Unable to argue with his reasoning, Tara conceded, “I suppose not.” Closing that subject, she moved on to the next. “Let’s don’t waste this drive back to town. Point out to me all the things that Ty and Chase will be noticing and explain their importance.”
Pulling in a deep breath, Buck looked around and proceeded to lecture her on the essentials of grass and water and the fundamentals of ranching—the amount of land required per cow, the preferred walking distance to water, and the repercussions anytime the two didn’t jive. It was a lesson in economics and land management, and the fine line that sometimes had to be walked to achieve a profit. Now and then he would interrupt himself to direct her attention to a dry creek, the motionless blades of a windmill that could be an indication of a dry well, or a cow still grazing at a time of day when it would normally be lying down chewing its cud. All were small things, significant only to a rancher.
Always a quick study, Tara absorbed every minute detail, determined not to be embarrassed again.
Ty and Chase saw all those things and more. The course of action was obvious: an immediate ranch-wide roundup and a downsizing of all the herds to a number the land could safely support. That included the horse herds.
That evening the order went out to every corner of the vast ranch to gear up for roundup. Since the situation was at a critical stage in the South Branch section, they would start there.
Come morning, Dick Ballard let himself into The Homestead. Only strangers bothered to knock first. To his knowledge, the front door had never been locked. He seriously doubted that a key existed for it anymore.
As he headed toward the den, a young Trey charged through the living room, giggling with glee, his diapered bottom waddling from side to side and his legs pumping as fast as they could to elude Jessy’s grasp. But she was right behind him. When she scooped him up, he squealed in protest, writhing and kicking to break free.
“Looks like you might need to hog-tie that wild one,” Ballard observed with an easy grin.
“Believe me, it’s a very tempting thought. Unfortunately I don’t have a piggin’ string handy.” Not without effort, Jessy managed to subdue her young son. “Escape seems to be the only thing on his mind these days. I can’t imagine how we’re going to keep him corralled at Tara’s new house.”
“You’re going over there?” He showed his surprise at this piece of news.
“She’s invited us all to dinner on Saturday.”
An instant concern swept his expression. “You watch yourself over there.”
But Jessy wasn’t worried. “She won’t try anything—not with the whole Calder clan there, including Cat and Logan.”
“Maybe not, but you be careful just the same,” he insisted and glanced toward the den’s open door. “Is Ty or Chase in there?”
“Chase is. Ty left about an hour ago.”
“Thanks.” With a nod, he resumed his path to the room. Chase was on the telephone when he walked in. Ballard wandered over to the window to wait until he was through.
The minute Chase hung up, he was quick to challenge. “Why haven’t you left for South Branch?”
“That’s what I came to talk to you about,” Ballard acknowledged with a small bob of his head. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to sit out the roundup and stick close to headquarters. Things are always comin’ up about the auction that need to be handled and I—”
“—want to keep an eye on Jessy,” Chase cut across his words to state the true reason behind the request. Reading the startled question in Ballard’s expression, Chase confirmed, “Jessy mentioned the suspicions you have about Tara.”
“I should have remembered that Jessy has always been a forthright woman. I probably should have come to you with ’em but I got nothin’ to base ’em on but a gut feeling,” Ballard admitted. “Still I can’t help thinkin’ there wouldn’t be a better opportunity with everybody off to roundup and hardly anyone around headquarters. If I was gonna pick a time, that would be it. And I sure couldn’t look myself in the mirror if anything did happen an’ I was off chasin’ a bunch of cows.”
“I’m not sure I share your concern,” Chase answered thoughtfully. “By the same token, I’m not willing to risk being wrong. You stay here and keep an eye on things.”
“I appreciate that, Chase.” Ballard smiled his relief then sobered with a new thought. “You do know Ty may not like the idea if he finds out. He doesn’t understand that me and Jessy go back a long ways. I can see why it wouldn’t sit right with him, him bein’ married to her an’ all.”
“I’ll square it with him,” Chase promised. “Is there anything else?”
The question was a subtle prod to leave. “Nope. That just about does it,” Ballard replied and headed for the door, adding as he went, “You can rest easy that nothin’s gonna happen to Jessy. I’ll see to that.”
Try as he might, Chase couldn’t put much stock in Ballard’s suspicions. He doubted that he would be able to as long as Buck was in the picture. It was a prejudice he had, one that could blind him. Which was the reason he had agreed to Ballard’s request.
The sun sat low in the Saturday evening sky, throwing its strong yellow light over the Wolf Meadow range, intensifying the ochre hues in the stone and stucco exterior of the newly constructed house. During his only other visit to the site, Ty had taken little notice of the low and sprawling, single-story house. This time he ran an inspecting eye over it as they approached the thickly graveled area in front of it.
Its roof was steeply pitched to shed winter snow and shingled in a dusty brown color that blended with the face of the butte behind it. The roof line extended far beyond the exterior walls, shading the south-facing windows from the sun’s glare and creating a covered porch along the front, with stone pillars for support.
In the back seat, Sally craned her neck to get a better view of the house. “That’s it, isn’t it?” she murmured, then added with a touch of surprise, “It isn’t quite as grand as I expected. Do you think so, Jessy?”
Jessy was quicker to note how much ground it covered. “It’s bigger than you think. But it could have been worse.”
“She could have built it on top of the mesa.” Dryness rustled through Ty’s voice.
Chase reacted with a harrumph. “Thank God for small favors.”
Approaching the graveled area, Ty slowed the vehicle and swept his gaze over the rest of the site. A helicopter sat in readiness on a concrete pad a goodly distance from both the house and the bluff, sharing the skyline with windmill eleven. Roughly the same distance from the house to the left stood the horse corral.
“Looks like they’re building a stable,” Chase remarked, taking note of the construction in progress near the corral. “Isn’t that a house trailer back there?” With a frown, Chase peered at some sort of structure near the corral.
“Could be.” Catching a movement in the rearview mirror, Ty glanced up to see the reflection of another vehicle behind them. “Here comes Logan and Cat.”
Chase checked his watch. “One minute before seven. That’s as close to being on time as you can get.”
Both vehicles parked on the gravel near the stone walk that led to the house. As Jessy freed Laura from the car seat, Tara emerged from the house to welcome them.
Strictly casual, Tara had said the dress would be. But Tara’s definition of casual had always been slightly different from others. This evening she wore a squaw skirt and matching blouse in a rich wine red. The hem of the skirt skimmed her shins, revealing the fashionable boots she wore. A chunky belt, mounted with silver and strung with elongated conchos, showed off the smallness of her waist. Her ebony hair was pulled back in a sleek chignon, the severe style accenting the perfection of her face.
Casual? Jessy supposed it was, but it left her feeling a little underdressed in her sea green slacks and top. Being around Tara, it was something she was used to experiencing. It no longer bothered Jessy that much.
After the usual exchange of greetings with their hostess, Tara clasped her hands together with barely suppressed delight. “I can’t believe you all arrived at the same time. This is perfect.” With a graceful pivot and a presenting sweep of her hand, she directed their attention to the house. “Here it is. My new home. What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful,” Cat answered for all of them.
“It is, isn’t it?” Tara unabashedly agreed. “Obviously not every little thing is finished yet—like the landscaping. But we are planting only native shrubs. I made it clear to the landscape architect that I wanted the grounds to be an extension of the plains. Perhaps a few flowering plants in containers on the porch, but that is all. And something still has to be done to finish the driveway area, but I haven’t decided if I want to do it in stained concrete or pave it with brick or stone.”
“I noticed you are building a stable by the corral,” Ty remarked.
“Yes. At the moment it will hold six horses, but I have space to expand it to ten if I choose,” Tara explained. “And the architect is working on drawings for some sort of hangar shed and fuel storage facility for the helipad area. Once it’s finished, we’ll extend the driveway to it.”
“What about the trailer over by the corral?” Chase asked. “Is someone living there?”
“Buck Haskell and his father, for the time being anyway,” Tara replied and smiled with a touch of wry resignation. “That’s another thing that has to be built yet—a house for the groundskeeper, but I’m still debating about the exact site for it. I have to decide soon, though. It needs to be finished before winter.”
Trey chose that moment to let loose with a protesting shriek as he twisted in Ty’s arms, wanting down to run off some of his pent-up energy from the drive. His angry outcry initially startled Tara. But she quickly laughed.
“Bored with standing around, are you, young man?” She playfully tweaked his arm. “I think you are absolutely right. Let’s all go inside. You must be thirsty after that dusty ride. We’ll have a drink. Then I’ll show you around the house before we sit down to dinner.”
Without further ado, Tara ushered them into the house and straight to the main living area she identified as the great room. It possessed a comfortable lodge-like atmosphere with slate floors and roughly textured walls painted a soft gold that cast a warm glow over the room. Its decor was a curious blend of Western and Old World, bergère-style chairs upholstered in geometric-patterned fabric reminiscent of Navajo designs, an overstuffed leather sofa scattered with tapestry pillows. A deep red Persian rug covered the floor beneath a sturdy wooden coffee table, and antlered chandeliers hung from a darkly paneled coffered ceiling. Dominating the entire room was a massive fireplace, built of moss stone.
A waiter, dressed in cowboy boots, blue jeans, and a pearl-snapped plaid shirt, moved among the group, first taking their drink orders then returning with them. When all had their drinks in hand, Tara raised her wineglass, signaling a toast.
“A warm welcome to all of you, my first dinner guests at Dunshill.” There was a knowing look in Tara’s dark-shining eyes as she sought out Ty.
“Dunshill?” Sally repeated in unspoken question.
“Yes. That’s what I have decided to call my new home,” Tara explained.
“After the mesa outside?” Sally asked, clearly puzzled by the choice.
But Ty had no such problem. He had made the connection immediately. But like his father, he left it to Tara to answer Sally’s question.
“Not at all,” Tara replied, a deepening of the knowing quality in her smile. “I named it after the wife of the Earl of Crawford, Lady Elaine Dunshill, who was a business partner of sorts with the first Chase Calder years and years ago.”
“For heaven’s sake,” Cat exclaimed, recognition dawning in her expression. “I had forgotten all about her.”
“I didn’t,” Tara replied and lifted her glass again. “To my guests,” she repeated the toast and took a sip of wine.
Everyone followed suit. But Sally wasn’t about to let the subject drop now that her curiosity was aroused. “If you don’t mind me asking, whatever made you decide to name your place after her?”
“That’s easy.” Tara smiled. “Ever since I began working with Ty on the auction, she has been on my mind. Lady Dunshill has become something of an inspiration to me. Therefore it seemed appropriate to name this estate after her. In a way, it’s like history repeating itself.”
“Except she never owned any Calder land,” Ty inserted the dry reminder.
“No, not to my knowledge she didn’t,” Tara conceded and swiftly directed the conversation back to its original topic. “But it still wouldn’t surprise me one bit to find out she was once a Calder.”
“That’s right. I remember when you showed me those photographs,” Cat recalled. “One was of Lady Elaine and the other was a picture of my great-great-grandmother. You were convinced they were the same person, one as a young girl and the other as a much older woman.”
“You must admit the resemblance was amazing—the same coloring, the same features, the same overall look and expression,” Tara added.
“It was a little uncanny,” Cat remembered, then divided a quick glance between Sally and Logan, suddenly realizing that neither knew what she and Tara were talking about. “Tara has this theory that my great-grandmother Madelaine Calder and Lady Elaine Dunshill were one in the same person. She based it both on their physical similarities and on an old family story. The way I heard the it,” she continued, “my great-grandmother ran away with a remittance man when Chase Benteen Calder was just a little boy.”