Will had been gone less than twenty-four hours. But the man returning was no longer the man who’d left the ranch yesterday. Will had experienced rage, shame, and humiliation in a way he’d never known before. And he’d been slapped with the cold possibility of losing all he held dear.
As the Jeep turned off the highway and up the long, straight road to the ranch, he gazed out the window at the autumn landscape. The ice storm had drained the rich gold from the grass and stripped the leaves from the cottonwoods and willows. But there was a stark beauty in the pale sweep of the plain, with the russet cliffs of the escarpment jutting against the November sky. Where the creek ran, the leafless willows hung deep bloodred, a slash of crimson against the ecru skin of the land.
Off to the right, the alkali lake, where Jasper liked to hunt wild turkey, had dried to a glittering white smear. Patches of blackened earth and the skeletons of burnt cedar trees marked where the worst of last summer’s fire had burned. But the land was already healing. Next spring the grass would grow and the fire-scarred cottonwoods would leaf out. Bright patches of Indian-blanket gaillardias, Tahoka daisies, blue dayflowers, and blooming cacti would dot the prairie with color, and life would go on, as it always did. Beau and Natalie’s son would be born. Sky and Lauren would marry and begin their family. Erin would grow into graceful young womanhood.
Would he be here to see it? But with his fate in the balance, Will knew better than to think that far ahead. For the next few weeks, he would live for each day. He would take Jasper bird hunting. He would ride and play chess with Erin, work the stock with Beau and Sky. He would fill his eyes with the sight of Tori and his ears with the sound of her voice. But he would not forget where he’d been or what lay ahead.
Like ammunition for a coming war, he would store up his anger, his outrage, and his hatred of the corrupt justice system that had allowed this to happen. If the trial went the wrong way, he would need it all to fuel his strength.
Erin was waiting on the front porch when the jeep pulled up and stopped. As Will climbed out of the passenger side, she flew down the steps and flung herself into his arms. She was growing long and lean like her mother. Her hair smelled of hay and horses. She didn’t speak, but he could tell from the slight jerk of her breathing that she was holding back sobs. With her involvement as a witness in his case, there’d been no way to shield her from what was going on. She knew what her family was facing, and she was handling it with remarkable courage. Will couldn’t have been more proud of her.
“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered.
A lump rose in Will’s throat. As he hugged his daughter close, it was as if he could feel the slow breaking of his heart.
* * *
Parked next to the Jeep, Tori watched as Erin greeted her father and led him into the house, followed by Beau. This was an emotional time that had little to do with her. She would give them a few minutes before she went inside to join them for lunch.
Will was her client now. The man she’d loved, married, and divorced, the man who’d given her Erin, the man who’d swept her away in an explosion of need on the night of the storm—that man couldn’t be allowed to matter now. Emotion would only cloud her ability to defend him.
Once more, applying cold logic, she asked herself the forbidden question—the one she’d been asking, answering, and rethinking all the way on the drive from town to the ranch.
If the unthinkable happened and Will went to prison, what would be best for Erin?
Will’s daughter loved being on the ranch, especially her time with Tesoro. She loved the house, loved her room, and loved spending time with Bernice and Jasper. To take that away from her would be cruel. But with Will gone, there’d be no reason to keep the big house open. Bernice could retire and move into Sky’s half of the duplex, next to Jasper. Beau and Natalie would have their own home. So would Sky and Lauren. Erin would be welcome to visit, but nothing would be the same. The