at him, amused by his proprietary manner.
Harper held the hat in his hands. His face was solemn as he looked down on me, and I saw an odd regret in his eyes. But also wariness, and the faintest tinge of suspicion.
Suspicion, again. Of me. But why on earth—
“Mount up,” he said. “And listen to me, okay?”
I stayed where I was a moment longer, filled with conflicting emotions. Who was he to order me around? Why didn’t I just stay where I was and listen to what he had to say? Why didn’t I tell him what I thought of his proprietary manner?
Probably because I was too chicken. And too curious. So I mounted my horse and urged Hornet up the trail toward Sunny.
We could not ride abreast because the trail was not wide enough for two horses. Harper, compensating, rode half-turned in the saddle, facing me over one shoulder as Sunny walked calmly on. Such grace in horse and rider; such unacknowledged expertise.
“I bought into Smoketree simply because Nathan needed money,” he told me. “Without going into a bunch of details—none of which are your business, anyway”—he softened it with a wry smile—“let me just say that things have been tough the past few years. More than tough. The heyday of the dude ranch is pretty well past, which leaves us on the short end of the stick.” He shrugged. “Inflation, then those funny incidents… anyway, he needed money, but he didn’t dare go to the banks because of other loans. So I came in as a partner. And on top of everything else, Nathan wants Cassie to go on to college.”
“You don’t?”
“I’m not against education,” he said dryly. “Do you really think I’m some dumb old cowboy who can barely read and write?” He grinned; a genuine grin, half-delighted, half-amused. “People judge people too quick—” Then he waved a hand in a brief, eloquently dismissive gesture. “I went to college myself. Got the old sheepskin; the whole works.” He shrugged. “Don’t do anything with it, of course—most people don’t—but I got out of college what I wanted. A chance to hit the college rodeos. Good training nowadays.” One big hand smoothed the slick red hair of Sunny’s wide rump. “Anyhow, Cassie’s meant for college. Her parents left her some money to see that a couple of years are paid for. But right now she wants to rodeo, and they made certain the schooling would come first.”
“I don’t quite understand—”
“They tied up the money in a trust. If she goes to school, she can use it for tuition and such. If she turns pro now and hits the road, she has to do it all on her own, until she’s twenty-one.”
“And Nathan?”
Harper smiled. “He’s sort of stuck between two worlds. He never rodeoed himself, but he knows what it can do to a man’s soul. Or a woman’s.” He grinned a moment as he stuck the qualification in, anticipating my protest. “He wants Cassie to go to school, but he wants her to be happy. Still, he has to abide by the terms of his nephew’s will. So right now he’s scraping together what money he can to send her to school, and trying to keep Smoketree alive.”
“If he sold it—if you both sold it—Cass would have money enough to do what she wanted, wouldn’t she?”
“No. Cassie only gets what Nathan leaves her on his own death, and what it costs for her upkeep. She earns her keep here. But it’s not enough to subsidize a rodeo career.”
That explained why the developers would offer her money. If she talked Nathan into selling, she’d profit by it. So would Harper. Only Nathan would lose. Perhaps not monetarily, but Smoketree would be gone. It was no wonder the man was tight as a wound watch-spring lately.
“If you don’t sell,” I suggested, “if you go on as you are, all of you, here at Smoketree, what happens in the end?”
“Cassie’s Nathan’s heir,” he said. “His wife died in the same plane crash that killed her folks; there’s no one else. What Nathan has goes to her.”
“But only half of Smoketree, now that you’re a partner.” Harper smiled. “Painting a picture of my guilt?”
I felt the heat in my face at once. “Not really,” I said, “but now that you mention it—”
He nodded. “Looks bad, doesn’t it? Something happens to Nathan, Cass inherits, and then it’s up to her and me to decide what happens to Smoketree. Since she wants to hit the circuit—”