, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him.”
“A new man? And you didn’t tell me?”
“Sorry. Slipped my mind, I guess.” Will sank wearily back into the chair. “Sky knows he’s coming. The man’s a farrier.”