Whirlwind - Janet Dailey Page 0,72
on themselves? And why would they poison the feed if they knew they could be the first ones blamed?”
“And it was only the old bull? The others were all right?”
“There was only enough in the bag for one serving of feed. Any one of the bulls could’ve gotten it.”
“Wait a minute,” Callie spoke up. “If there was only one serving left in the bag, the rest of the food had already been eaten. And it was fine. So the poison couldn’t have been there more than a day or so.”
“That’s the explanation that makes the most sense,” Tess said. “There could be others—like the bag came from somewhere else. But the thing that matters most is not letting anything like this happen again. That means stopping the person who’s responsible.”
“Well, if it isn’t the boys, it’s got to be somebody sneaking in from the res—somebody with a grudge against the ranch, or maybe against your dad. There’s nothing to gain by what they’re doing. It’s just plain old meanness.”
Tess sighed. “I’ll have Ruben check again. But he insists that it’s not any of his people.”
“Well, it’s not any of us—and it sure as hell isn’t me. I wasn’t even here.” Aaron handed Callie his empty glass and reached down to scratch one of the dogs.
“What do you think of this, Aaron?” Changing the subject, Tess handed him the letter from the investment company. He gave it a quick scan, holding it at arm’s length to focus his eyes on the small print before handing it back to her.
“It jibes with the letter I got,” he said. “The new outfit wants to buy my property. They offered a fair price and a guarantee that would let me stay in the house and keep my job for at least five years—but only if I want to.”
Tess forced her face to freeze in a calm expression. She could just imagine Brock Tolman’s mind working. Buy the hayfields, buy Aaron’s property, and the next domino to topple would be the Alamo Canyon Ranch.
“So, are you going to accept the offer?” she asked Aaron.
“I’m thinking on it. The money would keep me in style for the rest of my life. And it’s not like I have any kids to leave the place to, like my old man left it to me.” He shrugged. “Why not?”
Yes, why not? Tess asked herself. Aaron had grown up in this mountain valley. His parents had been neighbors to her own, much wealthier grandparents. Aaron and her mother, Isabel, had been childhood playmates. He’d never known a life anywhere else. With money from the sale of his property, he could travel, move away, do whatever he wanted. All he had to do was sell out to the evil empire of Brock Tolman.
“Is that what you came to tell us, Aaron?” she asked.
“You’ve been good neighbors, the closest thing I’ve got to family. I didn’t want to spring this on you after it was a done deal.”
“It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind,” Tess said.
“Pretty much.” He rose from his chair. “So I guess I’ll be headed home. I’ve got dry hayfields to water.”
“I hope you’ll make the right decision, Aaron.” Callie’s tone sounded oddly formal.
“Thanks. And thanks for the tea, Callie.” Without another word, he was off the porch and starting the Kubota.
“Well, how about that?” Callie said as they watched him drive away. “Nothing stays the same anymore, does it? First Lexie, and now Aaron. And the boys will be gone when school starts. We’re running out of people.”
Tess sank back into the chair. “We can always hire new help. But I need Lexie. I worry that she’ll go off somewhere with Shane and leave me to run this ranch without her.”
“I have an idea,” Callie said. “If you want to keep Lexie on the ranch, there’s one way to do that—hire Shane and let him live with us.”
“But—” Tess’s first reaction was to protest. “He won’t be able to walk, let alone ride. What can he do?”
“Think about it. How much time do you spend in that office? Shane knows the ranching business, he knows everything about bulls, and he’s smart. You saw that when he was here. He could take over the day-to-day management and free you and Lexie to work the bulls or take them to events.”
“But would he do it? Wouldn’t he see it as charity?”
“Not if we really needed him—and we do. Besides, I just thought of something else. Before your dad