got married and had kids, and he was in no rush for that. He had plenty of fun on his time off the way things were.
“I don’t need a house, or a ranch,” he said, sipping his coffee. “I’ve got this ranch to keep me busy, and I don’t need a bigger house. Are you going to start using his office?” She had a smaller one next to her father’s, and could have used more space for everything she kept there, but she shook her head.
“Not yet.” It would have hurt too much to take over his desk. It would mean that he was really gone, and she wasn’t ready to face that.
“Do you want to ride out and check the north pastures with me?” he offered, and she nodded. It would be a relief to get back to work, and get her mind off her father, the funeral, and their discovery about their mother. She didn’t want to think about anything, just ride with Thad, as they always did.
They left the barn, and took a familiar path, until they were cantering across the fields as the sun came up in a brilliant pink and purple sky, and she started to feel alive again.
“Are your sisters okay with sharing the ranch?” he asked her when they slowed down.
“It’s fine for now,” she said with a sigh. “Neither of them is interested in it. I have to beg them to come here.”
“I figured they might want to sell their share.”
“They might eventually, but for now they don’t need the money, so nothing’s going to change,” she reassured him.
“What if they decide to cash out, and want you to buy their shares? That’s a bundle of cash you’ll have to come up with.” He knew their financial status, and that her father never kept much liquidity and often used cash to buy more land. A sudden request from her sisters might come at a bad time for her.
“Then I’ll have to sell some land to pay them, I guess,” she said. “I’ll figure it out when it happens, if it ever does.” She wasn’t going to worry about it now, since she didn’t have to.
He hesitated for a moment, and then decided to speak up. “If that ever happens, I’d pay you for the land. I can’t give you enough to pay both of them. But if one of them wants to sell, I’ve got some money saved up, and with what your father just left me, I think I could manage.”
“To buy a third of the ranch?” She looked surprised, and impressed.
“I’ve been saving for a long time. I’ve been wanting to buy a piece of your dad’s land since I got here. I think I could do it now, thanks to him. Just keep it in mind, in case one of them wants to sell and you’re short at the time. I’d like nothing better than to own part of all this. We could still run it together, if you want. It doesn’t have to be a big change.”
“Thanks, Thad. It might make a big difference if the time comes. They’re not in any hurry now, thank God. I figure Caroline will be the first one to bail, if her husband thinks she should. But we’re in good shape for now. Let’s keep it that way.” She smiled at him and they picked up the pace again. She was glad to know that if she had to pay off one of her sisters, she could sell some land to him if she wanted to. She thought her father would have liked that too. And if both her sisters wanted to sell at the same time, Thad’s buying out one of them would make it easier for Kate.
It was a beautiful morning, the sun was warm on their faces, and the pain of the last few days started to ease. The land around them belonged to her, as far as the eye could see. Whatever else he had done, her father had left her an incredible gift, and she was grateful to him.
* * *
—
Gemma dropped off her bag at her house on her way to work. She hadn’t hit traffic on the freeway, and she had time to change, and picked up coffee on the way to work. She hadn’t studied her lines, but she knew she’d be able to do it in her trailer. The director had sent her a text that she wasn’t going to be